At 16:00 on Wednesday, a client calls Ola to ask about a quote for Nord. Ola is managing 8 tasks across three Workspaces, but she only kept the deadline for this quote - Tuesday - in her head. Now she enters a date in the task, so colours, filters and reminders can help her stay on top of the next deadline.
How to keep track of team task deadlines? Start by entering a date
First, enter a deadline in the task field. Then you can use four layers in Task Manager to review your work: the deadline colour, filter tiles, an AI Assistant reminder linked to the deadline and the morning briefing. A date mentioned in a conversation is no substitute for the deadline field, even if everyone heard it.
In a task, you enter a title, description, assignees and deadline - with or without a time. On Monday, Marek agrees with Ola that the mock-ups will be ready on Thursday. If they only mention Thursday in a message, they'll have to remember where to look for it; if they set it as the task deadline, it will appear on the task card and in task views.
While you're at it, assign someone to do the task. An alert won't decide who's responsible for the quote; if your team often lacks an owner, start with the rules for assigning tasks across the team.
What if the client moves the mock-up review to the following Monday? Marek changes the deadline, and a system message with the previous value remains in the thread. Ola can see the change without having to recall what they agreed. The thread keeps a record of the deadline that was entered before.
Colour shows which task needs attention
The deadline colour lets you recognise a task's status without opening its thread. The same rule applies in the list, Board and Calendar, so changing views doesn't change what the colours mean.
| Colour | What it means |
|---|---|
| Red | The task is overdue |
| Blue | The deadline is today |
| Green | The task is on time |
| Grey | The task has no deadline or is closed |
You'll also see a circle next to the task card showing the number of days until the deadline. On Tuesday, Ola can tell the quote due today apart from the mock-ups planned for Monday. She doesn't need to open either task to decide what to do first.
Grey needs a moment's attention: it doesn't only mean there's no date, as it also appears on closed tasks. If a task is still waiting to be done and has no deadline, add one. Without a date, you can't link a reminder to it that will move with the deadline.
The Due today and Overdue tiles make your morning review quicker
Tiles above the task list show counts and filter the list at the same time. Click Overdue to see outstanding tasks, or Due today to separate today's work from everything else.
Ola can start Wednesday with the Overdue tile and return to Due today before she leaves. She'll see the outstanding quote for Nord instead of discovering it during a call from the client. She calls the client and agrees a new delivery date for the quote.
There are also Due date and Chat tiles above the list. If you still see too many items after clicking one, narrow them down by status, priority or deadline, or sort them by deadline. These filters and sorting options are shared across the list, Board and Calendar.
Task Manager Calendar offers a different perspective: it shows tasks, events, reminders and team absences in one view. You can choose a range of 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days, or switch to the List panel. If Marek moves the mock-ups by dragging them, their deadline changes; Esc cancels the action without saving, while Ctrl+Z lets him undo the change. The absence bar at the top helps him check that the new date doesn't fall during the leave of the person he's working with.
The Notification Centre reminds you even when you don't open the list
When you’re using the app, the Notification Centre can remind you about a task even if you haven’t opened the list. If the app is completely closed, reminders can be sent by email; background sending requires CRON.
The Notification Centre displays a card one hour before a task is due and 15 minutes before a calendar event. The first time you open the app after 6:00, it may also show a morning briefing - a card with your plan for the day.
The Notification Centre Island at the edge of the app brings together notifications about tasks, conversations, mentions and events, among other things. If Ola moves the due date for the offer for Nord to next Wednesday at 15:00 after a Tuesday when she fell behind, a card will remind her an hour beforehand; clicking it opens the task. For an event, you’ll also see a countdown and, when it starts, a card saying “Now: ...”.
A task without a time still triggers a reminder. A task with only a date displays a card at 16:00 labelled “today · no time”. This is separate from AI Assistant reminders: for its calculations, the AI Assistant treats a due date without a time as 9:00.
The morning briefing isn’t an alarm set for a fixed time. It appears once a day the first time you open the app after 6:00, shows the number of due tasks and events, and lists them in time order. Click a task row to open its thread, or an event row to go to the calendar. If there’s nothing planned for the day, the briefing won’t appear.
If you’re writing a message, cards won’t pop up over the editor - the Island quietly adds the notifications. You can also find reminders in the list in its panel. For details on how it works and how to set up categories, see the Notification Centre guide.
The AI Assistant can attach a reminder to a task’s due date
A reminder attached to a due date moves with the task’s due date. To set one up, ask the AI Assistant in a plain sentence, then confirm the suggested date and time by clicking “Yes, do it”. The reminder won’t be created unless you click.
On Thursday, Ola opens the task Offer for Nord, turns on private question mode with the “AI Assistant” button and writes: “remind me about this task the day before it’s due”. She can also ask for a reminder “2 hours before it’s due”, “in the morning on the due date” or “when it’s due”. Only she can see the question and answer in the thread.
