🆓 How to prioritize tasks on the free plan
On the free plan, auto-scheduled tasks are prioritized by due date. This means if Task A is due at 9:00, and Task B is due at 10:00, Task A will have a higher priority and get scheduled first. This works well for most people since it keeps the app simple while still allowing you to prioritize tasks if needed by changing their due dates.
What about when tasks have the same deadline?
When two tasks have the exact same due date and time, by default, FlowSavvy prioritizes the tasks in the order the tasks were given that due date. For example, using our example from above, if Task A is changed to be due at 10:00, it would then be prioritized after Task B.
Dragging to reprioritize tasks
To make things easy, you can drag and drop tasks on the to-do list to reorder them. Since tasks are prioritized by due date, if you drag a task above or below another task that has a different due date, you'll be prompted to change the due date in order to accommodate the new order.
💎 Priority levels for Pro members
Pro members have the additional option to assign different priority levels to tasks (Do ASAP, High priority, Normal priority, and Low priority). Tasks in higher priority levels are always prioritized before tasks in lower priority levels. Within each priority level, tasks are prioritized by due date, exactly like they are on the free plan.
A few tips/things to keep in mind:
"Do ASAP" means "Do as soon as this task is allowed to be scheduled." If your task is configured with "Can be started now", that means it will be scheduled now. However, if your task is configured with "Can be started [some date]", the task is still bound by that constraint and will be scheduled as soon as possible inside its allowed range.
If you drag and drop a task into another priority level, it will get sorted in that section according to its due date by default. You can then reorder the task within that section if you wish.
Why are my tasks scheduled out of order?
Sometimes, FlowSavvy will schedule tasks out of order if it detects a more optimal schedule. For example, if you have 30 minutes of free time after lunch and Task A can't fit there because it needs an hour, but Task B is only 20 minutes, FlowSavvy will optimize your time by scheduling Task B in that block of time, even though this is technically "out of order". If tasks must be done in a specific order, use task dependencies instead.
A higher-priority task is causing another task to miss its deadline
Tasks are prioritized by priority, then by due date, even if this causes a lower-priority task with an earlier due date to miss its deadline. We've found through extensive testing that this approach, coupled with the ability to easily adjust task order, offers the best balance between intuitiveness and sophistication.
At first glance, it might seem more logical for FlowSavvy to schedule tasks in a way that ensures all deadlines are met, regardless of priority. However, this method presents significant challenges:
Understanding task order: With a packed schedule, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand why FlowSavvy would schedule a lower-priority task before a higher-priority one. This can lead to confusion and the impression that the app isn't aligning with your priorities.
Diverse user expectations: Everybody has a different idea of how priority and due date should interact, and this changes on a task-by-task basis as well. This makes it virtually impossible for FlowSavvy to predict when it's acceptable to deviate from the established priority order and when it's not.
Given these considerations, we believe the best overall solution is to prioritize tasks in the most straightforward/easy-to-understand way that suffices in most cases, and then empower users to customize the order further to get exactly what they want in the edge cases.
How to set a priority without setting a due date?
While we recommend using due dates as much as possible, they can be removed for tasks that truly can be pushed back indefinitely to give priority to tasks that have real deadlines. To remove a task's due date, click on the due date, then click "Remove due date".
Note that repeating auto-scheduled tasks must have a due date because the due date is what repeats.
When an auto-scheduled task does not have a due date, it is scheduled after all tasks with due dates in the same priority level.
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