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Today Page Sections

This document explains how the four main sections of the Today page work in tududi. For technical implementation details, see /backend/modules/tasks/queries/metrics-queries.js and /backend/modules/tasks/queries/metrics-computation.js.

Overview​

The Today page is divided into four main sections that organize your tasks:

  1. Overdue - Tasks past their due date that need attention
  2. Planned - Tasks you're actively working on today
  3. Suggested - Tasks recommended for you to work on next
  4. Completed - Tasks you finished today

Each section follows specific rules to show the right tasks without duplication.

1. PLANNED SECTION​

What Appears Here​

Tasks with any of these three statuses:

  • In Progress - Tasks you're actively working on
  • Planned - Tasks you scheduled to work on
  • Waiting - Tasks blocked or waiting for something

Key Rules​

  1. Status is what matters, not the "today" checkbox

    • A task marked "Planned" appears here even if you haven't checked "today"
    • A task with "Not Started" status won't appear here even with "today" checked

  2. Deferred tasks are hidden

    • If you set "Defer Until" to a future time, the task won't appear until that time arrives
    • Once the defer time passes, the task automatically becomes visible

  3. Only parent tasks appear

    • Subtasks don't show up (they're shown under their parent)
    • Recurring parent templates are hidden (only today's instance shows)

  4. Completed or cancelled tasks are excluded

    • Once done, archived, or cancelled, tasks move out of this section

Display Order​

Tasks are sorted by:

  1. Priority (High → Medium → Low)
  2. Due date (earliest first)
  3. Project (grouped together)

Special Cases​

  • Habits: Appear under a separate "Habits planned for today" header
  • Recurring tasks: Only today's occurrence shows, not the template

2. OVERDUE SECTION​

What Appears Here​

Tasks with a due date before today that are NOT already in the Planned section.

Key Rules​

  1. Time-based filtering

    • Due date must be before today (respects your timezone)
    • "Today" is calculated using your local timezone settings

  2. Excludes tasks already in Planned

    • If a task is overdue but you marked it "In Progress" or "Planned", it stays in Planned
    • Avoids showing the same task in multiple sections

  3. No completed or cancelled tasks

    • Done, archived, and cancelled tasks don't appear

  4. Project deadlines affect task visibility

    • If a task has no due date but its project is overdue, the task appears here
    • Helps you see work related to overdue projects

  5. Deferred tasks are hidden

    • If you deferred a task to tomorrow, it won't show in Overdue today
    • Even if originally overdue, deferred tasks hide until defer time passes

Display Order​

Same as Planned section:

  1. Priority (High → Medium → Low)
  2. Due date (earliest first)
  3. Project (grouped together)

User Control​

  • Can be hidden entirely via Today Settings
  • Collapse/expand state is remembered in your browser

3. SUGGESTED SECTION​

What Appears Here​

Up to 10 tasks automatically selected as good candidates for you to work on next.

When Suggestions Appear​

Suggestions are only shown if:

  • You have 3 or more open tasks, OR
  • You have tasks in progress, OR
  • You have tasks due today

If none of these are true, no suggestions are shown.

Selection Rules​

  1. Excludes tasks already visible elsewhere

    • Tasks in Planned, Overdue, Due Today, or In Progress don't appear
    • Avoids duplication across sections

  2. Excludes "someday" tasks by default

    • Tasks tagged as "someday" are only included if there aren't enough other suggestions
    • Prioritizes actionable tasks over future ideas

  3. Excludes deferred tasks

    • Tasks with "Defer Until" set to the future don't appear
    • Only shows tasks available to work on now

  4. No subtasks or recurring templates

    • Only shows parent tasks you can directly work on

How Tasks Are Selected​

The system picks suggestions in this order:

  1. High-priority tasks without a project (unscheduled important work)
  2. High-priority tasks with a project (project-related important work)
  3. Medium-priority tasks (both with and without projects)
  4. Tasks with upcoming due dates (time-sensitive work)
  5. "Someday" tasks (only if fewer than 6 suggestions found above)

Within each priority level, tasks with earlier due dates are preferred.

Limits​

  • Maximum 10 suggestions shown
  • If you have fewer than 10 qualifying tasks, all are shown

User Control​

  • Can be hidden entirely via Today Settings (hidden by default)
  • Collapse/expand state is remembered in your browser

4. COMPLETED SECTION​

What Appears Here​

Tasks you completed today, including:

  • Regular tasks marked as "Done" today
  • Recurring tasks you completed today (can appear multiple times if you completed multiple occurrences)

Key Rules​

  1. Time-based filtering

    • Only tasks completed within today's 24-hour window (respects your timezone)
    • "Today" runs from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 in your local timezone

  2. Includes recurring task history

    • Recurring tasks track each completion separately
    • If you complete a recurring task multiple times today, all instances are shown
    • Completions are preserved in history even though the task advances to the next occurrence

