Project dates, status, and notifications

Project dates and project status tell people how the whole project is doing. Canvas dates tell people when individual pieces of work need attention. Keep those two layers separate and the project becomes much easier to read.

Use this article when a project date looks wrong, a status change surprised the team, or people are unsure why a project notification appeared in Inbox.

For progress and burndown, read Project Dashboard and progress. For dated canvases in Calendar, read Use a project calendar. For notification cleanup, read Manage Inbox notifications.

Project dates versus canvas dates

The project header can show a project date range, often used as the overall project start and end window. A canvas inside the project can also have its own Due date or date range.

Use the project date for the big frame: the launch window, engagement period, class assignment period, campaign run, or delivery cycle.

Use canvas dates for the work itself: the creative review due Friday, the client feedback session next Tuesday, the QA pass before launch, or the retrospective after release.

If the project date changes, the whole project timeline changes. If one canvas date changes, only that piece of project work changes.

Set or change the project date

Open the project and use the date control in the project header. Choose the start and end date that describe the project window, then save.

Use real dates. A fake project end date makes project lists, reminders, and reviews harder to trust. If the deadline is unknown, it is better to leave the date unset until the team has a real window.

Changing the project date can appear in project activity so the team has a record of the change. It does not automatically complete canvases, move sections, or change Dashboard progress.

Set canvas dates for the work inside the project

Open the project canvas row, details, Calendar item, or supported date control and set the canvas date where the work happens. Use canvas dates for review deadlines, publish days, handoffs, meetings, and follow-ups.

Calendar and Timeline depend on canvas dates. A project can have a perfectly valid project end date while Calendar still looks empty because the individual canvases do not have dates.

If a date matters to a person’s daily work, put it on the canvas. If it matters to the project as a whole, put it on the project.

Project status

Project status describes the state of the whole project. The core statuses are In progress, Paused, and Completed.

Use In progress while the team is actively moving canvases through the project.

Use Paused when the project is intentionally waiting: a client decision, budget approval, classroom break, staffing change, or dependency outside the team.

Use Completed when the project itself is done. Completing the project is different from moving individual canvases into complete sections. A project can have 100% progress and still remain open for final notes, files, retrospectives, or reporting.

Status changes and Inbox notifications

When someone changes a project status, other joined project members can receive an Inbox notification. The person who made the change is not the audience for that notification, because they already know what they did.

Use status changes sparingly. Paused should mean the team should stop expecting movement. Completed should mean the project is finished enough that people can stop watching it for ordinary updates.

If a teammate says they did not receive a status notification, check whether they are joined to the project, whether they can access the project, whether their notification settings allow it, and whether they are looking in the right workspace.

Project Due date reminders

Due date reminders are different from date-change activity. A project date edit can appear in Activity, but that does not mean every edit sends a reminder.

Project Due date reminders are intended for joined project members when reminders are enabled and the project is still relevant. Archived or completed projects should not behave like active work demanding attention.

If reminders feel noisy, check whether the project date is real, whether the project should be marked Completed, and whether old projects should be archived or cleaned up.

Status, progress, and Dashboard are related but separate

Changing status does not change progress. Marking a section complete can change progress. Moving a canvas into a complete section can change progress. Changing the project Due date can change reminders and activity, but not progress.

This separation is useful:

• A project can be Paused at 80% progress because the final review is waiting on a client.
• A project can be In progress at 100% because the team moved every canvas into a complete section but still needs a retrospective.
• A project can be Completed with a few incomplete canvases if the owner intentionally closed the project and left archival notes.

Example: status meeting

A project owner opens Dashboard before the weekly review. Progress is 71%, burndown is flat, and two canvases are overdue. The project itself is still In progress.

The team decides the project is waiting on external approval. The owner changes status to Paused, leaves a comment on the approval canvas, and updates the project date range. Joined members can see the status change in Inbox or Activity, and the next person who opens the project understands why progress stopped.

When approval arrives, the owner changes status back to In progress, moves the approved canvases into a complete section, and Dashboard progress updates from the section movement.

Example: classroom or training project

A teacher or trainer may use the project date range for the class period and canvas dates for each assignment, workshop, or review session.

When the class ends, changing project status to Completed makes the overall state clear. If some canvases remain incomplete because students missed work or optional activities were skipped, that does not necessarily mean the project status is wrong. The project status explains the program state; Dashboard progress explains how the canvases moved.

Troubleshooting

If the project date changed but Calendar did not change, check the canvas dates. Calendar is based on dated project canvases, not only the project header date.

If Dashboard progress changed but status did not, check section completion settings. Progress and status are separate.

If status changed but nobody was notified, check project membership, Inbox access, notification settings, workspace, and whether the person making the change expected to notify themselves.

If an old project keeps reminding people, confirm whether the project should be marked Completed, archived, or given a real updated date.