Mastering Repeating Tasks in SmartSuite: A Comprehensive Guide

In today's fast-paced business world, efficient task management is a crucial element for success. SmartSuite, a powerful cloud-based relational database software, has introduced a groundbreaking feature that simplifies the management of repetitive tasks. In this blog post, we'll delve into the details of this feature, demonstrating how you can create tasks that repeat indefinitely on various patterns or custom schedules. Whether you're a seasoned SmartSuite user or new to the platform, this guide will help you unlock the potential of managing recurring tasks with ease.

Getting Started with SmartSuite: SmartSuite, a no-code tool, enables you to organize information and collaborate seamlessly within your organization. It offers robust task management capabilities, which we'll explore in this guide. If you're new to SmartSuite, you can start by signing up for a free trial and follow along with the steps outlined below.

Creating Repeating Tasks: To begin creating repeating tasks in SmartSuite, follow these steps:

1. Task Setup: Start by creating a new task within your SmartSuite application. Customize the task's title, assignee, priority, status, and due date based on your specific needs.

2. Repeating Task Icon: Notice the repeating task icon located in the bottom left corner of the task window. Click on this icon to initiate the setup of a repeating task.

3. Repeating Task Configuration: A side panel will appear, allowing you to configure the repeating task. You can set the frequency of repetition (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), and you can also define specific days of the week for the task to recur.

4. Task Automation Trigger: Take note of your automation trigger that initiates the creation of the next task in the cycle. In most cases, this trigger will be the completion of the previous task.

5. Copy Field Settings: Decide which task fields should be copied over to the new task in the cycle. You can choose to copy all fields or select specific ones, such as assignee and priority.

Examples of Repeating Task Patterns:

1. Weekly Cadence: Set a task to repeat every week on a specific day. The due date of the task will automatically adjust based on your chosen day and frequency.

2. Monthly Cadence: Create tasks that repeat monthly on a fixed date or a custom schedule, such as the second Thursday of the month.

3. Skipping Weekends: Utilize the option to skip weekends in a daily cadence, ensuring that tasks are only repeated on weekdays.

4. Custom Patterns: Get granular by configuring custom repeating patterns, such as tasks that occur every two weeks on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Optimizing Repeating Tasks for Your Workflow: While SmartSuite's repeating task feature offers powerful automation, there are a few considerations to keep in mind:

1. Task Names and Uniqueness: Depending on your workflow, you can toggle off the requirement for task names to be unique, allowing tasks with the same name to repeat.

2. Adjusting Due Dates: Although repeating tasks are designed to automate due dates, you can still manually adjust due dates for individual tasks.

3. Weekend Exclusions: SmartSuite currently allows skipping weekends in daily cadences but does not offer a built-in option to skip weekends in monthly cadences.

4. Complex Schedules: Take advantage of the custom pattern option for tasks that require intricate and specific repeating schedules.

SmartSuite's repeating task feature empowers you to streamline your task management processes, saving you time and effort. By configuring tasks to repeat on various patterns or custom schedules, you can ensure that important tasks are consistently and automatically assigned, helping you stay organized and on top of your workflow. Whether you're managing weekly, monthly, or custom repeating tasks, SmartSuite provides the tools you need to optimize your task management strategy and increase overall efficiency.