Evernote Tasks

[RJLUK 307]

I thought it would be useful to start a thread relating to the new Tasks function in EN.

Has anyone taken it up and ran with it.

I really see a use for it  despite the tasks only being visible in a narrow strip on MAC on the iPad they are  much better.

Is anyone using it daily and figuring  out a means of USING it?- very little on line , almost nothing on Youtube/reddit etc

Please share.

[buckethead 219]

I have been using Tasks for awhile now. At this point Tasks are big part of my daily workflow and I use them quite a few different ways. Having the ability to have tasks in different notes as well as a overall default task note is great.

What are you looking for? I think of the of the biggest pluses for Tasks is that they are such adaptable/customizable to individual workflows. You really need to just start using them and see how they fit into your EN usage.

Are there things missing that folks would like? Sure. But I think the biggest thing is to not look at EN as a full fledged task manager replacement at this time, maybe in the future.

[agsteele 2,957]

Yes, I'm using Tasks. Works well for single items. I like the fact taht I can add a task(s) to a note and so linked to the note topic etc but also have them in a general ToDo note when there is nothing set up for the particular task.

I am looking forward to arrival of recurring tasks which are promised.

[JDCis 19]

Yes I am also using the task feature daily and really like it. I struggled with it at first but as @bucketheadsaid, once I figured out my work flow, it has now basically replaced my previous to-do app. 
 

One usage I have is related to the in-note tasks. For example, I have several different writing projects. I have a table of contents note for each project where I keep links to all the notes that are relevant and info about the project timeline, etc. I have been creating my weekly writing/research tasks within this TOC note, and it has helped me to integrate my tasks with the materials I use to complete them. 
 

Another useful feature has been the google calendar integration and the ability to create a note associated with a calendar event. I have been using this more before meetings to organize notes for the meetings and again to create my to-do list associated with meeting prep.

I also use the generic Task Note for one-off things. Enabling notifications on my Mac and iOS devices has helped a lot because I get reminders or due dates. 
 

The biggest things that will improve my workflow are 

1. Recurring tasks 

2. Task integration into Google Calendar (to get a broader view of tasks and a more persistent reminder)

I believe both of these things have been discussed or promised. 
 

Hope it helps to see how I use the tasks. 

[Neil Maxfield 155]

Yep. Perfectly in line with what I need from the product. Tasks are an excellent addition, and we will be even more so once they can reoccur. Good stuff 

[RJLUK 307]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:48 PM, buckethead said:

What are you looking for?

1. Ideally a full page task screen
2. A calendar view making ...it easy to move tasks from date to date.
3. Reminders in tasks being treated AS EN reminders ( they are not the same)

I think the tasks utility is BETA as EN have implied but it IS brilliant and I have done away with todo apps.

Using cronofy to link EN to a Google calendar then display the calendar within EN gives a sort of calendar view to use with tasks but is a work around not a solution

[buckethead 219]

5 hours ago, RobertJLee said:

A calendar view making ...it easy to move tasks from date to date.

I think I recall seeing that they are working on getting tasks to be seen on Google Calendar. Not sure if it is view only, or interactive. 
 

5 hours ago, RobertJLee said:

Ideally a full page task screen

This would be nice I agree. Though I like that Tasks is NOT a full fledged task manager. Personally I do not need or want all the bells and whistles that Things/Todoist/etc… provide. 
 

But again I know that everyone uses wants to tasks differently. As I said before, I think that is one of the biggest strengths of Tasks now - many different ways it can be used. 

[agsteele 2,957]

There hasn't been any suggestion that Evernote tasks will connect to Google calendar. Sorry. 

It has been requested a few times but no suggestion that it is a planned feature.

[buckethead 219]

14 minutes ago, agsteele said:

There hasn't been any suggestion that Evernote tasks will connect to Google calendar. Sorry. 

It has been requested a few times but no suggestion that it is a planned feature.

See the topic below. While it doesn't say 100% sure that it is coming. It mentions they are planning out how they will build the feature. Leads me to assume that we will see it in the future at some point.

 

[RJLUK 307]

4 hours ago, buckethead said:

 

9 hours ago, RobertJLee said:

Ideally a full page task screen

This would be nice I agree.

Something other than a single narrow column would make it so much easier to use or ability to drag and modify width of view column 

[RJLUK 307]

20 hours ago, RobertJLee said:

Something other than a single narrow column would make it so much easier to use or ability to drag and modify width of view column 

You learn all the time with EN. I have a sort of solution to above. I have inserted the tasks widget in home page on MAC full width. I then use a keyboard shortcut to go to home screen.Gives full screen view of list of tasks.

