Introduction to DoneIsGood: Tasks, Collections & Workflows

Quick Overview

flowchart TD
    Task["✅ Task
(Title, Steps, Notes, Due Date)"] --> Collection["📁 Collection
(Boundary for work & sharing)"]
    Collection --> Eisenhower["⊞ Eisenhower Matrix
(Default & Principal Framework)"]
    Collection --> Kanban["📋 Kanban Board
(Visual Stage Flow & WIP Limits)"]
    Collection --> Moscow["🎯 MoSCoW Matrix
(Must, Should, Could, Won't Scope)"]
    Collection --> Sharing["👥 Collection Sharing
(Viewer, Editor, or Team Project)"]

    style Task fill:#eef2ff,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e1b4b
    style Collection fill:#f0fdf4,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d
    style Eisenhower fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a8a
    style Kanban fill:#faf5ff,stroke:#a855f7,stroke-width:2px,color:#581c87
    style Moscow fill:#fff7ed,stroke:#ea580c,stroke-width:2px,color:#7c2d12
    style Sharing fill:#ecfdf5,stroke:#059669,stroke-width:2px,color:#064e3b

1. What is DoneIsGood?

Most to-do list apps are flat checklists. You add items, check off the easy ones, and watch older tasks sink to the bottom where they are forgotten.

DoneIsGood takes a different approach. It combines thoughtful task organization with an active AI coach to help you answer three questions every day:

1. What matters most right now? (Prioritization)
2. How do I break this down so I can start? (Actionable steps)
3. When am I actually going to work on it? (Time planning)

Rather than forcing you into a single rigid workflow, DoneIsGood gives you a solid foundation based on two simple concepts: tasks and collections.

2. The Basic Unit: The Task

The core unit of action in DoneIsGood is the task. A task represents a specific outcome or piece of work you want to achieve.

Every task can hold everything you need to finish it without losing context:

• Title: A clear, action-oriented name (e.g. "Draft Q4 budget proposal" instead of just "Budget").
• Quadrant / Stage: Where the task sits in your chosen prioritization framework (such as Q1 Urgent & Important, or In Progress).
• Scheduled Time & Duration: An exact date and estimated duration so you can block focus time on your schedule.
• Tags: Lightweight labels to group tasks across collections (e.g. #client, #finance, #errands).
• Due Date & Reminders: Deadlines that trigger device push notifications and daily agenda reminders.

The 3-Tier Detail Hierarchy

To keep your task cards readable without losing important project details, DoneIsGood organizes task content into three distinct tiers:

3. Organizing Your Work: Collections

Every task belongs to exactly one collection.

A collection is a dedicated container for a specific area of your life or work. For example, you might create collections like:

• Personal Priorities (daily life, health, personal errands)
• Client Alpha Website (a specific client deliverable)
• Product Roadmap (features, enhancements, technical debt)
• Home Maintenance (household fixes and seasonal tasks)

flowchart LR
    subgraph Personal ["Personal Workspace"]
        P1["Personal Priorities"]
        P2["Home & Family"]
    end
    subgraph Work ["Professional Workspace"]
        W1["Client Project Alpha"]
        W2["Team Operations"]
    end
    subgraph Ideas ["Ideation Backlog"]
        I1["App Ideas (Unmanaged)"]
    end

    style Personal fill:#eef2ff,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:1px,color:#1e1b4b
    style Work fill:#f0fdf4,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:1px,color:#14532d
    style Ideas fill:#faf5ff,stroke:#a855f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#581c87

Managed vs. Unmanaged (Backlog) Collections

Collections have two management modes:

1. Managed Collections (Default): These represent active, committed work. Tasks in managed collections feed into your daily agenda, notifications, habits tracking, and AI Task Advisor coaching.
2. Unmanaged Collections (Backlogs & Idea Hubs): These act as quiet holding zones for brainstorming, raw backlog notes, and future concepts. Tasks in an unmanaged collection are intentionally ignored by daily alarms, overdue notices, and automated coaching so your daily focus stays clean.

