PLAN FOR REAL LIFE
Recover an overdue list without starting over
Keep real deadlines intact, remove stale commitments, and make the next day manageable.
Pause before moving everything to today
An overdue list mixes several problems: unfinished urgent work, old intentions, waiting tasks and dates that were guesses. Moving every item to today keeps the same overload and removes the distinction between them. First make the list easier to interpret.
Work through a small batch. For each task ask whether the result still matters, whether someone is waiting for it, and what would happen if it stayed unfinished. Keep tasks with real consequences visible while you decide what to do with the rest.
Give each task an honest next state
Finish a task only when its intended result is complete. Delete an obsolete intention if it no longer belongs in your plan, using recovery or undo where available. Defer optional work to a considered date. For blocked work, write the dependency into the task so you know what must change before starting.
If a deadline has passed, preserve that fact while choosing a new work time. An invoice due yesterday and an article you hoped to read yesterday should not receive the same treatment. Contact the person affected by a missed commitment separately when needed; editing a planner is not the same as renegotiating a deadline.
Shrink the next action, not the commitment
‘Prepare the proposal’ may be too broad to start. ‘Outline three options for the proposal’ is a concrete first step. A 20-minute start can reveal the remaining work, but it does not make the whole proposal a 20-minute task.
For example, after a disrupted morning, choose the 30-minute customer reply and a 45-minute proposal outline. Leave the two-hour research task for a suitable block. Keep the research on your list without pretending it can fit into the remaining afternoon.
Use Harbor's recovery actions carefully
In the local planner, review your tasks, edit dates intentionally and use the available undo action after an accidental change. Check the resulting date rather than assuming a button changed the deadline you meant. Local and account workspaces are separate, so confirm which workspace you are editing.
Before a large cleanup, export a backup. A clean-looking list is not worth losing commitments. If the same tasks keep rolling over, reduce the daily selection or clarify those tasks before adding a more elaborate routine.
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Harbor product guide · Published September 20, 2026. Fictional examples; feature descriptions reflect the published guide version. Get help with Harbor.