# Use statuses and the Inbox

> Every task has a status from Inbox to Done. What each means, where new tasks land, how Today treats them, and how to triage the Inbox and follow up.

Source: https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/statuses-and-inbox/
Last updated: 2026-11-05

A status says where a task stands. It decides which group a task sits in on All tasks, which column it has on a board, and whether it shows on Today.

A task can move in any direction: the path above is the usual one, not a rule.

| Status | Means | On Today |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Inbox** | Captured, not sorted yet. | Only when it is overdue, due within two days, picked for today or P1 to P2. |
| **Backlog** | Not now. Kept for later. | Never. |
| **Todo** | Ready to do. The default for new tasks. | Yes. |
| **In progress** | You have started. | Yes, ranked a little higher. |
| **Waiting** | You depend on someone or something. | Never as a priority. It shows in the Waiting card. |
| **Done** | Finished. | In **Done today**. |

The name of the usual status changes with where you look. It is **Todo** in the status menu, **Up next** as a group on All tasks and **Next action** on a task's badge.

## Change a status

- Use the **Status** field in the edit sheet or the side panel. For a task outside a software project, the sheet offers Todo, In progress, Waiting and Done, plus the status the task already has. The side panel offers all six.
- On the **Kanban** layout of All tasks, set **Group by** to **Status** and drag a card to another column.
- Create a task in a status with the **Add task** row at the end of each group.
- Complete a task with its circle to set it to **Done**.

All tasks lists the groups in this order: **In progress**, **Up next**, **Inbox**, **Waiting**, **Backlog**, then a folded **Done** row. See [Task views](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/task-views/).

## The Inbox

The Inbox is the safe place for things you captured and have not sorted. These land there:

- Tasks added from the desktop quick-add window. See [Quick capture](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/quick-capture/).
- Tasks made from an email with **Add to task**.
- Tasks created by assistants connected through [MCP](https://priortasks.com/docs/integrations/mcp/).
- Untriaged items from an import, like Linear's Triage, and older tasks that have no status.

Tasks you write in the new task sheet or a quick-add field start as **Todo**, and as **Backlog** in a software project.

To triage, open All tasks and work through the **Inbox** group. Give each task a date, a priority or a project and set it to **Todo**, move it to **Backlog**, or delete it. On Android, the Inbox widget lists what waits for triage.

> [!note]
> **Inbox** in the sidebar is your email, read from a connected Gmail account. It is a separate space from the **Inbox** status of a task. See [Find your way around Prior](https://priortasks.com/docs/getting-started/navigation/).

## Follow up on waiting tasks

Set a task to **Waiting** when it depends on someone. Put their name or email in **Responsible** and a date in **Follow up**.

The **Waiting** space lists every open task that is set to Waiting or has a Responsible name. It groups them by person and shows how long each has waited. For each task:

- **Follow up** moves the next nudge to 2 days from now, next week or a date, or copies a ready message such as "Hi Sam, any news on …?".
- **Received** completes the task.
- **Write** opens an email when the name is an address.

Follow-ups that are due come first. The oldest waiting task also appears on Today with a **Follow up** button.

## Good to know

- Automatic time blocking plans Inbox tasks only when they have a date or P1 to P2, and Backlog tasks only when they have a date. See [Time blocking](https://priortasks.com/docs/planning/time-blocking/).