You can switch a collection's mode at any time in Collection Properties (⚙️).

4. Sharing Happens by Collection

DoneIsGood keeps collaboration clear and predictable: sharing permissions are managed collection by collection.

Your personal collections remain completely private to you. When you want to work with someone else—whether that is a family member, a freelance collaborator, or a project teammate—you share that specific collection:

flowchart TD
    User["Your Account"] --> PrivCol["🔒 Private Collection
(Visible only to you)"]
    User --> SharedCol["👥 Shared Collection
(Family, Client, or Project)"]
    SharedCol --> Viewer["Viewer
• View tasks & progress
• Read notes & steps"]
    SharedCol --> Editor["Editor
• Create & edit tasks
• Check off steps & tasks
• Assigned personal tasks"]

    style User fill:#eef2ff,stroke:#6366f1,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e1b4b
    style PrivCol fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#64748b,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e293b
    style SharedCol fill:#f0fdf4,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d
    style Viewer fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:1px,color:#1e3a8a
    style Editor fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#10b981,stroke-width:1px,color:#064e3b

Permission Roles

• Viewer (Read Only): Can inspect tasks, steps, notes, and completion statuses, but cannot edit or delete anything.
• Editor (Read & Write): Can create tasks, mark checklist steps complete, edit descriptions, and update schedules.
• Task Assignment: In shared collections, tasks can be assigned to specific team members. Each person can open the My Assigned Tasks view to see all tasks assigned to them across all shared collections in one place.

Privacy Safeguards for AI & Integrations

If you connect external AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol (MCP) or API tokens, you control exactly which collections those agents can read or write to. In shared collections, external AI agents can only modify or create tasks assigned to you. Your teammates' tasks remain protected.

5. Four Collection Layouts: Choose the Right Tool for the Job

Not every project works best in the same visual format. In DoneIsGood, every collection can use one of four visual layouts:

1. The Eisenhower Matrix (Default & Principal Framework)

The Eisenhower Matrix is the foundation of DoneIsGood. It organizes tasks across two axes: Urgent and Important.

• Q1 Do First (Urgent & Important): Critical deadlines, emergencies, and blocking issues that need immediate action today.
• Q2 Schedule (Important, Not Urgent): Strategic planning, deep focus work, skill development, and health. This is where your highest-leverage long-term progress happens.
• Q3 Delegate (Urgent, Not Important): Routine requests, administrative chores, and interruptions that should be automated, batched, or handed off.
• Q4 Eliminate (Not Urgent, Not Important): Low-value distractions, busywork, and obsolete ideas that should be cleared away.

graph TD
    subgraph Eisenhower ["Eisenhower 2x2 Priority Grid"]
        Q1["🔥 Q1: Do First
(Urgent & Important)"] --- Q2["🎯 Q2: Schedule
(Not Urgent & Important)"]
        Q3["🤝 Q3: Delegate
(Urgent & Not Important)"] --- Q4["🗑️ Q4: Eliminate
(Not Urgent & Not Important)"]
    end

    style Eisenhower fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e3a8a
    style Q1 fill:#fef2f2,stroke:#ef4444,stroke-width:1px,color:#991b1b
    style Q2 fill:#eff6ff,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:1px,color:#1e40af
    style Q3 fill:#fefce8,stroke:#eab308,stroke-width:1px,color:#854d0e
    style Q4 fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#94a3b8,stroke-width:1px,color:#334155

Why it shines: It stops the "urgency trap"—the habit of spending all day answering minor urgent messages while your most important long-term goals sit untouched.

Read the complete guide in Prioritizing with the Eisenhower Matrix.

2. The Kanban Board

When work moves through sequential stages—such as content publishing, recruitment, or software development—a Kanban Board provides the clearest picture.