  3. Only parent tasks appear

    • Subtasks don't show (they're counted with their parent)
    • Recurring parent templates are excluded (only completed instances shown)

  4. Excludes skipped occurrences

    • If you skipped a recurring task occurrence, it doesn't count as completed

Display Order​

Tasks are sorted by:

  • Completion time (most recently completed first)

Additional Data​

The Completed section also provides:

  • Weekly completion trend: 7-day chart showing your completion pattern
  • Completion count: Total tasks completed today
  • Progress percentage: Completed vs. planned tasks

User Control​

  • Can be hidden entirely via Today Settings (visible by default)
  • Collapse/expand state is remembered in your browser

Section Priority Rules​

No Duplication​

A task appears in exactly one section based on this priority:

  1. Completed (highest priority) - If done today, shows only here
  2. Planned - If status is in_progress/planned/waiting, shows only here
  3. Overdue - If due before today and not planned, shows here
  4. Suggested - If not in any above section and meets criteria, shows here

Example Scenarios​

Scenario 1: Overdue task you're working on

  • Due date: 2 days ago
  • Status: In Progress
  • Appears in: Planned (not Overdue, because status takes priority)

Scenario 2: High-priority task with no due date

  • Priority: High
  • Due date: None
  • Status: Not Started
  • Appears in: Suggested (not Overdue, because no due date)

Scenario 3: Task deferred until tomorrow

  • Due date: Yesterday (overdue)
  • Defer until: Tomorrow
  • Status: Not Started
  • Appears in: Nowhere (hidden until defer time passes)

Scenario 4: Recurring task completed

  • Recurrence: Daily
  • Status: Done (just completed)
  • Appears in: Completed (and task automatically resets for tomorrow)

Time & Timezone Handling​

How "Today" is Calculated​

  • Your local timezone is detected from your account settings
  • "Today" means from midnight to midnight in your timezone, not UTC
  • All date comparisons respect your timezone

Example​

If you're in New York (EST, UTC-5):

  • Today starts: 2026-03-14 00:00:00 EST = 2026-03-14 05:00:00 UTC
  • Today ends: 2026-03-14 23:59:59 EST = 2026-03-15 04:59:59 UTC

A task completed at 11:30 PM EST shows in "Completed Today" even though it's technically the next day in UTC.

User Settings​

Today Page Settings​

You can customize what appears on your Today page:

SettingDefaultEffect
Show Overdue/Due TodayOnShows/hides Overdue section
Show SuggestionsOffShows/hides Suggested section
Show CompletedOnShows/hides Completed section
Show MetricsOffShows/hides task metrics widget
Show Daily QuoteOnShows/hides daily motivational quote
Show Progress BarOnShows/hides completion progress bar

Where to Change Settings​

  • Click the settings icon (⚙️) on the Today page
  • Settings auto-save when you toggle them
  • Settings are stored per user account

Collapsible Sections​

Each section can be collapsed or expanded:

  • Click the section header to collapse/expand
  • Your preference is saved in your browser
  • Persists across sessions

Special Features​

Defer Until​

What it does:

  • Hides a task from all sections until a specific date/time
  • Useful for tasks you can't work on yet

How it works:

  1. Set "Defer Until" to a future date/time
  2. Task disappears from Planned, Overdue, and Suggested sections
  3. System sends you a notification 5 minutes before defer time
  4. Task automatically reappears when defer time is reached

Example:

  • Task: "Call plumber"
  • Defer until: Monday 9 AM
  • Result: Task hidden until Monday at 9 AM, then appears in appropriate section

Recurring Tasks​

How they appear:

  • Only today's occurrence shows in sections (not the parent template)
  • Parent templates are automatically hidden to avoid duplication
  • When you complete today's occurrence, it moves to Completed and resets for next occurrence

Completion tracking:

  • Each completion is recorded separately
  • You can complete a recurring task multiple times in one day
  • All completions show in the Completed section

Habits​

Special handling:

  • Habits appear in the Planned section under "Habits planned for today"
  • Separate from regular tasks
  • Have their own "Habits completed today" subsection in Completed

Performance & Limits​

Pagination​

Each section shows a limited number of tasks by default:

  • Initial display: 20 tasks per section
  • "Load More" button: Loads next 20 tasks
  • "Load All" button: Shows all tasks at once
  • Counter shows: "Showing X of Y tasks"

Auto-Refresh​

The Today page automatically refreshes:

  • When you mark a task complete
  • When you change task status
  • When you defer a task
  • Every few minutes to catch changes made elsewhere

Technical Implementation Files:

  • Backend queries: /backend/modules/tasks/queries/metrics-queries.js
  • Suggested tasks logic: /backend/modules/tasks/queries/metrics-computation.js
  • Frontend component: /frontend/components/Task/TasksToday.tsx
  • Task model: /backend/models/task.js

Document Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2026-03-14 Audience: Developers, AI assistants, and end users