Task Manager - Four-Level System
Architecture
| Layer | File | Purpose |
|---|
| Customer | tasks/customer-projects.md | ALL customer projects (single source of truth) |
| Execution | tasks/tasks.md | Four quadrants (personal + customer tasks requiring YOUR execution) |
| Future | tasks/maybe.md | Ideas for later evaluation |
| Delegation | tasks/delegation.md | Tasks assigned to others |
| Archive | tasks/archived.md | Completed/deleted history |
Core Principles
- Customer projects NEVER duplicate - exist only in Customer Project List
- Personal execution only - customer tasks enter quadrants only when YOU must execute
- Sequential numbering - 1-N per file, no gaps, no duplicates
- Auto-fix numbering - after EVERY operation, verify and fix sequence
Four Quadrants
| Q | Name | Strategy | When |
|---|
| Q1 | Important + Urgent | Execute immediately | Deadlines, blockers |
| Q2 | Important + Not Urgent | Plan & schedule | OKRs, strategic work |
| Q3 | Not Important + Urgent | Batch process | Maintenance, delegatable |
| Q4 | Not Important + Not Urgent | Postpone/delete | Exploration, optional |
Priority Tiers (within quadrant)
- P0: Today (hard deadline or blocking)
- P1: This week
- P2: This month/quarter
Customer Project Workflow
New Customer Project
↓
Add to Customer Project List (record all)
↓
Need YOUR execution?
├─ YES → Add to appropriate Quadrant, tag with [Customer/ProjectName]
└─ NO → Keep in Customer Project List only
↓
Regular Review → Update status (Active/Blocked/Pending)
↓
Completed → Archive entry + complete quadrant task if exists
Task Numbering Rules
Quadrant Tasks (tasks.md)
- Q1: 1 to N
- Q2: (N+1) to M
- Q3: (M+1) to P
- Q4: (P+1) to Q
- Continuous sequence across quadrants, no gaps
Maybe List (maybe.md)
- Sequential: 1, 2, 3...
- ALWAYS append to END - never insert in middle
- Verify: last_number == total_count
Customer Projects (customer-projects.md)
- Per-customer numbering: 1, 2, 3...
- Independent across customers
Delegation List (delegation.md)
- Sequential: 1, 2, 3...
- ALWAYS append to END
- Verify: last_number == total_count
- Format:
### X. Task Name @assignee
Archive (archived.md)
- Sequential: 1, 2, 3...
- ALWAYS append to END
- Group by archive date
- Format:
### X. Task Name [Archived: YYYY-MM-DD]
Numbering Verification (MUST RUN AFTER EVERY OPERATION)
- Read target file
- Scan for: duplicates, gaps, wrong transitions
- Reassign sequential numbers starting from 1
- Re-read to verify
- Repeat if issues remain
Numbering Checklist:
Operations
Add Task
See references/task-add.md for complete workflow.
Quick Guide:
- Determine level: Quadrants / Delegation / Maybe
- Determine quadrant (if applicable): Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4
- Assign priority: P0/P1/P2
- Insert at appropriate position
- Renumber ALL tasks (sequential from 1)
- Update statistics
- Display updated list
- (Optional) Offer to open Dashboard for visual review
Complete Task
See references/task-complete.md for complete workflow.
Key Points:
- MUST NOT stop at just marking [x] - full flow required
- Delete completed task from source file
- Renumber remaining tasks
- Move to archived.md
- Update statistics
- Display updated list
- (Optional) Offer to open Dashboard to see updated status
Three Scenarios:
- Main Task List (tasks.md) - Four Quadrant tasks
- Delegation List (delegation.md) - Delegated tasks
- Maybe List (maybe.md) - Future tasks
Post-Operation Dashboard Offer
After any task operation (add/complete/update), the skill SHOULD offer to open the dashboard:
✅ Task Added Successfully
**Summary:**
- Task: [Task Name]
- Location: Q2 #15
- Priority: P1
📊 Would you like to view the task dashboard?
→ User approves: Launch dashboard and open browser
→ User declines: Continue with next operation
Implementation: Check if user wants to open dashboard after major operations.