If the client reschedules the offer review, Ola will change the task’s due date, and the attached reminder will move with it. After the change, the new “before it’s due” time may already have passed, even though the due date itself hasn’t. In that case, the reminder will appear at the next available opportunity. If the due date has passed or been removed, the reminder is cancelled.
This feature requires an existing due date. If there isn’t one, the AI Assistant will let you know and suggest a regular reminder for a specific date and time, for example “remind me about the invoice tomorrow at 9”. You can check your saved reminders by saying “show my reminders”; the limit is 50 active reminders. Find more examples on the AI Assistant reminders page.
An administrator must first configure a provider, their own API key and a model, and you must have permission to use AI in the relevant context. Tasks, colours, tiles, the Calendar and Notification Centre will still work without this. The AI Assistant adds a personal layer - it isn’t a requirement for using the other features.
The morning briefing and daily task summary are two different things
The morning briefing shows your plan for the day the first time you open the app after 6:00. You enable the daily task summary separately in Settings → Profile; it arrives once a day at the time you choose and covers only tasks assigned to you.
| Morning briefing | Daily task summary | |
|---|---|---|
| When | The first time you open the app after 6:00, if the day isn’t empty | At the time you choose, 8:00 by default |
| What it shows | The day’s due tasks and events, in time order | The number and titles of tasks due today and overdue |
| Scope | The day’s plan in the Notification Centre | Your assigned tasks that are incomplete and not archived |
If Ola doesn’t open the app until 10:30, that’s when she’ll see the briefing - not at 6:00 or 8:00. She can set the summary to a time that suits her work. If the app is closed, the summary can arrive by email, but background sending requires CRON. The briefing, on the other hand, is a Notification Centre card that appears the first time you open the app after 6:00.
With the app closed, a browser notification alone isn’t enough
If Task Manager is open in another tab, a reminder may appear as a system notification once you’ve allowed notifications in your browser. If the app is completely closed, reminders are sent by email, which requires CRON on the server to send in the background.
Set browser notification permission in Settings → Profile → Browser notifications. The “Send test” button lets you check it on that device. Without permission, reminders stay in the Notification Centre list until you return to the app.
An event created by the AI Assistant doesn’t include an email by default. If you need one, ask explicitly: “and email it too”; for events created in the calendar, use “Also send notification by email”. The administrator configures system email sending via SMTP - a connection to a mail server - and CRON. Without CRON, emails are sent while someone is using the app, and the app warns you about this when you set a reminder.
Don’t confuse an email about a due date with an email about a new message in a thread. The latter is sent 5 minutes after the last message; if you open the thread before then, it won’t be sent. Notification channel settings let you choose separately whether to receive in-app, email and browser notifications for specific event types.
Start with one review, not every alarm at once
First, add due dates to open tasks, then agree on a regular time for the team to check the Overdue and Due today tiles. Only then enable personal summaries and reminders for items that genuinely need an extra nudge so they aren’t missed.
On Monday, Ola and five people on her team can review tasks without dates, without confusing them with closed grey cards. Everyone checks their own notification settings, while the administrator sets up CRON if the team wants to receive emails when the app is closed. Ola attaches a reminder to the Nord offer using the AI Assistant; for regular tasks, colour, filters and the Notification Centre are enough for her.
Tomorrow morning, open the list, check the grey tasks that are still open, and add due dates wherever they’re missing. Then click Overdue and see what needs a decision before midday. You can check the colour and tile layout in the Demo.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set a task deadline reminder in Task Manager?
In the task thread, switch on private question mode using the “AI Assistant” button, ask something like “remind me about this task a day before the deadline” and click “Yes, run” after checking the date. An administrator must configure AI first, and you need permission to use it.
Will the reminder move if I change the task deadline?
Yes, a reminder linked to a deadline will move with it. If the deadline passes or is removed, the reminder will be cancelled.
Will I get a deadline notification when the app isn't open?
With the app closed, a reminder can arrive by email if email delivery is enabled and an administrator has configured SMTP. Background delivery requires CRON - without it, the email will only be sent when someone is using the app. If the app is open in another tab, you can receive a browser notification after granting permission.
What's the difference between the morning briefing and the daily task summary?
The morning briefing appears in the Notification Centre the first time you visit after 6:00 and shows the day's deadlines and events. You can enable the daily task summary in Settings → Profile; at your chosen time, it lists your tasks due today and overdue tasks.
How can I keep track of team task deadlines without AI?
Deadline colours, filter tiles, Calendar and a Notification Centre reminder an hour before a deadline all work without AI. You only need the AI Assistant if you want to set a personal reminder linked to a task deadline.
Sources
The Task Manager Team - we write about teamwork, AI in business and keeping tasks organised, using examples from Task Manager, software installed on your own server. Task Manager has been developed by Blue Creation Group (Piotr Łącz) since 2013 and is used by organisations including Neonet, the Military University of Technology and Polpharma - read customer reviews. We check our articles against the user guide and the latest version of the software.
