Task workflows

Once you have tasks on your Kanban board, Ultrathink provides tools to move them through your workflow efficiently. This page covers task statuses, how to move tasks between columns, and how to use filters and sorting to focus on the work that matters.

Task statuses

Every task in Ultrathink has one of three statuses:

Status	Meaning	Visual indicator
Not Started	The task has not been started	Open circle
In Progress	You are actively working on the task	Half-filled circle
Done	The task is complete	Filled circle with tick

Statuses provide a simple, consistent way to track progress regardless of how many Kanban columns you have configured.

How statuses relate to columns

Each Kanban column is mapped to one of the three statuses. The default mapping is:

Column	Status
Backlog	Not Started
To Do	Not Started
In Progress	In Progress
Done	Done

If you add custom columns, they inherit a status mapping that you can configure. Multiple columns can share the same status. For example, both "Backlog" and "To Do" map to "Not Started" by default.

Moving tasks between columns

There are two ways to move a task to a different column.

Drag and drop

1. Click and hold the task card on the Kanban board
2. Drag it to the target column
3. Drop it at the desired position within the column

The task's status updates automatically to match the target column's status mapping. This is the fastest way to move tasks through your workflow.

Using the status dropdown

1. Click on a task to open the detail panel
2. Find the Status dropdown
3. Select a new status

The task moves to the first column that matches the selected status. If you need the task in a specific column (and multiple columns share the same status), use drag and drop instead.

Filtering tasks

As your task list grows, filters help you focus on specific subsets of tasks. Ultrathink offers both quick filters and advanced filters.

Quick filters

Quick filters are one-click options at the top of the Tasks view:

Filter	What it shows
Overdue	Tasks with due dates in the past
No Due Date	Tasks that do not have a deadline set

Click a quick filter to apply it. Click it again to remove it. You can combine quick filters with advanced filters for more precise results.

Advanced filters

For more specific filtering, use the advanced filter options:

Filter type	What you can filter by
Topics	Show tasks tagged with specific topics
People	Show tasks that mention or are assigned to specific people
Category	Show tasks in a specific category (Work or Personal)
Date range	Show tasks created or due within a date range

To apply an advanced filter:

1. Click the Filter button in the Tasks toolbar
2. Select the filter type
3. Choose your filter criteria
4. The board updates to show only matching tasks

Advanced filters can be combined with quick filters for precise results. For example, you could filter by the topic "Marketing" and the quick filter "Overdue" to see all overdue marketing tasks.

Clearing filters

To remove all active filters and see every task on the board:

1. Click the Filter button in the toolbar
2. Click Clear All (or remove each filter individually)

The board returns to showing all tasks across all columns.

Sorting tasks

Within each column, you can control the order tasks appear by dragging them:

1. Click and hold a task card
2. Drag it up or down within the same column
3. Release to set its position

Your manual order is saved per column and persists across sessions. This is useful for prioritising tasks within a stage of your workflow.

Workflow examples

Daily review workflow

1. Each morning, open the Tasks view
2. Review the To Do column and drag the most important tasks to the top
3. Move anything you plan to work on today from To Do to In Progress
4. At the end of the day, drag completed work to Done

Weekly planning workflow

1. At the start of each week, review the Backlog column
2. Filter by the No Due Date quick filter to find tasks that need deadlines
3. Set due dates for tasks you want to complete this week
4. Drag prioritised tasks from Backlog to To Do
5. Use the Overdue filter to catch anything that slipped through

Topic-based focus

1. Apply an advanced filter for the topic you want to focus on (for example, "Q1 Launch")
2. The board shows only tasks tagged with that topic
3. Work through the filtered tasks without distraction from unrelated work
4. Clear the filter when you are ready to see everything again

Task actions reference

Here is a summary of all actions you can take on a task from the Kanban board or detail panel:

Action	How to do it
Create a new task	Click + New in the Tasks toolbar
Open a task	Click the task card
Move to another column	Drag and drop the task card
Change status	Use the status dropdown in the detail panel
Mark as done	Drag to the Done column
Edit a task	Click to open, then edit fields
Add a comment	Open the task, scroll to Comments
Star a task	Click the star icon on the task card
Set a due date	Open the task, click the Due Date field

Next steps

• Due dates and priorities: set deadlines and track upcoming work
• Custom columns: add, rename, and reorder columns on your board
• Creating tasks: learn how to add new tasks to your board