Focus Board View

The Focus Board organises your work into time-boxed Focus Cycles — short planning periods you can use to batch and prioritise items. Think of it as a lightweight sprint board without the overhead of heavyweight agile tools.

When to Use the Focus Board

The Focus Board is ideal when you want to:

• Work in regular planning cadences (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
• Keep a backlog of ideas and tasks that you pull from each cycle
• See at a glance what is planned, in progress, and done for the current cycle
• Track progress through a visual progress bar and day counter

It works well for solo professionals, small teams, content creators, legal workflows, and anyone who wants structured planning without Jira-level complexity.

Getting Started

Creating a Focus Board View

1. Open your database
2. Click the "+" button next to the view tabs
3. Select "Focus Board" from the view type menu
4. A configuration dialog opens automatically

First-Time Configuration

The Focus Board needs two properties to work:

Property	Purpose	Required Type
Focus Cycle	Groups items into planning cycles	Sprint property
Status	Creates the board columns (Backlog, In Progress, Done…)	Status property

If the Focus Cycle property doesn't exist yet:

1. Click "Create Focus Cycle Property" in the configuration dialog
2. A new Sprint-type property called "Focus Cycle" is created automatically
3. It is auto-selected in the dropdown — you don't need to do anything extra
4. Select your Status property from the second dropdown
5. Click "Save Configuration"

Tip: When saving for the first time with an empty Focus Cycle property, a default "Cycle 1" (2-week planning cycle starting tomorrow) is created automatically so the board is immediately usable.

Using a Template

Several database templates come with a Focus Board already configured:

• Focus Planning 🏃 — Agile-style user stories with story points, epics, and priorities
• Dev Issues 🔧 — Software development issues, features, tech debt, and bug tracking
• Goal Tracker 🎯 — Personal or team goals with categories, progress tracking, and target dates
• Content Pipeline 📝 — Content production management with content types, platforms, and publish dates
• Matter Tracker ⚖️ — Legal matters, cases, or client work with priorities and deadlines

Each template includes a pre-configured table view and Focus Board view with two starter cycles.

---

Understanding the Board Layout

Board Header

The header sits at the top of the Focus Board and contains:

Element	Description
Cycle selector	Dropdown showing the current cycle name (e.g. "Cycle 1"). Click to switch between cycles.
Cycle dates	Shows the start and end dates of the selected cycle (e.g. "Feb 17 – Mar 2")
Days remaining	Countdown badge showing how many days are left in the cycle
Progress bar	Colour-coded bar showing the proportion of items in each status column
Effort badge	Colour-coded badge showing completed / total effort points (e.g. "21/29 pts"). Changes colour from red → amber → green as progress increases. Hover for a detailed breakdown.
Sprint actions	Buttons for creating, starting, and completing cycles
Settings	Opens the configuration dialog to change properties

Board Columns

The board has two types of columns:

Backlog column (leftmost):

• Contains all items not assigned to any cycle
• Items with a "done" status are automatically excluded from the backlog
• Drag items from here into cycle columns to plan your work

Status columns:

• One column per status option (e.g. To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done)
• Items assigned to the currently selected cycle appear in these columns
• Columns are ordered based on your status property's option order

Cards

Each card on the board represents a database record. Cards show:

• The record title (primary text property)
• Effort badge — if an Effort property is configured, each card displays a colour-coded effort value (e.g. 1, 3, 8). Click the badge to change the value directly on the card without opening the detail panel.
• Auto-displayed properties like status, priority, dates, and assignees
• Drag handle for moving between columns
• Click to open the full record detail panel

---

Working with Focus Cycles

Creating a New Cycle

1. Click the "New Focus Cycle" button (➕) in the board header
2. A new cycle is created with:
   • Auto-incremented name (e.g. "Cycle 3")
   • 2-week duration starting the day after the previous cycle ends
   • Status set to Planning

Tip: You can rename cycles, adjust dates, and set goals by editing the Focus Cycle property options from the column header menu.