Tasks sit in columns representing their lifecycle stage (e.g. Backlog, In Progress, Review, and Done). You can drag task cards horizontally across columns as work progresses, and set Work-in-Progress (WIP) limits on active columns to prevent multitasking bottlenecks.

flowchart LR
    Col1["📥 Backlog"] --> Col2["⏳ In Progress
(WIP Limit: 3)"]
    Col2 --> Col3["🔍 In Review
(WIP Limit: 2)"]
    Col3 --> Col4["🎉 Done"]

    style Col1 fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#64748b,stroke-width:1px,color:#1e293b
    style Col2 fill:#eff6ff,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:2px,color:#1e40af
    style Col3 fill:#fefce8,stroke:#eab308,stroke-width:2px,color:#854d0e
    style Col4 fill:#f0fdf4,stroke:#22c55e,stroke-width:2px,color:#14532d

Why it shines: It visually highlights where work is getting stuck. If the "In Review" column is overflowing, everyone can see the bottleneck and help clear it before pulling new work.

Learn more in Using DoneIsGood with Your Favourite Productivity Method.

3. The MoSCoW Matrix

When you are working toward a fixed deadline or budget, you cannot always do everything on your wishlist. The MoSCoW Matrix groups tasks into four priority buckets:

• [M] Must Have: Non-negotiables. If any Must Have task is missing, the release or event cannot go ahead.
• [S] Should Have: Important and high-value, but a viable workaround exists if time runs short.
• [C] Could Have: Nice-to-have enhancements done only if extra capacity remains after Musts and Shoulds are finished.
• [W] Won't Have (This Time): Explicitly agreed to be out of scope for the current milestone.

Why it shines: It eliminates scope creep. When a deadline looms, everyone already knows that Could Have items are dropped first, keeping your delivery date safe without panic.

Read the full breakdown in Requirements Planning with MoSCoW & Brainstorming.

4. The Checklist

When a workflow is purely procedural—such as a deployment verification, a client onboarding runbook, or a travel packing list—quadrants and stage columns add unnecessary complexity.

The Checklist layout displays tasks in a clean, vertical sequence with prominent check targets. You can reorder items easily, check them off as you execute, and still leverage sub-steps, duration estimates, due dates, and time recording for each item.

Why it shines: Perfect for operational discipline. When a process must be executed step-by-step without skipping, a clean checklist keeps attention focused directly on the next action.

Choosing and Adopting a Methodology

You can set each collection's methodology to match how your team works:

1. Open the collection.
2. Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the top right to open Collection Properties.
3. Under Board Layout & Methodology, choose Eisenhower Matrix, Kanban Board (with presets from 3 to 5 columns including Backlog and Review), MoSCoW Matrix, or Checklist.
4. Click Save Properties.

Permanent Methodology Adoption: Once an Eisenhower collection is converted to Kanban, MoSCoW, or Checklist, it permanently adopts that methodology. This keeps your column positions, requirements, or linear sequence clean and prevents tasks from being scrambled back into arbitrary 2×2 quadrants. All steps, notes, assignees, estimates, and tags remain fully preserved.

6. Where to Go from Here

Now that you understand tasks, collections, and layouts, explore these next steps to get the most out of DoneIsGood:

• 📲 Install the App: Follow Getting Started: PWA Installation & Account Preferences to add DoneIsGood to your phone and desktop.
• 🎯 Master Prioritization: Dive deep into Prioritizing with the Eisenhower Matrix.
• 📋 Manage Detail: Read Steps vs. Notes vs. Documents to keep your tasks lean and actionable.
• ⏱️ Track Your Time: See Time Recording & Focus Logging to learn how to log focus blocks and spotlight time leaks.
• 🔄 Sync Your Schedule & Tasks: See Connecting Google & Microsoft Calendars and Tasks to keep your schedule aligned across Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.
• 🤖 Explore AI Coaching: Learn how to use smart suggestions in the AI Features & Productivity Coaching Guide.