Using Tags for Task Organization in Atarim
Your own categories for tasks — created as you type, and the thing that makes filtering across projects actually work.
Statuses and priorities are fixed — four each, and you cannot change them. Tags are the opposite: they are yours to define, which makes them the only way to categorise work by something specific to how you actually operate.
They are also the easiest thing in Atarim to make useless, by inventing them faster than you agree on them.
How Tags Differ from Statuses and Priorities
Three ways of categorising a task, doing three different jobs. Knowing which is which stops you reaching for tags to solve something the other two already handle.
| Answers | Values | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | How far along is it? | Four, fixed. |
| Priority | How much does it matter? | Four, fixed. |
| Tags | What kind of thing is it? | Anything you create, as many per task as you like. |
Creating and Applying a Tag
There is no separate screen for making tags. You create them by typing on a task, which is convenient and exactly why they multiply if nobody agrees on them first.
Removing a Tag
Open the task, find the tag, and select the × beside it. It is removed from that task immediately — and only from that task. The tag itself continues to exist for everything else carrying it.
Tagging a Batch of Tasks
Tags are most useful applied consistently across a group, which is faster done in bulk than task by task.
Filtering by Tag
This is what tags are for. Everything else is preparation.
What to Tag By
The useful test for a tag is whether you would ever want to see all the tasks carrying it. If not, it is a note rather than a category.
| Tag by | Examples | Useful because |
|---|---|---|
| Type of work | Design, Copy, Dev, SEO | Lets each discipline filter to their own queue. |
| Origin | Client feedback, Internal QA, AI review | Separates what a client asked for from what you found. |
| Phase | Pre-launch, Post-launch, Snagging | Groups work by where it sits in delivery. |
| Effort | Quick win, Needs scoping | Helps fill a short gap or plan a sprint. |
| Blocked reason | Waiting on client, Waiting on hosting | Makes a stalled reason filterable rather than buried in comments. |
Automating Tags
Tags are well supported by workflows, in both directions — a tag can trigger an automation, and an automation can apply one.
| What you want | How to build it |
|---|---|
| Act when a tag is applied | Task tag added trigger — for example notify a developer when Dev is tagged. |
| Tag everything from one source | Task added trigger with an Add task tag step. |
| Route work by tag | A Task tag is set to condition, then assign or notify accordingly. |
| Clear a tag once work moves on | Remove task tag step on a status change. |
| Chase a blocked tag | Tag added, a Delay, then a comment asking for an update. |
Keeping the Tag List Under Control
Tags are created by typing, there is no central place to tidy them, and nothing merges duplicates. That makes discipline at the point of creation the whole game.
| Habit | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Agree the list first | Five agreed tags beat forty invented ones. Write them down somewhere the team sees. |
| Read the suggestions | The field suggests existing tags. Using one is always better than creating a near-duplicate. |
| Pick a casing convention | “bug” and “Bug” can both exist. Decide which, once. |
| Singular or plural, not both | “bug” and “bugs” will otherwise split the same category in two. |
| Automate the important ones | A workflow applies a tag identically every time; people do not. |
Consistency matters more once several projects are in play, since a tag vocabulary is only useful if it means the same thing everywhere. Explore Managing Multiple Projects Efficiently
Benefits of Tagging Consistently
| Benefit | In practice |
|---|---|
| Everyone filters to their own work | A designer sees Design, a developer sees Dev, without separate boards. |
| Bulk actions become precise | Filter to a tag, select all visible, and act on a whole category at once. |
| Origin stays visible | Client requests and internal findings remain distinguishable weeks later. |
| Blocked work is findable | A “Waiting on client” tag is filterable; the same information in a comment is not. |
| Automation gets a handle | Workflows can trigger on tags and apply them, so routing follows category. |
Example Use Cases
| Situation | How to use tags |
|---|---|
| A mixed team on one board | Tag by discipline so each person filters to their own queue. |
| Separating client asks from your own QA | Tag one Client feedback and the other Internal QA, ideally by workflow. |
| A snag list before launch | Tag Pre-launch, then filter to it as your checklist. |
| A short gap between meetings | Filter to Quick win and clear a couple. |
| Chasing everything blocked | Filter to Waiting on client — that is your chase list. |
| Closing out a category | Filter to the tag, select all visible, and set them Complete. |
Known Limitations
FAQs
How do I create a tag?
Type it into Add Tags on any task and press Enter. There is no separate screen for creating them.
Can I rename or merge tags?
No. There is no tag management screen. To consolidate, filter to one tag, select the tasks, and swap it using the bulk control.
Can a task have several tags?
Yes, as many as you need.
Can I tag several tasks at once?
Yes. Select them and use the Task Tags control on the toolbar, which adds and removes.
Do tags have colours?
No. They are text labels.
Should I tag by client?
No. Folders already group projects by client. Tag by things that vary within a client’s work.
Can workflows use tags?
Yes, in both directions — a tag being added can trigger a workflow, and a workflow can add or remove tags.
Common issues
- “Tag already exists” — select the existing tag from the suggestions instead of creating it again.
- “Failed to update tags” — try again. If it persists, check you still have access to that project.
- “No tags” on a task — none have been applied yet. Use Add Tags.
- You are prompted to create your first tag — nothing exists in this workspace yet. Agree the list with your team before you start typing.
- Two tags mean the same thing — filter to one, select all visible, and use the bulk control to swap it for the other. There is no merge.
- A tag is missing from the filter — filters list tags in use. Viewing one project shows that project’s tags; select more projects to see the rest.
- A “Waiting on client” tag is on tasks that are not blocked — nothing removes tags automatically. Add a Remove task tag step to a workflow on status change.
Conclusion
Tags are the only categorisation Atarim leaves entirely to you, which makes them powerful and fragile in the same measure. Agree five, automate the ones that matter, read the suggestions before creating anything new — and the tag filter becomes the fastest way to act on a whole category of work at once.
Tags sit alongside everything else a task carries. Discover How To Manage Tasks In Atarim
Tips & best practices
- Agree a short list before anyone starts tagging. Five used consistently beat forty invented.
- Read the suggestions before pressing Enter — near-duplicates cannot be merged afterwards.
- Pick a casing and a singular-or-plural convention, once.
- Never tag by client. Folders already do that.
- Automate the tags that matter rather than relying on people to remember.
- Pair a tag filter with Select all visible tasks to act on a whole category in one go.