Four kinds of "not now"
"Not now" can mean four different things. Most tools have a single date for all of them. Aevo keeps the four cases apart, because each says something different about the task.
Work on: the plan
"I'll do that next week."
A date on which you want to start. It is your plan and not an appointment. Until then the task sits quietly. On the day itself it moves up.
You may start earlier at any time. That is why a task planned for tomorrow stays visible on the board and can fall into today's capacity if there is room.
Not earlier: the fixed start
"It cannot be done before then."
The same day, but as the earliest start. For everything that is simply not possible before: the form is only available on the first, the tradesman only comes on Monday.
Until that day the task is silenced. It sits at the very bottom and does not count towards daily capacity. On the day itself it comes back with full weight.
Paused: waiting without a date
"That depends on someone else right now."
The same silence, but without an end. For everything that is waiting when you do not know for how long.
The tile says "PAUSED", stays on the board and does not count towards daily capacity. You end the pause yourself.
Postpone: something came up
"I won't manage it today after all."
Postponing records what happened: you meant to do it, and something else was more important. Aevo sets "Work on" anew and keeps count.
Every postponement raises the score a little. From the third the tile gets a yellow frame. After several, Aevo asks whether the task is still relevant.
Why these are separate
The first three ways quieten a task. The fourth lifts it. If they were the same mechanism, you could get rid of an unpleasant task forever by pausing it, without ever doing or deleting it.
That does not work here. A task postponed three times that you pause is quiet for as long as the pause lasts. Resume it and it is back, with all three postponements.
At a glance
| Effect on the ranking | Ends | Counts towards daily capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work on | quiet until the day, then at the top | on the planned day | yes |
| Not earlier | at the very bottom | on the set day | no, until that day |
| Paused | at the very bottom | when you resume | no |
| Postpone | moves higher each time | when done | yes |
The steps are under Put something off.
Try it
- Create a task with "Work on" today.
- Postpone it three times by one day. Look at the frame of the tile and at the card "Why this is here".
- Pause it. It sits at the bottom; the yellow frame stays.
- Resume it. It is back at the top.