Statuses and workflows
A task can have a status, and the statuses it can have come from a status workflow. A workflow is a named, ordered list of statuses, and each status says whether it counts as done. Statuses are optional: an entry can have none, and then it counts as not done.
This page covers the default workflow, making your own, giving projects and topics their own statuses, and how done statuses change the rest of Ultrathink. Statuses are separate from the columns on your board; see The kanban board.
The default workflow
Every account starts with one workflow, Tasks, which tasks use:
| Status | Counts as done | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Not started | No | Open circle |
| In progress | No | Half-filled circle |
| Done | Yes | Circle with a tick |
The icon follows the status’s place in its workflow, not its name. The first status is an open circle, any other status that is not done is a half-filled circle, and every status that counts as done has a tick. A task with no status shows an empty circle.
Making statuses your own
Workflows live in Settings > Entities > Status workflows. The Entities page is part of the Pro plan; on the Free plan, tasks use the default workflow.
For each workflow you can:
- rename it
- add a status with Add status
- rename a status, or change its colour
- turn Counts as done on or off for a status
- drag statuses into a new order
- delete a status
Each workflow must keep at least one status that is not done and one that counts as done. Ultrathink will not save a change that breaks this, and says why.
Next to each status is the number of your entries that have it.
Adding a workflow
Click Add workflow to make a new one. It starts with two statuses, To do and Done, which you can rename and add to.
Or click Add the Content workflow for a ready-made one for pieces of content. The button goes once you have added it.
| Status | Counts as done |
|---|---|
| Planned | No |
| Drafting | No |
| To approve | No |
| Approved | No |
| Scheduled | No |
| Live | Yes |
Deleting a status or a workflow
When you delete a status that entries still have, Ultrathink asks where they should go. Pick a status under Move entries to, then click Delete status. A status no entry has is deleted straight away.
Delete workflow works the same way: if any entries use one of its statuses, you choose a status in another workflow for them. You cannot delete your last workflow.
Which workflow an entry uses
Under Which workflow, each entity picks a workflow or No status:
| Entity | Default |
|---|---|
| Tasks | Tasks |
| Projects | No status |
| Knowledge | No status |
Pick a workflow for Projects, and every project gets a Status field. The same goes for Knowledge.
Workflows for a topic
A topic can give its entries their own workflow, which they use instead of their entity’s.
- Under Add a topic, type the topic, such as
blog - Pick a workflow, such as Content
- Click Add
Now every entry with the topic blog moves through Planned to Live, while other tasks keep Not started, In progress and Done. Click the bin next to a topic to stop it choosing a workflow. Topics you have not set up change nothing.
Changing a status
In the detail panel
- Click the entry to open the detail panel
- Click Status
- Choose a status from its workflow, or No status to clear it
Status shows on any entry whose entity or topic has a workflow, or that already has a status.
With the status circle
The circle by the title of each task row and board card is a quick complete button:
- On a task that is not done (including one with no status), it moves the task to the first status that counts as done in its workflow: Done for a task, Live for a
blogentry. - On a task that is done, it moves the task back to the first status that is not done.
Not on the board
Dragging a card between board columns never changes its status, and changing a status never moves a card. Columns are yours to arrange.
What counts as done changes
| Where | What happens to an entry in a done status |
|---|---|
| Hide done on the Tasks page | Hidden |
| Due dates | Never late, and never red |
| The task count in the sidebar | Not counted |
| Recent in the sidebar | Not listed |
| The calendar | Shown faded and struck through, or hidden when Show done tasks is off |
| The work plan | Hidden when the board hides completed cards |
| Desktop reminders | Never reminded |
An entry with no status is treated as not done everywhere in this table.
When you turn Counts as done on or off for a status, Ultrathink updates your entries that have it within a few seconds.
Filtering by status
On the Tasks page, click Filter and choose Status. You can pick any status from any of your workflows, or:
- Open (any): every status that does not count as done, and entries with no status
- Done (any): every status that counts as done
- No status: entries without a status
Hide done by default (Settings > Tasks) opens the Tasks page with the filter Status: not Done (any). Remove that chip to see everything again.
In the table view, the Status column shows each task’s status by name and sorts in workflow order.
Statuses from scripts and AI assistants
The API and the MCP server (Pro) take any status from your workflows, by its id or its name, plus two shortcuts:
@done: the first status that counts as done in the entry’s workflow@open: the first status that is not done
null clears a status. To list finished or unfinished work, use done=true or done=false when listing entries.
Ideas for workflows
- Content: Planned, Drafting, To approve, Approved, Scheduled, Live, for anything you publish.
- Hiring: Applied, Screening, Interview, Offer, Hired (done), Not hired (done).
- Sales: Lead, Talking, Proposal, Won (done), Lost (done).
More than one status can count as done. “Won’t do” is a useful one to add to any workflow.