Tasks in plain English
Write it your way. Do it today.
Actayo is a task manager that understands plain sentences. Type “call the bank tomorrow at 9am” and you have a task with a date and time. Today then shows you only what actually belongs to today.
- Free
- No credit card
- In your browser on desktop and mobile
Sentence “Call the accountant tomorrow at 9:30am for 30m #Work @phone p1”. Actayo recognized: date tomorrow, time at 9:30am, duration for 30m, project #Work, label @phone, priority p1. Task: Call the accountant.
Call the accountantPriority 1
- Due: Tomorrow 9:30 AM
- Duration: 30 min
Project: WorkLabels: @phone
Sentence “Take out the trash every week at 7pm #Home”. Actayo recognized: repeat every week, time at 7pm, project #Home. Task: Take out the trash.
Take out the trash
- Due: Today 7:00 PM
- Repeat: every week
Project: Home
Sentence “Send the quarterly report {Nov 7} for 2h p2 #Work /finance !1d”. Actayo recognized: deadline {Nov 7}, duration for 2h, priority p2, project #Work, section /finance, reminder !1d. Task: Send the quarterly report.
Send the quarterly reportPriority 2
- Deadline: Deadline Nov 7
- Duration: 2 hr
- Reminder: Remind 1 day before
Project: Work / finance
Sentence “Take vitamins every day at 8am @health”. Actayo recognized: repeat every day, time at 8am, label @health. Task: Take vitamins.
Take vitamins
- Overdue: Today 8:00 AM
- Repeat: every day
Labels: @health
How to write it
- Date and time
- today tomorrow at 9:30am
- Repeat
- every day every monday every 2 weeks
- Priority
- p1 to p4
- Project, section, and label
- #project /section @label
- Duration
- for 45m
- Deadline
- {Nov 4}
- Reminder
- !30m
01 · Today
Today shows only what belongs to today.
At the top is whatever should already be done. Below it are tasks due today and anything you capture today without a date. Everything else waits in its project or in the Inbox.
- Same order as in the app: overdue first, then by priority and time.
- Check off a task in the sample to see what Actayo does with it.
- A recurring task doesn’t close when you complete it. It moves to its next date.
Overdue
-
Send the report to the accountantPriority 2
- Overdue: Yesterday 5:00 PM
- Duration: 30 min
Project: Work
Once it’s done, it leaves Today.
-
Take vitamins
- Overdue: Today 8:00 AM
- Duration: 5 min
- Repeat: every day
- Due: Tomorrow 8:00 AM
- Duration: 5 min
- Repeat: every day
Labels: @health
Repeats every day, so completing it keeps it open and moves it to Wed, Oct 14, 8:00 AM. It comes back to Today that day.
Today
-
Call the accountantPriority 1
- Due: Today 9:30 AM
- Duration: 30 min
Project: WorkLabels: @phone
Once it’s done, it leaves Today.
-
Water the plants
- Due: Today 6:00 PM
- Duration: 10 min
- Repeat: every 3 days after completion
- Due: Oct 16, 8:30 AM
- Duration: 10 min
- Repeat: every 3 days after completion
Project: Home
Repeats every 3 days after completion, so completing it keeps it open and moves it to Fri, Oct 16, 8:30 AM. It comes back to Today that day.
-
Take out the trash
- Due: Today 7:00 PM
- Duration: 10 min
- Repeat: every week
- Due: Oct 20, 7:00 PM
- Duration: 10 min
- Repeat: every week
Project: Home
Repeats every week, so completing it keeps it open and moves it to Tue, Oct 20, 7:00 PM. It comes back to Today that day.
-
Buy train tickets
- Duration: 10 min
Labels: @errands
Once it’s done, it leaves Today.
Not in Today: Book a car service. It isn’t due yet.
02 · Inbox, projects, and labels
Anything without a home waits in the Inbox.
A task without a project goes to the Inbox. Once you know where it belongs, move it into a project and one of its sections. Labels connect tasks across projects, like everything you can take care of by phone.
Every workspace can also get its own Email to Inbox address. Forward an email to it, and it lands in the Inbox as a task, with its attachments.
- Birthday gift idea for Sam
- Check prices for winter tires
- Read the new lease
Maintenance
- Replace the range hood filter
- Back up photos
Shopping
- Light bulbs for the bathroom
- Call the bank
- Book a dentist appointment
- Confirm the car service
- Due date and deadlineWhen you plan to do it, and when it has to be done.
- Duration and reminderHow long it takes, and a reminder in the app when it’s time.
- Priority P1 to P4Important tasks stand out, even in a long list.
- Subtasks and commentsBreak bigger work into steps and keep notes on the task.
03 · Search
Find anything, even with a typo.
One search box looks through tasks, subtasks, comments, projects, sections, and labels. Open it from anywhere with Cmd+K or Ctrl+K.
- It ignores accents, forgives typos, and finds other forms of a word.
- It understands the same filters as the rest of the app, like #project, @label, p1, today, and overdue.
- Use quotes for an exact phrase, a minus sign to leave a word out, and or for either word.