Incidentally done the same for Calendar with full width widget- for each project/meeting I have a note with a reminder. The reminder is "sent" to google calendar using evernote.cronofy which results in it displaying in calendar widget. I can then see calendar and tasks on same EN screen.

[Sylvio 25]

I may be one of the few that don't really utilize Tasks.

As I understand it: Tasks live inside of notes.

Notes already have the ability to insert checkboxes.

What does the Tasks module do that chekboxes in notes cannot do?

That being said: I like this thread and hope to gain some insight on different possibilities.

What I currently do is organize my tasks in a Calendar table and fill it in daily.

[buckethead 219]

9 minutes ago, Sylvio said:

What does the Tasks module do that chekboxes in notes cannot do?

Quite a few things. But a few things are:

• Due dates and reminders per task
• task pane view to easily see all tasks no matter which note they are in
• home widget

 

[Mishkafofer 27]

Task are now a big part of my workflow.

Task are not perfect but the big thing about them is that we have central task view. I am sure that there are users that can find checkboxes with search but I prefer central tsk view.

I don't really write long description in tasks, so I supplement it with tables where I can find more detailed description of work and events.

[idlewilder 13]

I've also switched from a dedicated to do manager to using Evernote tasks exclusively. It's far from perfect right now, but has great potential. Embedding multiple to dos in a single note allows me to have both a master list of tasks, as well as project-specific lists organised within notes. 

Would be great to be able to use tags in filtering tasks (filter active tasks within notes that are tagged for example, not necessarily embedding tags directly into tasks, although that would be perfect). Better ways to visualise the list would also be helpful - including a full screen option as mentioned above. 

There are still some bugs, for example in IOS you cannot navigate to the note from the task, when viewing tasks by 'My tasks' or 'Due date' which is an unhelpful omission. And of course recurring tasks - which are promised soon - would be very helpful, as well as an IOS task widget.

[ghon 78]

42 minutes ago, idlewilder said:

in IOS you cannot navigate to the note from the task, when viewing tasks by 'My tasks' or 'Due date' which is an unhelpful omission.

I think you can:

Click on the three dots, then "Note" and then "Goto note".

It requires too many clicks in my view but it is possible.

 

[idlewilder 13]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:18 AM, ghon said:

I think you can:

Click on the three dots, then "Note" and then "Goto note".

It requires too many clicks in my view but it is possible.

 

Thank you, that is really helpful! I didn't know this. It does seem odd that clicking on the note link directly only offers the option to select a (new) note for the task, not to open the note itself (which would be the expected action). Too many clicks, but at least it is possible to access the note from the task!

[Boot17 1,473]

9 hours ago, idlewilder said:

It does seem odd that clicking on the note link directly only offers the option to select a (new) note for the task, not to open the note itself (which would be the expected action)

I've thought this too. Maybe it's just my own use, because in my case I've 100% of the time wanted to go to the note that held the task and never wanted to change the note to which it was attached.

[mjrose509 0]

I would like to be able to send emails directly to my task list. I can email them to a notebook but can't figure out how to get them directly into task list. Anyone have success with this?

 

[buckethead 219]

11 hours ago, mjrose509 said:

I would like to be able to send emails directly to my task list. I can email them to a notebook but can't figure out how to get them directly into task list. Anyone have success with this?

 

You cannot do this at this time. No idea if it will be possible in the future or not.

[PinkElephant 8,194]

The best thing you can currently do is to write a „#task“ at the end of the mails title text. This will create a „task“ tag at the new note. You can then filter notes for this tag, and convert them into tasks.

Currently this is AFAIK the closest it gets.

[metroside 18]

Tasks are definitely useful and I use them daily. My improvement request are;

* Allow the use of tasks in tables

* Allow the use of EN note links in Tasks. It is weird that normal links work but not EN note links.

* Reoccurring Tasks would be useful, but so would reoccurring reminders for notes in general. 

I really hope these items are included in the apps development roadmap.

[PinkElephant 8,194]

No idea if any of this will show - the forum is user2user. The recurring reminders for tasks have been mentioned by EN staff as one item under development, but at the same time it was noted to be technically no easy pick.

You could issue a support ticket, but from experience EN does not comment on future developments.

[Dave Finnie 2]

Does anyone else feel like not being able to tag tasks (and filter/sort tasks by tags) is a real shortcoming?  

I rely heavily on EN for note-taking in meetings, many of which now include tasks - I love that.  Each of those meeting notes are tagged with context, usually involving the department or project that the notes focus on.  When I'm reviewing my task list later, I end up with a looooooong list of tasks that are unsorted and unfiltered - and I want to be able to filter or sort by project so that I can zoom in on a particular topic.

Anyone have a workflow that addresses this?

