Defer

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Snoozing Tasks

Learn how to use Defer's powerful snooze functionality to manage when tasks appear in your lists.

Overview

Defer’s snooze feature helps you manage when tasks appear in your lists. When you snooze a task, it moves to the “Later” list until its snooze date arrives, at which point it automatically appears in your “Now” list. This helps keep your immediate attention focused on what matters today.

Ways to Snooze Tasks

1. Natural Language Input

When creating a task, simply include a date in your text:

  • “Call John tomorrow”
  • “Review project next Monday”
  • “Pay bills on Friday”

Defer automatically:

  • Extracts the date
  • Sets the snooze time
  • Removes the date from the task text

2. Quick Snooze Options

Both Mac and iOS versions offer quick snooze options:

  • Today
  • Tomorrow
  • This Weekend
  • Next Week

On Mac:

  • Click the “zzz” icon in the task entry field
  • Use the keyboard shortcut ‘Z’ when a task is selected
  • Shortcuts for quick options:
    • ‘T’ for Today
    • ‘R’ for Tomorrow
    • ‘W’ for This Weekend
    • ‘N’ for Next Week

On iOS:

  • Swipe right on a task
  • Tap “Snooze until…”
  • Select from the quick options or use the calendar

3. Calendar Picker

For dates beyond the quick options:

  • Use the built-in calendar picker
  • Select any future date
  • Available in both quick snooze and task detail views

Bulk Snoozing

You can snooze multiple tasks at once:

  1. Select multiple tasks
  2. Choose “Snooze” from the actions menu
  3. Pick a date for all selected tasks

Understanding Snooze Behavior

Task States

Tasks can be in one of three states:

  1. Now: Tasks due today or without a snooze date
  2. Later: Tasks with future snooze dates
  3. Done: Completed tasks

Automatic Movement

  • Tasks automatically move from “Later” to “Now” when their snooze date arrives
  • This happens at the start of the snooze date
  • No notification is needed - tasks will be waiting in your “Now” list

Viewing Snoozed Tasks

The “Later” view shows:

  • All snoozed tasks
  • Grouped by date
  • With relative dates (e.g., “in 3 days”)
  • Sorted chronologically

Tips for Effective Snoozing

  1. Natural Planning: Use natural language when creating tasks - “next Thursday” works just as well as picking a date
  2. Batch Processing: Select multiple tasks to snooze them all to the same date
  3. Regular Review: Check your “Later” list periodically to stay aware of upcoming tasks
  4. Flexible Dates: You can always change a snooze date - nothing is permanent

Integration with Other Features

Snooze dates are:

  • Included in webhook payloads
  • Preserved when exporting tasks
  • Visible in the All Tasks view
  • Considered when calculating app badge counts (if configured)

App Badge Options

You can configure the app badge to show:

  • All unfinished tasks
  • Only “Now” tasks (excluding snoozed)
  • Only “Later” tasks (snoozed)
  • No badge