📍Auto-scheduling How-to Guide

Introduction

Auto-Scheduling is Motion’s core feature that automatically plans your day. Instead of manually dragging tasks around, Motion finds the best time for each task based on your working hours, deadlines, and priorities. With the right setup, you can focus on doing the work while Motion handles when it happens.

At a glance

• Create your schedule: Define your working hours and availability.

• Update or delete your schedule: Adjust your settings as your routine changes.

• Assign a schedule to your task: Assign tasks to one of your saved schedules for better context.

• Set a custom schedule for a recurring task: Lock repeating tasks to a specific schedule and time.

• Set priorities for tasks: Tell Motion which tasks matter most so it can schedule them first (see scheduling hierarchy guidelines for more info).

• Customize scheduling options: Control where tasks appear and add breaks between them.

• Pause auto-scheduling: Temporarily prevent Motion from placing this task on your calendar. When paused, the task won’t appear in your schedule until you turn auto-scheduling back on.

---

Create your schedule

How to create your schedule

Goal: Set up your working hours so Motion knows when to place tasks.

1. Go to Settings (⚙️gear icon) from the left sidebar.

2. Select Schedules.

3. Click + New schedule.

4. Enter a name for your schedule (e.g., [Company] hours, Personal time).

5. Define your working hours by dragging and selecting the days and times you’re available.

   • Alternative option: You can also create a schedule directly while creating a task. In the task modal, open the Schedule dropdown and click + Add schedule.

   • Faster execution: Copy one day's schedule to the next.

6. Save your schedule. Motion will now use these hours when auto-scheduling tasks.

💡 Pro Tip: Create multiple schedules (e.g., Work, Personal, Weekend) so motion can auto-schedule tasks in the timeframes you want to work on those types of tasks.

Update or delete your schedule

How to update or delete your schedule

Goal: Adjust your working hours or routines as your availability changes.

1. Go to Settings (⚙️gear icon) from the left sidebar.

2. Select Schedules.

3. Find the schedule you want to change and click the pencil icon ✏️ to edit or trash bin 🗑️ to delete.

   1. There is no schedule restore function, if you want it again you will need to recreate that schedule.

4. Update the schedule name, days, or time blocks as needed.

5. Save your changes. Motion will immediately apply the new schedule to future auto-scheduled tasks.

   1. To use it, you’ll need to either set it as your default schedule (so it applies to any new tasks you create afterward) or manually assign it to existing tasks.

💡 Pro Tip: Review your schedules regularly. Small tweaks (like adding several schedules or adjusting for new working hours) can make auto-scheduling much more effective.

Assign a schedule to your task

How to assign a schedule to your task

Goal: Assign a specific task to one of your custom schedules so Motion knows when to place it.

1. Open the task you want to edit.

2. In the right-hand sidebar, scroll down to the Schedule field.

3. Open the dropdown menu and select one of your saved schedules (e.g., Working hours, Personal hours, Weekend hours).

4. The task will now only be scheduled within the time blocks you defined for that schedule.

   1. When Hard Deadline is enabled, Motion could auto schedule the tasks outside of the assigned schedule so that you avoid missing the tasks' deadline.

💡 Pro Tip: Use different schedules for different types of work (e.g., Crunch Time for focus-heavy tasks, Weekend hours for personal projects). This ensures Motion respects your context and boundaries.

Set a custom schedule for a recurring task

How to set a custom schedule for a recurring task

Goal: Make sure a recurring task always follows a specific schedule you define.

1. Create a new recurring task.

   1. Click +New on the top left part of the Motion interface

   2. Click New task and a task modal will appear

2. In the right-hand sidebar, click Recurring button at the top right corner of the task modal to make the task repeat.

3. Scroll down to the Schedule field.

4. From the dropdown, select Custom.

5. Define the Custom schedule by choosing the days and time range (e.g., 8:00 am – 5:00 pm).

6. (Optional) Add an ideal start time if you prefer the task to begin at a specific time within that range.

7. Save the task — Motion will auto-schedule the recurring task within your custom window.

💡 Pro Tip: Custom schedules are especially useful for routines like daily check-ins or weekly reviews, so they always land in the right part of your day.

Set priorities for tasks

How to set priorities for tasks

Goal: Tell Motion which tasks matter most so auto-scheduling can place them first (see scheduling hierarchy guideline for more info).

1. Open a task from your list or calendar or create a new task.

2. Find the Priority parameter in the task details.

3. Choose a priority level (e.g., ASAP, High, Medium, Low).

4. Save the task. Motion automatically schedules higher-priority tasks with earlier deadlines earlier in your day, ensuring they’re completed first.

💡 Pro Tip: Combine high priorities with early deadlines. Motion balances both to make sure urgent tasks are never missed.

Customize scheduling options

How to customize scheduling options

Goal: Adjust how Motion places tasks on your calendar with simple scheduling preferences.

1. Go to Settings from the left sidebar.

2. Select Auto-scheduling.

3. Next choose where your tasks appear:

   1. Show tasks on Motion Calendar to view all tasks in Motion. When toggled off, no tasks will appear on your Motion calendar.

   2. Show tasks on Google & Outlook calendars if you want tasks synced to your external calendar. (see more about Google & Outlook calendar here)

   3. Set breaks between tasks:

4. Enable Schedule a break and define how long and how often (e.g., a 15-minute break every 2 hours).

5. (Advanced tip) Use Travel Time in your calendar settings to block time before or after meetings so tasks aren’t scheduled during transitions. Not supported for iCloud calendars or recurring events.

   1. When you create an event, under the date and time section there is a Travel time button.

   2. Click and select the duration

   3. Select if you want it for before and/or after the event.

💡 Pro Tip: Adding breaks helps prevent back-to-back scheduling and keeps your day realistic.

Pause auto-scheduling

How to pause auto-scheduling

Goal: Stop Motion from automatically scheduling a specific task so you can manage it manually.

1. Open the task you want to adjust.

2. In the right-hand sidebar, near the top, find the Auto-scheduling toggle. It will show if the task is currently auto-scheduled (the purple toggle will be on)

3. Turn Auto-schedule off. The task will no longer move automatically and it won't get scheduled nor appear on your calendar.

4. To re-enable, toggle Auto-schedule on again.

💡 Pro Tip: Auto-scheduling is how Motion works its magic. Without it, tasks may not appear on your calendar and you won’t see when a task is at risk of missing its deadline. Look for the “No ETA” label as an indicator that a task isn’t being auto-scheduled. Find your tasks by going to: Projects & Tasks > Task List.