Deadline or Due Date for Tasks

Deadlines got added with release 63. You can read about it here: https://capacities.io/whats-new/release-63

Most tasks take more than a day and we would prefer to start working on them before the deadline. Therefore, it's important to separate the dates for working on tasks and the final deadline.

Actually, I'd like standard types like Tasks to be expandable with custom fields like custom types. I would like to add more extra fields than due dates. Also, I'd like to add more properties to Daily Notes.

das wäre konsequent weitergedacht und doch eigentlich ein Basisfeature, just saying… ;-)

Simple functionality for my preference:

start date = you don't need to think about it until then. A task with this should show up automatically in daily note

end date = when I want to finish it - a management tool for me

deadline = when it's due to client

concur with Shawn W. comment

The formula is typically “Task START Date”, “Task Due Date“ - Task End date (This is the Date you actually finished the task)

For a majority of users, Recording the the Task end dat might be over doing it. For those who want to see an automatic calculation displaying number of day remaining or number of days a task is over due ( Display of the actual ## number of Days a task is overdue.)

Displaying text “Hey buddy, your task is late” is not how Project/Product managers or Travel Advisors think. 🤔

Great to see this being prioritized, Steffen. Looking at the request for a "Deadline" field, it seems the underlying need is to stop "Due Dates" from doing double duty. Currently, users often set a Due Date just to make a task resurface on their radar—similar to the GTD "Tickler" concept—effectively trying to force a Due Date to behave like a Start Date.

To make this GTD-compatible yet flexible for any workflow, I suggest treating these two fields as independent Visibility Contexts rather than a "Project Management" duration.

1. The Start Date as a Visibility Gate A Start Date should be the gatekeeper for actionability. Currently, many users misappropriate the "Due Date" just to see a task on their Daily list. Instead, the Start Date should restrict a task from appearing in "Daily" or active views until that date is reached. This ensures that only items that can actually be performed today are referred to as "Next Actions." If I need to see what’s coming, I can check a future calendar, but my Daily list should remain noise-free.
2. Task Management vs. Project Management (Avoiding the Accidental Duration) Most software implements Start Dates in a Project Management way, where the gap between start and end implies a "Duration" (multi-day effort). In Task Management, this distinction is often overlooked. Most tasks are short or medium-sized; they don't take days of continuous work, they just have a window in which they can be completed.

Independence: These are two independent contexts. Everything between the Start and Due dates is simply the window of time where the task is valid and performable.

Calendar Clarity: By decoupling them, we avoid the visual clutter of having every small task appear as a giant "duration bar" on a calendar. The actual duration is irrelevant; the visibility window is what matters for focus.

1. Solving "Due Date Numbness" We often suffer from "Due Date Numbness" because we use those dates to shout at us to "do the task," which eventually leads us to ignore them. Using a Start Date provides a solution:

External vs. Internal: Due dates are usually static because they are externally imposed. A Start Date is internal; it can be used to "kick" something forward as often as desired without losing the integrity of the actual due date.

Meaningful Signals: With a true task-based Start Date, the existing Due Date field actually improves. It returns to its rightful purpose: reflecting genuine external pressure.

The Effect: The "Automated" Utility Bill Example Imagine you know your utility bill is released on the 5th of every month. You create the task weeks in advance:

The Visibility Gate: On the 5th, the task surfaces on your Daily list. Before this, no action could be taken even if you wanted to, so it stayed hidden to preserve mental bandwidth.

The Workflow: It appears as something that can be done that day and remains visible from day to day until completed. You can now prioritize your day from a pool of truly available Next Actions, without any noise.

The Pivot: If the bill can't be prioritized today, it simply carries forward. If it becomes noise because of other high-priority tasks, you can use the Start Date to "kick" it forward (Tickler) to next Tuesday. You've cleared your current view, but you haven't lost the original, unmoving Due Date of the 25th.

Proposed Behavior:

Hide tasks from Daily/Active views if Current Date < Start Date.

Surface tasks automatically once Current Date >= Start Date.

Preserve the "Due Date" solely for priority and consequence, ensuring it remains a meaningful signal rather than a scheduling tool.

with notifications plz :)

yes

Deadlines are good to capture at the time of task creation. No need to create any additonal views, just add the same logic as the current date. Once deadline can be captured the current date function can be used to describe when you will work on a task, independent of the deadline.

Very close deadline should be displayed in remaining days for more urgency instead of just a date

ie: ''In 2 days'' - ''Tomorrow'' - ''Today''

Actually, this should be the default for /date, not sure why it isn't