New tasks that repeat and remind you of deadlines

There are many task managers out there, but nothing like Podio– the real game-changer is business context.

In Podio you contextualize tasks by attaching them to what you’re actually working on. You attach tasks to your app items, in the apps you build, whether they’re for handling sales leads, project deliverables, designs, you name it. This stops confusion and it’s a real time saver, since when you get a task you can go straight to what it’s about in one click– no more searching around in inboxes or separate systems.

Tasks are integrated into all aspects of Podio, they represent the smaller, concrete things that you or someone else on your team needs to do, typically in order to move along on a bigger project. You can also bring your external communications into Podio by creating tasks directly from your Google Apps inbox– directing the contents of emails to the right part of your business and into your workflow, while establishing accountability that’s often lost in cc-email chains.

Communication around tasks is done with comments, again keeping everything in context. Tasks can be delegated back and forth, with the option to make them private, or shared in a workspace so your colleagues can help out. You can also attach documents and other files.

Say you have a deadline coming up, and so you create an app item in your Deadlines App, where you note down all the background information about this deadline. Now you break down the work that needs to be done into tasks: You assign some to yourself, for example ‘Proof read text’ and ‘Print out display copies of finished product’. You also assign some tasks to your colleagues, like ‘Pick photos for presentation’ and ‘Arrange transportation’. All the recipients of tasks see that the tasks are linked to an app item, where they can find everything related to the deadline that the task is for.

And, we just added something new– tasks that can repeat themselves, and task with reminders. Here’s a few examples of how they can be used:

Recurring tasks

Every week you create a couple of reports that you share with the management team. To make sure you remember to do the reports in time, you create a task for yourself and set it to repeat every Friday at 10:00am. During the week you will see it in the ‘upcoming’ section of your task list with a due date. On that date it will move to your ‘today’ section.

Say you need a colleague to deliver some numbers to you every week in order for you to finish the reports. You create a repeating task for them due every Thursday, and attach it to the workspace where you share the reports every week.

It’s simple to set tasks to repeat themselves: You set a due date and hit the Repeat icon. Then choose how you want the task to repeat (daily, weekly, or monthly) and Podio will figure out the rest. You can also set an end date if you know when you will no-longer be required to complete the task, say at the end of the year. Otherwise, leave it on the default setting and hit ‘Stop’ when you no-longer need it. When you complete a repeating task, the next task will be created.

Other uses could be: Do the payroll every last Friday of the month, hand in sales report every Monday, report key numbers to board every three months, prepare for product meetings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Task reminders

Based on the due dates and times that you set for your tasks, you can choose to be reminded about them. You select when you want the reminder, for example: 10 minutes before, 6 hours before, the day before, and a special notification will pop up in your Podio window and play a sound.

You can also set reminders for yourself about tasks that you delegate to others. Take the example above where you’ve asked a colleague to provide you with some numbers for a weekly report– you could set a reminder on this task that will alart you at a time you choose, so you make sure to check the numbers are there, and to follow up if they’re not.

If you’ve got the free Podio iPhone App, you’ll also get a push notification, so you never miss an important reminder about your own tasks, or those you assign to others, even if you’re out of the office.

At Podio we’ve been trying out repeating tasks and task reminders– in the video below I ask the team at Podio HQ in Copenhagen, how they use the new tasks, and how they fit their different work flows.

Wondering how to get the most out of tasks? Check out our guide, covering everything from the basics to pro tips– including how to set up your repeating tasks and task reminders.