What's The Difference Between A Calendar Event And A Task?
Okay, I WAS going to write something snarky about a famous celebrity or something stupid about tampons like I usually do. But then I remembered I have a computer degree and a background in project management. So why not post something informative and try to make this world a better place? Not that my tampon posts aren't informative, but you know what I mean.
So on most calendars, you have the option to create an event, and you also have the option to create a task. And sometimes, deciding which one to use is confusing because they're very similar. But here's the short explanation: events have a duration; tasks do not. You can have an all-day event like a birthday, or you can have an event with definite start and end times like a conference call. But the important thing to remember is that events have a duration. They last for a specific period of time.
On the other hand, tasks have no specified duration and are simply requirements that need to be fulfilled. For example, "Buy milk" is a task and not an event. It doesn't matter how much time you spend shopping for the milk. As long as you bring the milk home, the task is complete.
Now, there are three main reasons why people get confused when deciding between tasks and events. First, they can both be attached to dates and times. Events always have start and end times, while tasks can optionally have a due date (or time). Just remember that events have a duration, but tasks do not.
The second main cause of confusion is that sometimes events and tasks can overlap. If I need to call my brother on his birthday, I would enter that as a task using his birthday as the due date. But once I schedule a call with him from, say, noon to 1pm on his birthday, it changes from a task to an event because it now has a specific duration.
Third, events can have tasks attached to them. For example, if I schedule a meeting with the sales department on Friday from 9-10 am, I would enter that as an event because a meeting has definite start and end times. But if I need to create a sales report to bring to the meeting, I would enter that as a task using the event start time as the task's due date.
See? It's so simple. You probably feel stupid for not knowing all this in the first place. But don't be so hard on yourself. I appreciate stupid people. I truly do. If it weren't for stupid people, no one would laugh at my jokes. Hell, no one would read my blog. So pat yourself on the back, dumbass. And take comfort in the knowledge that now you're just a TEENSY WEENSY BIT less stupid than you were before you read this post. Oh, and you're welcome.
So on most calendars, you have the option to create an event, and you also have the option to create a task. And sometimes, deciding which one to use is confusing because they're very similar. But here's the short explanation: events have a duration; tasks do not. You can have an all-day event like a birthday, or you can have an event with definite start and end times like a conference call. But the important thing to remember is that events have a duration. They last for a specific period of time.
On the other hand, tasks have no specified duration and are simply requirements that need to be fulfilled. For example, "Buy milk" is a task and not an event. It doesn't matter how much time you spend shopping for the milk. As long as you bring the milk home, the task is complete.
Now, there are three main reasons why people get confused when deciding between tasks and events. First, they can both be attached to dates and times. Events always have start and end times, while tasks can optionally have a due date (or time). Just remember that events have a duration, but tasks do not.
The second main cause of confusion is that sometimes events and tasks can overlap. If I need to call my brother on his birthday, I would enter that as a task using his birthday as the due date. But once I schedule a call with him from, say, noon to 1pm on his birthday, it changes from a task to an event because it now has a specific duration.
Third, events can have tasks attached to them. For example, if I schedule a meeting with the sales department on Friday from 9-10 am, I would enter that as an event because a meeting has definite start and end times. But if I need to create a sales report to bring to the meeting, I would enter that as a task using the event start time as the task's due date.
See? It's so simple. You probably feel stupid for not knowing all this in the first place. But don't be so hard on yourself. I appreciate stupid people. I truly do. If it weren't for stupid people, no one would laugh at my jokes. Hell, no one would read my blog. So pat yourself on the back, dumbass. And take comfort in the knowledge that now you're just a TEENSY WEENSY BIT less stupid than you were before you read this post. Oh, and you're welcome.
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