 

[RJLUK 307]

1. I use tags
2. then filter =filter is VERY powerful and underused IMHO
3. and save the search
4. and add to shortcuts.

 

 

 

[Pete_I 3]

Just chiming into this thread, I love EN and having Tasks is awesome, but it lacks a couple of basic things I hope are coming at some point:

1) The ability to attach more information to the task - right now I can write up the task name, but I often need to attach a few bullet pounts to remind me of the things I need to to or think about for that task

2) Recurrence - I know that's often asked for and I'm sure I read somewhere it was due in Q1 of this year but alas, nowhere to be seen. To have the ability to use EN to track and remind me of repeating activities would make EN my absolute go-to for all my time management and organisation

[agsteele 2,957]

Recurring tasks is definitely on its way. I'd anticipate something within a month. (My estimate - nothing official).

The requirement to add more narrative with a task is requested by others but, for now, the only option is to use dedicated notes.

[idoc 400]

On 3/9/2022 at 12:49 PM, JDCis said:

I also use the generic Task Note for one-off things. Enabling notifications on my Mac and iOS devices has helped a lot because I get reminders or due dates. 
 

 

Could you let me know how you set up your iphone notifications for helping with EN tasks.  For example, can I actually have my phone ring or have a very loud and obvious ringtone when a task comes due?  This is what I would need to use it for reminders.  A little chirp or isolated tone would not cut it for me.

[Dave Finnie 2]

Circling back to @RobertJLee's response.

If I understand your feedback, you're sorting the notes and then savings those notes?  I hadn't thought of that approach as such - looks a bit like the old TheSecretWeapon system in EN.  How does it interact with the Tasks feature, though?  Do you end up with some good saved filters, but still have to dig through each note for the task?  What do you do if you have different types of tasks in the same note?

Or do you mean something else altogether?

[RJLUK 307]

7 hours ago, Dave Finnie said:

Circling back to @RobertJLee's response.

If I understand your feedback, you're sorting the notes and then savings those notes?  = I use a few folders but mainly tags

I hadn't thought of that approach as such - looks a bit like the old TheSecretWeapon system in EN.  - just works for me

How does it interact with the Tasks feature, though?  Do you end up with some good saved filters, but still have to dig through each note for the task? 

 

= I have a lot of saved filters0 also have all tasks in one place in the note. Use a specifi to track specific files or search strings

 

c What do you do if you have different types of tasks in the same note? have a tag assigned to note related to how you want to filter.

 

7 hours ago, Dave Finnie said:

Or do you mean something else altogether?

 

[KreativeKoder 0]

I have been using tasks and replaced my stand alone todo list with tasks in EN.  I have been struggling though.  The features that would make it better for me are (sorry to repeat from above):

1) Ability to drag (sort) the tasks in a list (for example in each due date).

2) Ability to prioritize tasks. (1,2,3 | A,BC | High, Medium, Low).

3) Ability to have the task description be an internal link.

4) Full screen tasks instead (or addition to) fly out.

[Dave Finnie 2]

Agreed to all of those!  I think we both want to full-service task manager built into EN.  I hope that’s in the cards!

[scojjac 61]

I love Evernote Tasks; for what I do, I don't miss recurring tasks. If I get an agenda or schedule with tasks I need to complete, I create a note with the document attached and a task for each item along with the due date. I use "Flagged" as a "Today" sort of thing; an item only gets flagged during review on the day I intend to do it. A full-fledged task manager is typically overkill for me; but if I needed one and was all in on Apple I would use Things 3.

There is ONE THING that absolutely drives me bonkers, though: the date picker on mobile. It should be a calendar like on desktop NOT the scroll wheels. That would let me see the day of the week which often matters more than the date, for me. Because they already have this built into the desktop app and it's a standard UI element on iOS, I'm hoping this will be adjusted. I've already submitted feedback on it.

@idoc Unfortunately on iPhone you can't change the sound that Evernote uses. The next best thing would be to change the banner style to "persistent" so it stays on screen until you acknowledge it. (iPhone Settings > Notifications > Evernote)

[Boot17 1,473]

1 hour ago, scojjac said:

I love Evernote Tasks; for what I do, I don't miss recurring tasks

I appreciated your whole comment, but this is one particular point that I wanted to address and say that this is me too.

I know there is a beta going on right now (that I'm not part of) with recurring tasks and it will be interesting to see how recurring tasks are implemented. In the Mac Things app, it seems that they just clutter up the history of completed tasks. I'd rather not see my history of other completed tasks get cluttered up with a history of a daily or weekly recurring task. So it remains to be seen if I will even use the repeating task functionality once it's available.

For now, for those tasks that do need to re-occur, I like to put in "[REPEAT XXX]" at the end of the task like this:

With Evernote tasks, it's easy enough to keep bumping out the due date once it's complete. I will sometimes also open the note and add a comment in a table of completion that I have with some description of the activity that was completed (where the description can be different every time).

