Active limits

An Active limit is a cap on work in progress. It makes starting something new a choice about what you can give attention to.

Limits are off until you set them. There’s no right number for everyone. Start with a number that fits your current capacity and adjust it after using it.

Set an overall limit

Open the app’s ⋯ menu and choose Active limits…. Set All work to the most tasks you want Active at once.

If you set it to 3, you can have three active tasks across the whole plan. A task with subtasks doesn’t take another slot: only its active tasks without subtasks count. Goals don’t count.

Across the whole plan

3 of 3 Active slots used

Launch a startup

• 1
  Arrange conversations with themUnder Check whether people need the product
• 2
  Draft the signup pageUnder Build a first version

Keep the business running

• 3
  Send the invoiceStill counts when this goal is out of view

All three tasks are Active and have no subtasks. Their parents use no extra slots, even when they also show Active.

The limit covers all work, including tasks outside your current view. Filters, scope and folded branches don’t make extra room.

Set a limit on a tag

Open a tag’s pop-up and set Active limit. For example, an overall limit of 3 and a #coding limit of 1 lets you keep up to three tasks active, but only one coding task.

A task with several limited tags must fit under each limit as well as the overall one.

Tag inheritance makes this useful for branches too. Put #coding on Build a first version and turn on Applies to tasks below. Its active tasks count towards the coding limit. Without inheritance, a tag on a parent doesn’t cover its subtasks.

When there isn’t room

Starting a task beyond a limit opens Make room. The task stays where it was.

Review the active tasks shown there. Mark finished work Done, blocked work Waiting, or deliberately paused work Backlog. Once there’s enough room, choose Start to begin the new task.

The Active column’s meter shows how much of the limit you’re using. When you filter by a limited tag, it can show that tag’s usage instead.

Starting a whole branch would sometimes start too much at once. If that would exceed a limit, Faucus tries only the first task. If even that doesn’t fit, Make room opens.

Changing a limit

Lowering a limit doesn’t move or stop tasks. If you’re over, the meter shows it and Review… lets you make room. Clear the number, or use its ×, to remove the limit.

Sync, imports, moves and tag changes can also leave you over a limit. Faucus keeps those changes rather than silently moving work for you.

In the task editor or New task dialog, a start that exceeds a limit shows a message beside Status instead of opening Make room. Adding directly in the Active column keeps the new task in Backlog if it can’t fit, so your writing isn’t lost.