How To Post A Task For David

To have me do something for you and your site, it is best if you add it to the task list and assign it to me inside of Basecamp.

Asking me to do something within a message thread or in the chatroom on Basecamp is fine, but it is more likely to be lost that way. When it is actually on the task list and assigned to me, it means it will not get lost. In fact, when you post a task this way, it is automatically synced to my todo list system right in my office.

How To Do’s Work In Basecamp

First, go to the “To-Dos” section in your Basecamp project.

This screen supports creating multiple to-do lists. If you click the button to add a “New List”, it will create an entirely new list - not an individual task. You usually don’t need to create a new todo list. That’s really only handy if you want to group tasks together (for instance, for a particular project).

Generally, we only need one actual todo list. I often just call it “To Do List” and you may see it on the screen. If not, you can create it.

Then, you can add individual to-do’s do that list by clicking the “Add a to-do” button. You’ll get a screen like this one:

You’ll have the following fields:

• Name of Task. This is the main heading for the task. Keep it short and specific. This field is not meant to be a full note or description of what to do. Think of it more like a subject line. As if you were putting it on your own todo list.
• Assigned To. By default, it will be blank. Ideally, you will actually assign it to me if I am supposed to do it.
• When done, notify. If you want to get a notification from Basecamp when the task is marked completed, put yourself in this field.
• Due On. Select a due date for this task. If the nature of the task is pretty time-specific, feel free to give it a due date. If there’s an issue meeting it, I’ll let you know.
• Notes. This is where you can give me the full description and details for what you need done.

Then save the task and it will be added to our todo list.

You can also assign tasks to yourself if you would like and use Basecamp as a task manage for your own project if it is useful.

If it is a task for me to do, it really helps if you actually assign it to me. This makes it really show up on my side to be done. I’ve asked Basecamp if there’s a way to auto-assign it to me and I’ve been told there’s no option as of now. So, you have to actually assign it to me. I’ll still see it if you don’t, but it may take jus a tad longer.

Comments And Discussions On Tasks

I know that Basecamp has a full message board for back-and-forth discussion, but keep in mind that tasks have a similar comment system. This means you can post a task per above and we can have a conversation on that task to work out the details specific to that task.

It does keep things more organized that way.

If we’ve had a full conversation in the message board about something, there’s no way to link it to a specific task. So, it is helpful if we can keep conversation specific to a task within the comment thread for that task.

Best Practices For Posting Tasks

• Keep each task specific. Don’t post a task like “re-design my website”. It is way too big. Keep the task specific and finite and be sure to include the necessary details in the notes field.
• For larger projects, feel free to create a separate todo list on this same screen and post multiple tasks to that project.
• Remember to assign the task to me.