You can also view all the 'REPEAT' tasks easily like this:

Also, I'm pretty flexible with most of my repeat tasks (as you can see where I'm overdue by a bit on some of them) -- I like the flexibility of doing it this way.

[buckethead 219]

18 hours ago, scojjac said:

There is ONE THING that absolutely drives me bonkers, though: the date picker on mobile. It should be a calendar like on desktop NOT the scroll wheels. That would let me see the day of the week which often matters more than the date, for me. Because they already have this built into the desktop app and it's a standard UI element on iOS, I'm hoping this will be adjusted. I've already submitted feedback on it.

I have submitted feedback multiple times and ways on the iOS date selector. It is very bad - I could live with the scroll wheels IF there was at least day of the week like there is for note reminders - its odd they are not consistent.

 

17 hours ago, Boot17 said:

With Evernote tasks, it's easy enough to keep bumping out the due date once it's complete. I will sometimes also open the note and add a comment in a table of completion that I have with some description of the activity that was completed (where the description can be different every time).

That is exactly what I have been doing for some repeating tasks. Has worked well.

[scojjac 61]

On 5/26/2022 at 5:05 PM, Boot17 said:

With Evernote tasks, it's easy enough to keep bumping out the due date once it's complete. I will sometimes also open the note and add a comment in a table of completion that I have with some description of the activity that was completed (where the description can be different every time).

I really like your implementation - the "repeat xx" is a reminder for you when resetting the due date and you can keep that task in a note that lets you keep history and context. That is some great flexibility and actually makes your repeats more powerful than they are in many dedicated apps. Thanks for including screenshots.

[scojjac 61]

On 5/27/2022 at 11:05 AM, buckethead said:

I have submitted feedback multiple times and ways on the iOS date selector.

Thanks for fighting the good fight with me! haha And yeah, I could live with the scroll wheels if they included the day, BUT I think the calendar is a much better UI.

[idlewilder 13]

On 5/31/2022 at 2:46 AM, scojjac said:

Thanks for fighting the good fight with me! haha And yeah, I could live with the scroll wheels if they included the day, BUT I think the calendar is a much better UI.

Yes, adding the days to the iOS selector would be great. I thought it was just me who could never remember today's date - I find I almost always have to check with a proper calendar before setting a task deadline a few days in advance on mobile. I love the 'today / tomorrow / next Monday / in a week' implementation on desktop.

[idlewilder 13]

Tagging tasks is something that's been discussed / requested in this thread.

I am still juggling between two work-arounds. Either adding a tag at the end of the task title, e.g. @waitingfor , or just tagging the note itself. 

Tagging the task title would be more useful if you could save task searches then it would be possible to quickly switch between 'tags'. 

Tagging the note lets me make filtered notes lists (filtering by contains active task and the tag), but then I just get a notes list, not a task list. And of course if you have multiple tasks in a single note, then tagging the note doesn't allow you to distinguish between those tasks. 

Other suggestions welcome!

[Jackberg 4]

Is it possible to have "Task done" greyed out and sent to the bottom of the list in note view?

I find the task view a bit "overwhelming" when having a lot of notes with many tasks ...

[agsteele 2,957]

Completed tasks should be greyed out automatically when marked as done. There is, however, no automatic sorting. You can drag tasks in a list by pointing at the task with your mouse, moving over the four dots icon that appears at the left of the task. Whn a hand appears you can 'grab' that task and drag it into the completed notes at the bottom of the list.

The automatic sorting idea has been proposed by others. You can add you thoughts to Evernote via the Feedback option in the applications or by submitting a support ticket.

[ellisbooker 5]

On 3/9/2022 at 7:48 AM, buckethead said:

I have been using Tasks for awhile now. At this point Tasks are big part of my daily workflow and I use them quite a few different ways. Having the ability to have tasks in different notes as well as a overall default task note is great.

What are you looking for? I think of the of the biggest pluses for Tasks is that they are such adaptable/customizable to individual workflows. You really need to just start using them and see how they fit into your EN usage.

Are there things missing that folks would like? Sure. But I think the biggest thing is to not look at EN as a full fledged task manager replacement at this time, maybe in the future.

Here's something I've been trying to sort out: Somehow marking a Task as "waiting." Let me explain the workflow I've used for EN notes for years.

Create a note about a phone call I just made. Tag is "!Waiting." This way, I can see all the waiting tasks by simply using a shortcut. (Nowadays, I can also place a filtered note on the EN home dashboard.) 

Enter the new Tasks functionality, which I generally like. But what's missing, for me, is the ability to do X, such as "Call Bob," and then quickly making it go away from the view, but still marked as "Waiting" so I can see all of these items in one view. 