Search text: invoce #finance
- Invoice for the October rent
- Send the invoices to the accountant
- The invoice number is on page 2
“invoce” is misspelled, and #finance keeps the search inside one project.
04 · Feature level
Only as much system as you want.
The first time you open Actayo, you pick a feature level. You can change it later in Settings, where you can also show or hide each feature on its own.
Tasks
- Today
- Inbox
- Upcoming
- Overdue
- Completed
- Saved filters
Planning
- Calendar
- Board
- Weekly review
Team and insights
- Assigned to me
- Time tracking
- Task graph
- Settings
Today
Commitment planning for today
Today, Inbox, projects, and labels. No plan, board, or calendar.
Adds the calendar, board, filters, time tracking, and more task views.
Adds commitment planning, the weekly review, busy time, dependencies, and team features.
You can change the level in Settings at any time, and show or hide each feature on its own.
05 · Planning
Will it fit in today?
At the Full system level, commitment planning compares the tasks you’ve planned with the time you actually have once meetings and a buffer are taken out. Change a duration or add a task to see when the day stops fitting.
Busy time comes from meetings you add yourself or from a calendar you connect with an iCal link.
Plannable time (6 hr)
- Busy 1 hr 30 min
- For tasks 3 hr 36 min
- Buffer 54 min
Planned
TightPlanned 3 hr 18 min · capacity 3 hr 36 min.
- Team meeting
- Answer emails
- Call the accountant
- Prepare the presentation
- Process invoices
The plan pads each estimate with a buffer for uncertainty and counts only the time left after meetings. With these settings, the day has 6 hr starting at 9:00 AM.
- CalendarMonth, week, day, and agenda views. Download any month as an .ics file.
- BoardYour tasks in columns, by status or by section. Drag a card to move it.
- Saved filtersSave a search with filters and open it again from the sidebar.
- More task viewsUpcoming, Overdue, Completed, and Assigned to me.
- Weekly reviewYour daily load for the week, with suggested next steps.
- Time trackingStart work on a task, then see your time by project and by label.
- Task dependenciesMark which task waits for which, and see them as a graph.
- Team assignmentAssign a task to someone in your workspace.
06 · Sharing
Share a workspace, and keep it walled off.
Invite people by email and give each one a role. They join once they sign in with that address, and you can change their role or remove them at any time. Switch roles to see what each one can and can’t do.
Every task, project, and label belongs to a workspace. On every request, the server checks again that you’re a member and what your role allows.
You can protect your sign-in with two-factor authentication through an authenticator app. Settings lists every device you’re signed in on, and you can sign out of any of them.
Owner
- View and search tasks, projects, and the calendarcan
- Add, edit, complete, and delete taskscan
- Change projects, labels, filters, and the plancan
- Invite people and change their rolescan
- Set up webhooks, API keys, and external calendarscan
Admin
- View and search tasks, projects, and the calendarcan
- Add, edit, complete, and delete taskscan
- Change projects, labels, filters, and the plancan
- Invite people and change their rolescan
- Set up webhooks, API keys, and external calendarscan
Member
- View and search tasks, projects, and the calendarcan
- Add, edit, complete, and delete taskscan
- Change projects, labels, filters, and the plancan
- Invite people and change their rolescan’t
- Set up webhooks, API keys, and external calendarscan’t
Guest
- View and search tasks, projects, and the calendarcan
- Add, edit, complete, and delete taskscan’t
- Change projects, labels, filters, and the plancan’t
- Invite people and change their rolescan’t
- Set up webhooks, API keys, and external calendarscan’t
Admins can do everything the owner can, except change or remove the owner. The server checks the same rule on every request, not just the interface.
07 · Every day
The small things that save time.
- Live on every deviceA change you make shows up on your other open devices right away.
- UndoCompleted, rescheduled, or moved a task by mistake? Undo puts it back.
- Many tasks at onceSelect several tasks to complete, reopen, or delete them together.
- Light and darkFollow your system, or pick light or dark yourself.
Questions, straight answers.
How much does Actayo cost?
Nothing. Actayo is free. All you need to sign up is an email and a password.
Do I have to learn a syntax?
No. You write a task as a sentence. Actayo picks up words like today, tomorrow, at 9am, or every week on its own, and #project, @label, and p1 are optional shortcuts. You always see what it recognized before you save.
Which languages does Actayo understand?
English. Quick add reads dates, times, and repeats from everyday words like tomorrow, at noon, or every other week, and the whole app is in English.
Can I share a workspace with other people?
Yes. The workspace owner and admins invite people by email as an Admin, Member, or Guest. Members can change tasks, and guests can only view and search. You can change a role or remove someone at any time.
Does Actayo work on my phone?
Yes, in your mobile browser. There are no native iOS or Android apps yet.
Does Actayo work offline?
No. Actayo needs an internet connection. If it drops, the app tells you.
Can I connect Actayo to other tools?
From the Tasks and dates level up, the workspace owner and admins can set up webhooks that send an event when a task is created, changed, completed, or deleted, and an Email to Inbox address that turns emails sent to it into tasks. With an API key, you can read your tasks through the public API.
Write down your first task today.
Your account is free. All you need is an email and a password.
Start for free