Add Customer Project
Step 1: Add to Customer Project List
### [Customer Name]
#### X. Project Name [Status]
- **Status**: Active / Blocked / Pending / Completed
- **Type**: Implementation / Support / POC / Maintenance
- **Description**: Brief
- **Created**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Last Review**: YYYY-MM-DD
- **Notes**: Progress, blockers
Step 2: If personal execution needed, also add to Quadrants
Complete Customer Project
- Mark Completed in Customer Project List
- Archive the entry in archived.md
- Complete related quadrant task if exists
Add to Maybe List
- Read
tasks/maybe.md
- Find highest task number (N)
- Append new task as #(N+1) at END
- Update total count and timestamp
Check/Fix Numbering
Trigger phrases: "check task numbering", "fix sequence", "序号问题"
Action: Read file → scan issues → auto-fix → re-verify → repeat if needed
Output Format (MUST OUTPUT AFTER EVERY OPERATION)
✅ [Operation] Completed
**Summary:**
- Operation: [Add/Update/Complete/Move/Delete]
- Target: [Task name/ID]
- Location: [Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4/Customer/Maybe/Delegation/Archive]
**Statistics:**
| Quadrant | Count |
|----------|-------|
| Q1 | X |
| Q2 | X |
| Q3 | X |
| Q4 | X |
See references/output-examples.md for detailed examples.
Healthy Metrics
| List | Target | Warning |
|---|
| Customer Projects | 5-15 | - |
| Q1 | 3-5 | >5 indicates poor planning |
| Q2 | 8-12 | Core investment area |
| Q3 | 5-10 | Automate gradually |
| Q4 | <10 | Clean up regularly |
| Maybe | <20 | Review monthly |
| Delegation | <15 | Review weekly |
Time Rhythm
- Daily: Check Q1, customer escalations
- Weekly: Review Customer Projects, Q2 planning, Delegation check
- Monthly: Archive completed, review blocked, adjust priorities
Task Tags
- Customer tasks in quadrants:
[Customer/ProjectName]
- Blocked tasks:
🚫 Blocked
- Status: P0/P1/P2
Dashboard (Optional)
A real-time web dashboard is available to view all tasks in a friendly format.
Location: dashboard/
Features:
- 📊 Real-time statistics showing task counts by quadrant
- 🔥 Four-quadrant matrix view with color coding
- 🏢 Customer projects overview with filtering
- 👑 Delegation list with assignee and deadline info
- 🌱 Maybe list for future ideas
- 🎨 Dark theme with modern UI design
- 🌐 Bilingual support (English/Chinese)
- ⚡ Real-time updates via WebSocket when markdown files change
- 📱 Responsive layout for different screen sizes
- 💡 Hover to see full task details - Mouse over any task card to see complete information including description, subtasks, tags, and timestamps
Dashboard Launch Workflow
After completing task operations, the skill will offer to open the dashboard:
✅ [Operation] Completed
Would you like to view the task dashboard?
[Open Dashboard] [Skip]
If approved → Auto-start dashboard and open browser
If skipped → Dashboard remains available for manual launch
Manual Launch (Anytime)
Method 1: Daemon Mode (Recommended for Long-term Use)
Run in background, service continues after terminal closes:
cd dashboard
./start.sh --daemon # Start in background, no terminal dependency
Features:
- ✅ Service continues after terminal closes
- ✅ Auto PID management, prevents duplicate starts
- ✅ Logs output to
dashboard.log
- ✅ Shows access URL and PID after startup
Stop the daemon:
./stop.sh # Gracefully stop the service
Method 2: Foreground Mode (For Debugging)
Suitable for development and debugging, service stops when terminal closes:
cd dashboard
./start.sh # Run in foreground, Ctrl+C to stop
Advanced Usage
# Specify port (default 8080)
./start.sh --daemon --port 3000
# Check running status
curl http://localhost:8080/api/health
Architecture
- Markdown files are the single source of truth
- Node.js server parses markdown in real-time
- WebSocket pushes updates to browser when files change
- No database required - pure markdown-driven
- Enhanced error handling: global exception capture, port conflict detection
Reference Materials
| File | Purpose |
|---|
references/task-add.md | Complete workflow for adding tasks - levels, quadrants, priorities, renumbering |
references/task-complete.md | Complete workflow for completing tasks - 3 scenarios (Main/Delegation/Maybe), archiving |
references/numbering-rules.md | Numbering rules for all 5 task lists |
references/output-examples.md | Output format examples |
references/maybe-list-workflow.md | Step-by-step Maybe List operations |
references/templates.md | Statistics and report templates |
references/dashboard-offer.md | Dashboard offer workflow after task operations |
dashboard/ | Real-time web dashboard (./start.sh --daemon for background mode) |
Critical: Always read task-add.md or task-complete.md before performing those operations to ensure full workflow compliance.
Version: 8.2 (Added daemon mode, stop.sh, enhanced error handling)
Last Updated: 2026-04-21