I've tried moving these Tasks to a notebook called Waiting, but they'll still show up in the Tasks view, unless I also change the date (say, marking it for a week later). But even then, unless I change the text of the original task, I have to remember that this Task isn't new but is actually "waiting." 

Any suggestions? 

[bmcl26 502]

Must admit Tasks have revolutionised my workflow in a very positive way on he Home screen now I can see at a glance my Calendar & things to do for the day.

[ellisbooker 5]

1 hour ago, ellisbooker said:

Here's something I've been trying to sort out: Somehow marking a Task as "waiting." Let me explain the workflow I've used for EN notes for years.

Create a note about a phone call I just made. Tag is "!Waiting." This way, I can see all the waiting tasks by simply using a shortcut. (Nowadays, I can also place a filtered note on the EN home dashboard.) 

Enter the new Tasks functionality, which I generally like. But what's missing, for me, is the ability to do X, such as "Call Bob," and then quickly making it go away from the view, but still marked as "Waiting" so I can see all of these items in one view. 

I've tried moving these Tasks to a notebook called Waiting, but they'll still show up in the Tasks view, unless I also change the date (say, marking it for a week later). But even then, unless I change the text of the original task, I have to remember that this Task isn't new but is actually "waiting." 

Any suggestions? 

An update to my original post. A fast workaround might be to Flag the task, which I will interpret as "Task completed, now waiting." 

[idoc 400]

2 hours ago, ellisbooker said:

Here's something I've been trying to sort out: Somehow marking a Task as "waiting." Let me explain the workflow I've used for EN notes for years.

Create a note about a phone call I just made. Tag is "!Waiting." This way, I can see all the waiting tasks by simply using a shortcut. (Nowadays, I can also place a filtered note on the EN home dashboard.) 

Enter the new Tasks functionality, which I generally like. But what's missing, for me, is the ability to do X, such as "Call Bob," and then quickly making it go away from the view, but still marked as "Waiting" so I can see all of these items in one view. 

I've tried moving these Tasks to a notebook called Waiting, but they'll still show up in the Tasks view, unless I also change the date (say, marking it for a week later). But even then, unless I change the text of the original task, I have to remember that this Task isn't new but is actually "waiting." 

Any suggestions? 

If I'm understanding you correctly... You have some tasks that you don't want to see every day in your task list because they are waiting for some future execution date eg: cancel netflix subscription in 7 months.  You find it distracting to see these things in your task list?  Perhaps setting it as a reminder instead?  Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're asking?

[ellisbooker 5]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:51 PM, idoc said:

If I'm understanding you correctly... You have some tasks that you don't want to see every day in your task list because they are waiting for some future execution date eg: cancel netflix subscription in 7 months.  You find it distracting to see these things in your task list?  Perhaps setting it as a reminder instead?  Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're asking?

The way I use Waiting is specific. It means, "waiting for someone or something to complete the next-action." In the Netflix example, for instance, suppose I cancel my subscription on Monday and am now waiting to see  that Netflix actually canceled it. I'm "waiting" for Netflix to act. A waiting tag would work, but there's currently no way to tag EN tasks.

[M31415926 21]

The desired behaviour is that the tasks in the future without due days may only show up periodically. Say they are mostly hidden and only show up once a week. 

 

Mike

[u352 6]

Ive started to use tasks and find them very useful but I can't figure out how to link back to the note where the task was created-am I missing something?

 

[idoc 400]

You will see 3 little dots on the side of the note. This is a drop down menu in which you can choose to go to the note. 

[PinkElephant 8,194]

Tasks are always placed inside of a note.

It is either the note in which it was created, or in that "general" note used to collect tasks without a specific parent note.

So when creating a task, make sure it stays located in the parent note.

[idoc 400]

I think he is referring to something else. For example, let’s say I have a note related to some topic. In this note I put a task. However, when I go to my list of tasks I do not immediately see which note it is associated with.  In fact, if I select that task I see the name of the associated note but I can’t go directly to that note.  To go to the note you need to go to the drop down menu and select “go to note”. 

[u352 6]

Under My Tasks-there is no way to go to the note- I do see the dots but its under the notes list under tasks-but under either section no way to go to the full note. Im using a Mac-let me see if its different on the browser..... nope -its the same. Seems like that is a miss and easy to fix

 

[ghon 78]

See my previous post on how to go to the note (or did I misunderstand you?):

On 3/14/2022 at 2:18 AM, ghon said:

I think you can:

Click on the three dots, then "Note" and then "Goto note".

It requires too many clicks in my view but it is possible.

 

 

[buckethead 219]

1 minute ago, ghon said:

See my previous post on how to go to the note (or did I misunderstand you?):

 

It’s three steps/touches. 
 

