Why use recurring tasks?
Recurring tasks are the lifeblood of your annual cycle of tasks.
If we don't setup your recurring tasks, then we guarantee that you will forget to at least one part of your compliance or information security work, most likely a lot of it.
Recurring tasks also allow us to de-centralise our compliance work, by involving stakeholders from without our organisation we're able to minimise reliance on a few key people, as well as increase the quality of the work completed. Read more about de-centralisation in our article on the subject.
How do recurring tasks work?
It's important to understand how recurring tasks are designed, as you'll need this information to:
- Change the frequency of a task
- Stop a task from recurring
- Make changes to all future recurring tasks
- And more
When creating a recurring task
Creating a recurring task is simple enough. While creating the task, set a deadline for the initial task and then the option of recurrence will appear.
Note: You cannot create a recurring task without a deadline.
By setting the recurrence you'll define the frequency with which this task will repeat itself. Spanning from weekly tasks to tasks repeating every 4 years.
After the initial task
Once the initial recurring task is created this will be considered the main task.
When the deadline of the main task is reached, an exact copy will be created with the deadline pushed into the future (how far naturally depends on how often the task is set to repeat)
This new task will then become the main task and the recurrence information is removed from the previous task.
It's possible to have multiple open tasks in the same recurrence. This will happen if you don't complete a task before the deadline.
The main task will always be the latest task in the recurrence (last created). And can be identified by seeing if the recurrence frequency is visible on the task.
View of the main task:
View of another task in the chain:
A note on task reminders
As usual a task reminders will be sent to the assignee once a recurring task is initially created. However tasks created automatically though the recurrence won't send a task created reminder.
See more information in our article on task reminders
Frequently asked questions about recurring tasks
With the above understanding in place we can begin to answer a some frequently asked questions:
How do I change the frequency of a recurring tasks?
To change the frequency of a recurring task, you simply have to change the frequency on the main task.
By doing so the next created tasks's deadline will will match the newly changed frequency, and the frequency will be carried over as well.
Example:
I have an annually recurring tasks to risk assess one of our critical systems. The information on the main task looks as follows:
- Frequency: annual (every year)
- Deadline: October 31st 2025
We've changed the use of the system, and it's no longer considered critical for our business. Therefore I want to change the frequency to bi-annual (every 2 years). The information on the main task is now:
- Frequency: Bi-annual (every 2 years)
- Deadline: October 31st 2025
By not editing the deadline I've chosen to still complete my next review in October this year.
Once we reach November 1st the next task in the recurrence will have been created with the following information:
- Frequency: Bi-annual (every 2 years)
- Deadline: October 31st 2027
How do I stop a task from recurring
To stop a task from recurring you must do one of the following things:
- Delete the current main task
- Edit the current main task and set the recurrence to "No interval"
Either of these tasks will stop the recurrence from creating any more tasks. Which action you take will depend on whether you still intend to complete the current task.
How do I change the description or user of my recurring tasks?
To change the description, attachment, task type, assignee, responsible, or another other information on the task. You will simply have to edit the main task - as it is the main task that is copied for future tasks.
Note: This will not change the information on previously completed or overdue tasks in the recurrence.
When is the next task in the recurrence created?
The next task is created on the deadline of the main task.
If your main task has a deadline of December 23rd, then you'll be able to see the next task on December 24th.
How do I see the full chain of recurring tasks?
You're easily able to view the full chain of recurring tasks from any of the tasks in the recurrence.
Navigate to the 3 dots in the top right of the task, and select "previous tasks"
From here you can see all tasks in the chain. And easily navigate to the to see information such as completion date, task evaluation, comments, attached documents etc.
Note: The menu point "Previous tasks" won't appear until at least 2 tasks exist in the recurrence.
How do I easily find the main task in the recurrence?
There are 2 very simple ways to find the main task in the recurrence.
- Go to Previous tasks to find and edit the main task (top of the list)
- Go to Recurring tasks in the task overview and find the task on the list. This view only shows main recurring tasks.