This is the everyday flow for getting a task done — from picking it up to handing it in.
1. Start it
A task reaches you once its owner has published it — its status reads Ready to start. Open it and press Start. That moves it to In Progress and starts the clock. (If it is a team task you have not claimed yet, Claim it first.)
You will not see a task that is still a Draft; its owner is still writing the brief. If you somehow try to start one, it is refused with "This task is still a draft — it must be published before it can be started."
Start and Finish are shown to the assignee, and to a Task Manager or administrator acting on their behalf.
2. Record your output — the answer
The Output tab is where you write what you did — the result, notes, links, measurements. It is separate from the description (the ask). Type it in and press Save output. You can save as you go; it is not final until you finish.
If the task is marked Output required, you cannot finish it until there is a non-empty output.
3. Attach files
You can attach files in two places, and they stay separated:
- Content files (on the Overview tab) — reference material for the ask: a drawing, a spec, a brief.
- Output files (on the Output tab) — proof of the answer: a photo of the finished work, a signed sheet, an export.
You can also paste or drop an image straight into the editor — it is stored as a file, never bloating the record.
4. Finish
Press Finish. The task goes to In Review for your manager. Two special cases:
- If it has open dependent sub-tasks, finishing parks it in Waiting on sub-tasks until they are all done — then it completes on its own.
- If output is required and there is none, finishing is blocked until you add it.
Cannot do it? Hand it back
If a task lands on you that you cannot do, press Hand back and give a short reason. It goes back to its owner for reassignment. This is not a cancellation — the task stays open, it just stops being yours.
5. After you finish
Your manager reviews the output and either rates it (→ Done) or requests changes (which sends it back to you, In Progress, with a note). If nobody reviews within 48 hours, it auto-approves so it never gets stuck.
Next: Claiming a team task · Task chat, notifications and the subscribe star.