 

[agsteele 2,957]

4 hours ago, u352 said:

Ive started to use tasks and find them very useful but I can't figure out how to link back to the note where the task was created-am I missing something?

 

Another option, tap the Notes tab in the task view. Then tap the name of the note.

[ellisbooker 5]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:22 AM, KreativeKoder said:

I have been using tasks and replaced my stand alone todo list with tasks in EN.  I have been struggling though.  The features that would make it better for me are (sorry to repeat from above):

1) Ability to drag (sort) the tasks in a list (for example in each due date).

2) Ability to prioritize tasks. (1,2,3 | A,BC | High, Medium, Low).

3) Ability to have the task description be an internal link.

4) Full screen tasks instead (or addition to) fly out.

Yes!

I would love to be able to drag a task from Overdue, Today, Next 7 Days straight from the sidebar. This would be a huge time-saver! And, as others have mentioned, tags for Tasks would be terrific. 

 

 

[RJLUK 307]

Tasks Issues

After trying my hardest with tasks it seems at present time not fit for my purposes.

Issues ( any feedback appreciated)

1. Tasks on Mac and IOS seem to not automatically update. IOS shows say 3 outstanding tasks when I KNOW I have only 1. Takes ages to refresh- both devices in same wifi network- This is a major show stopper for me.

2. Tasks on IOS seems to utilise UK time - despite me being in Tiawan- other applications give choice of using local time or UK time. Is there something within IOS setting or Evernote that needs adjusting?

I would like to utilise EN as a task manager ( my needs are not complex and I have reverted to Apple reminders until issues are resolved ) but at moment it seems almost there but not quite.

Any advice /assistance greatly appreciated.

[idoc 400]

I have not encountered these issues.  I am assuming that the Taiwan-UK time issue must be something to do with your ios?  I have been using EN for 12 years and have never noticed a similar issue.  I use both EN tasks and apple reminders in different ways.  If I need to remember a dinner appt with a friend I may just set a quick reminder.  If I'm dealing with something that already has an Evernote note eg: a project or something that has some kind of documentation or file etc  I will set the Task within that note.   Here are two examples and I too would be interested to hear what people thing: I have to renew my Global Entry pass for travel within the next 6 weeks.  I have a note that has all the documentation for this.  So the task to renew this pass is placed right into that note with a date set in 5 weeks to jog my memory that this has to be done within a week.  When I see the task I can easily retrieve the documentation associated with it.   On the other hand, an issue such as "Ask wife to set up a dinner date with Tom and Amanda" will probably go on Apple Reminders.  Likewise, "Remember to take car to mechanic" is also an Apple Reminder with a notifications the previous night.  If something is particularly important I will supplement my reminders with a Google Calendar event as well.  I don't think that there's any absolute way of doing any of this and I'm still working it all out.

[agsteele 2,957]

I think that the sync issues are not unique to tasks. The mobile sync can be slow. I suspect that these are sometimes due to network challenges. The mobile applications seem to sync most reliably when the mobile app is in the foreground.

The time question is not something that has been reported by others. Evernote picks is time zone from the device. If your account is stuck on UK time that would be very unusual.

There is a reminders time zone setting in your Evernote account profile. Perhaps that is on UK time for you.

https://www.evernote.com/ReminderSettings.action

[RJLUK 307]

42 minutes ago, agsteele said:

There is a reminders time zone setting in your Evernote account profile. Perhaps that is on UK time for you.

https://www.evernote.com/ReminderSettings.action

Thanks for that yes it was - doesn't realy solve problem. My Mac and iPhone both switch to local times as I travel however En Time zone has to be manually set.

 

[agsteele 2,957]

I'm not really sure what the interaction is between the time zone in Evernote settings and device reminders.

I would raise a ticket for the issue. Like you I don't think it would dawn upon me to set a time zone manually. I'd assume that my reminders would follow my device.  That said I've had other phone apps that have done odd things with time zones. I recall one reminder application that remembered the time zone I was in when I set the reminder. Not a problem until I was out of the country. I seem to remember that they fixed the issue but it took several months.

It might well be that the Evernote devs have long forgotten that there is a time zone setting that needs to be manually selected.  But I suppose, too, that there are situations when I might travel with, say, my phone into one zone while leaving my computer running at home in another zone. Which time zone does Evernote select in that situation?

[gazumped 11,711]

The setting on the page explicitly says that it is for reminders - which is reasonable...  if you flagged a meeting at 6pm in the UK,  but you happen to be in Canada,  you really don't need a local time reminder.  That function is not really portable...

