Tasks and Workflows
How the task system organizes projects and actions across your roles and circles.
The /tasks route is a personal task dashboard that aggregates all your projects and actions across every role you fill in the network's holacracy structure. It follows a GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology adapted for the circle-based organizational model.
Core Concepts
Projects
A project is any multi-step outcome that requires more than one action to complete. Projects are always owned by a specific role within a specific circle.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Short description of the desired outcome |
| Description | Optional longer explanation |
| Status | active, completed, on_hold, or someday |
| Projection | Optional timeline or milestone note |
| Priority | 1 (high), 2 (medium), or 3 (low) |
| Actions | The next actions that belong to this project |
Next Actions
A next action is a single, concrete, physical step that moves a project or role forward. Every action is tied to a role and a circle, and optionally to a project.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Description | What to do (e.g., "Draft the Q2 proposal") |
| Status | pending, completed, waiting, or scheduled |
| Context | Where or how the action can be done |
| Waiting For | If status is waiting, who or what you are waiting on |
| Scheduled For | If status is scheduled, the target date |
| Priority | 1 (high), 2 (medium), or 3 (low) |
Contexts
Contexts are GTD-style tags that describe the tool, location, or mode needed to perform an action:
@computer-- requires a computer@calls-- requires a phone or video call@office-- must be done in an office setting@home-- can be done from home@errands-- requires going somewhere physically@anywhere-- no location or tool constraint
The Task Dashboard
The task page has four tabs:
Next Actions
A flat list of all your pending, completed, waiting, and scheduled actions across every role. Each action shows:
- The action description
- The role and circle it belongs to
- The parent project (if any)
- A context badge
- A status indicator
Pending actions have a checkbox to mark them complete directly from the list.
Projects
All your projects across every role. Each project card shows the name, role, circle, status, projection, and a count of pending versus total actions.
Active projects have a checkbox to mark the entire project complete.
By Context
Groups all pending actions by their context tag. This view is useful when you want to batch work by location or mode -- for example, reviewing everything you can do at @computer in one sitting.
Waiting For
A dedicated list of all actions in waiting status, showing who or what each action is blocked on. This makes it easy to follow up on delegated or externally-dependent work.
Creating Tasks
Use the New Action or New Project buttons in the page header to create items.
When creating an action:
- Select a circle from your circle memberships
- Select a role you fill within that circle
- Describe the concrete next action
- Choose a context and priority
When creating a project:
- Select a circle and role
- Name the desired outcome
- Optionally add a description and projection
You can only create actions and projects for roles you currently fill. If you do not have any role assignments, the creation dialogs will indicate this.
Filtering
Both the actions and projects tabs support status filtering. The actions tab additionally supports context filtering. Use the filter dropdowns in the tab bar to narrow the list.
Relationship to Circles and Governance
Tasks are not standalone -- they are part of the holacracy operational model:
- Every action and project belongs to a role within a circle
- The Circles page shows the same projects and actions from the circle's perspective
- Governance meetings may surface new projects or actions through the tension-processing workflow
- Role accountability reviews reference action and project completion
The task page provides the personal, cross-cutting view: everything assigned to you, regardless of which circle it lives in.