[shaunB 8]

On 8/15/2022 at 4:00 AM, idoc said:

I have not encountered these issues.  I am assuming that the Taiwan-UK time issue must be something to do with your ios?  I have been using EN for 12 years and have never noticed a similar issue.  I use both EN tasks and apple reminders in different ways.  If I need to remember a dinner appt with a friend I may just set a quick reminder.  If I'm dealing with something that already has an Evernote note eg: a project or something that has some kind of documentation or file etc  I will set the Task within that note.   Here are two examples and I too would be interested to hear what people thing: I have to renew my Global Entry pass for travel within the next 6 weeks.  I have a note that has all the documentation for this.  So the task to renew this pass is placed right into that note with a date set in 5 weeks to jog my memory that this has to be done within a week.  When I see the task I can easily retrieve the documentation associated with it.   On the other hand, an issue such as "Ask wife to set up a dinner date with Tom and Amanda" will probably go on Apple Reminders.  Likewise, "Remember to take car to mechanic" is also an Apple Reminder with a notifications the previous night.  If something is particularly important I will supplement my reminders with a Google Calendar event as well.  I don't think that there's any absolute way of doing any of this and I'm still working it all out.

I use Tasks in a similar way. Single simple reminders go in my task manager (Things 3), projects go in Evernote as they usually have associated information in my notes. I have widgets on my ios devices home screen side by side so I get an overview. Overall progress on Tasks is really good but would really like to see a badge for tasks on the Evernote icon, similar to a reminder. Might then be able to bin my task manager. 

[RJLUK 307]

On 8/15/2022 at 5:47 PM, agsteele said:

But I suppose, too, that there are situations when I might travel with, say, my phone into one zone while leaving my computer running at home in another zone. Which time zone does Evernote select in that situation?

Very good point maybe the option to switch to local time zone when first opened up?

[RJLUK 307]

5 hours ago, shaunB said:

Overall progress on Tasks is really good but would really like to see a badge for tasks on the Evernote icon, similar to a reminder. Might then be able to bin my task manager. 

Agree - there is also an anomaly with a TASK reminder. They seem to be treated differently to the "Normal" reminders. You can test this using remember Themilk ( free version) 

If you set up a reminder it shows in RTM with a link to the Evernote Note

If you Set up a TASK and add a reminder TO the task it does not show up.

I have a lot of faith in the new evernote and suspect there are a lot of new features planned maybe automated tagging? I would like to simply use evernote as a reminder / task app but as things stand at moment it is not fit for purpose. I am using an external reminders app while I wait to see if EN actually fix/stabilse this function.

[bmcl26 502]

On 3/9/2022 at 3:05 PM, RobertJLee said:

I thought it would be useful to start a thread relating to the new Tasks function in EN.

Has anyone taken it up and ran with it.

I really see a use for it  despite the tasks only being visible in a narrow strip on MAC on the iPad they are  much better.

Is anyone using it daily and figuring  out a means of USING it?- very little on line , almost nothing on Youtube/reddit etc

Please share.

Been a (paying) user of EN since 2011 and always served me well but, my usage made a quantum leap with the introduction of Home, Calendar Sync and Tasks.  These three form the basis for my workflow and all three are heavily used daily. 

[agsteele 2,957]

The Evernote API has not been updated to include many of the new features including tasks. Until it is services like IFTTT, Zapier, Remember the Milk and so forth cannot connect with Tasks in Evernote. I'm confident that the API will eventually be updated but it seems likely to be a while.

[bmcl26 502]

On 3/25/2022 at 1:40 PM, metroside said:

Tasks are definitely useful and I use them daily. My improvement request are;

* Allow the use of tasks in tables

* Allow the use of EN note links in Tasks. It is weird that normal links work but not EN note links.

* Reoccurring Tasks would be useful, but so would reoccurring reminders for notes in general. 

I really hope these items are included in the apps development roadmap.

I use EN Note links in tasks works fine.

 

[drpievann 0]

I used to have my own task system based on GTD inside Evernote which included using tags with dates in them to manage due dates (and ‘Waiting For’ tasks).  I really like the new Tasks functionality but I still pretty much use a 1-1 correspondence between tasks and notes.  I would like a quicker shortcut in IOS to go to the note that contains the task from the Home Screen.  At present, on the Mac version, if you click on a task to get the task details sub-window, hovering over the note name shows ‘Go to note’ and clicking on it takes you there.  In IOS, clicking on a task brings up the sub-window (more like a banner) at the bottom of the screen, but clicking on the note name brings up a dialog to move the note with no option to go to the note - and the purple arrow at the right (which you might think would take you to the note) takes you back to the Home Screen.  You have to click on the three little dots to bring up the task sub-window like on the Mac, click on the note name, and then still make a further selection  for the ‘go to note’ option.  This seems unnecessarily complicated and I would far prefer the functionality in IOS to match that in the Mac desktop client.

[newolduser2 2]

OK - this is kind of a dumb annoyance.   If you set the due date for a task, even if you complete the task, the "Due X days ago" will show up forever, with X getting bigger and bigger as the task gets further in the past.  Even though you completed the task.

So, the due date of the task and completion of the task are not connected in anyway.   Completed tasks with dates will all end up being overdue at least they will say as much.

Does it matter?   I don't think so, but it seems like a sloppy implementation.   Surely the due date field should be cleared once the task is completed.

[gazumped 11,711]

33 minutes ago, newolduser2 said:

Surely the due date field should be cleared once the task is completed.

Hi.  Best way to find out what's in the developers' minds on this (if anything) is to ask them...  we're mainly users here, and while the devs will be reading posts sooner or later,  it's a lot more efficient to provide feedback in the apps or (if you're a subscriber and want an answer) raise a support ticket.

[agsteele 2,957]

16 hours ago, newolduser2 said:

So, the due date of the task and completion of the task are not connected in anyway.   Completed tasks with dates will all end up being overdue at least they will say as much.

I checked my task lists...

In the task menu pop-out completed tasks don't display a date...

 

It is only in the actual note containing the task that the original due date is on display. I don't think that it is a significant issue. In fact I think I find it more helpful than unhelpful to know when a task was originally due

 

 

[RJLUK 307]

After trying evernote tasks as my task manager for a few months I have stopped using the function as I believe it has not yet fully matured and I can not easily and quickly move tasks around using a calendar based interface.

My current set up on MAC is as follows:

1. Download FREE version of Fantastical- create an account so that data is shared across devices.No need to pay.

2. Enable Apple reminders within Fantastical

3. For each task create a Reminder in reminders app and insert a Evernote link to a note in the NOTES field. This allows me to click within a reminder and go to the relevant note within Evernote.

4. I can then drag tasks around a calendar within Fantastical and change the relevant date. Doing so also changes the date within the reminder.

The nature of the work am involved in consists of sales enquiries /offers/acceptance agreements etc all of theses go into the Note. As a project progress I need a quick and easy way to drag reminders ( tasks) around constantly.

The above system is an easy way of achieving this on Apple devices. Can't comment regarding PCs etc.

It is how I would have liked Evernote tasks to work but at present it is not available  -  hence the above "fix".

Happy to hear of alternative approaches using ONLY evernote if they exist.

 

[PinkElephant 8,194]

The main incentive of using EN tasks is to make notes actionable. To primarily replace task managers is not the main focus.

For some this approach works better, others experience what you describe - thanks for share the experience.

Personally I currently stick with Things 3 as my personal task manager. However it does not allow to share tasks with others - here EN has the advantage.

[bmcl26 502]

2 hours ago, RobertJLee said:

After trying evernote tasks as my task manager for a few months I have stopped using the function as I believe it has not yet fully matured and I can not easily and quickly move tasks around using a calendar based interface.

My current set up on MAC is as follows:

1. Download FREE version of Fantastical- create an account so that data is shared across devices.No need to pay.

2. Enable Apple reminders within Fantastical

3. For each task create a Reminder in reminders app and insert a Evernote link to a note in the NOTES field. This allows me to click within a reminder and go to the relevant note within Evernote.

4. I can then drag tasks around a calendar within Fantastical and change the relevant date. Doing so also changes the date within the reminder.

The nature of the work am involved in consists of sales enquiries /offers/acceptance agreements etc all of theses go into the Note. As a project progress I need a quick and easy way to drag reminders ( tasks) around constantly.

The above system is an easy way of achieving this on Apple devices. Can't comment regarding PCs etc.

It is how I would have liked Evernote tasks to work but at present it is not available  -  hence the above "fix".

Happy to hear of alternative approaches using ONLY evernote if they exist.

 

Whatever works for you is the important thing.  Pesonally I am happy with Tasks as it is.

 

[agsteele 2,957]

@RobertJLee Thanks for your thoughts. As others have said do what works best for you. If you need a calendar based approach then Evernote is definitely not the way for you and is unlikely to become so in the near future. I am increasingly finding the context led approach of Evernote tasks to be a real asset - more than my old linear time management approach. But that'sd not for everyone.

Thanks for sharing.

[RJLUK 307]

On 9/15/2022 at 7:31 PM, PinkElephant said:

Things 3

@PinkElephant May I ask why Things 3 vs Apple reminders? Just curious.

[PinkElephant 8,194]

Just like the UI and the very simple use - under the hood are deep, rich functions. The design of the app is really good, very innovative and lean.

Apple Reminders has improved in the last years, but is still no match. Things is not cheap, they have an optimized client for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and you pay to buy each one. But it is a one time purchase, no further cost. Synchronization is very solid, the widgets are useful.