Cycle Lifecycle

Each Focus Cycle goes through three stages:

Planning  →  Active  →  Completed

Stage	Description	Board behaviour
Planning	Future cycle being prepared. You can add items to it.	Items visible when this cycle is selected
Active	The currently running cycle. Only one cycle can be active at a time.	Default selection when opening the board
Completed	Finished cycle. Kept for reference and retrospectives.	Can be viewed via the cycle selector

Starting a Cycle

1. Select the cycle you want to start from the cycle selector
2. Click the Start button (▶) in the header
3. The cycle status changes from Planning to Active
4. If another cycle was active, you'll be prompted to complete it first

Completing a Cycle

1. With the active cycle selected, click the Complete button (✓)
2. The cycle status changes to Completed
3. Any unfinished items remain assigned to the cycle for review
4. You can move them to the next cycle manually or leave them

Switching Between Cycles

Click the cycle selector dropdown in the header to:

• See all cycles grouped by status (Active, Planning, Completed)
• Click any cycle to view its items on the board
• The header updates to show that cycle's dates, progress, and day count

---

Drag and Drop

Moving Items Between Status Columns

1. Click and hold a card in any column
2. Drag it to a different status column
3. Release to drop — the item's Status property updates automatically

Example: Drag a card from "To Do" to "In Progress" and the record's status changes.

Planning Work from the Backlog

1. Drag a card from the Backlog column to any status column
2. The item is automatically assigned to the currently selected cycle
3. Its status is updated to match the target column

Returning Items to the Backlog

1. Drag a card from any status column back to the Backlog
2. The item's cycle assignment is cleared
3. It returns to the pool of unplanned work

---

Per-Column Pagination

The Focus Board uses smart pagination so that every column displays its cards, even with large datasets.

How It Works

• Each column initially loads 10 items
• A "Load more (X remaining)" link appears at the bottom if more items exist
• Click to load the next batch of items
• The remaining count stays accurate even after drag-and-drop operations

Backlog Pagination

The backlog column handles pagination slightly differently:

• It accounts for server-side items that haven't been loaded yet
• The count includes both locally available and server-side items
• This ensures you always see an accurate "remaining" count

---

Progress Tracking

Progress Bar

The header displays a colour-coded progress bar showing how items are distributed across status columns:

• Each segment represents one status column
• Segment width is proportional to the number of items in that status
• Colours match your status property option colours
• Hover over a segment to see the exact count

Days Remaining

A badge in the header shows how many days are left in the current cycle:

• Updates daily based on the cycle's end date
• Helps you gauge whether you're on track

---

Effort Tracking

The Focus Board includes built-in effort tracking using Fibonacci-based sizing. This helps you gauge how much work is in a cycle and avoid overloading.

Setting Up Effort Tracking

1. Ensure your database has an Effort property (templates include one by default)
2. Open the Focus Board Settings (⚙️)
3. Under Effort Property, select your Effort property
4. Click Save Configuration

Assigning Effort to Tasks

You can set effort values in two ways:

• On the card: Click the effort badge directly on any card to open an inline dropdown with all Fibonacci values (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21)
• In the detail panel: Click a card to open it, then set the Effort property in the properties panel

The Effort Badge

The header displays a colour-coded effort badge showing progress:

Completion	Colour	Meaning
0–24%	Red	Early in the cycle
25–49%	Amber	Getting started
50–74%	Yellow	Past the halfway mark
75–99%	Green	Nearly there
100%	Emerald ✓	All effort complete

Hover over the badge to see:

• Exact percentage complete
• Points completed vs. remaining
• A mini progress bar
• Contextual advice based on your progress

Fibonacci Sizing Guide

Value	Meaning	Rough Time
1–2	Quick wins	Under an hour
3–5	Solid tasks	A few hours
8–13	Large work	Half a day or more
21	Epic-sized	Consider breaking it down

The gaps between Fibonacci numbers grow larger, reflecting how uncertainty increases with bigger tasks. This makes estimation faster and more honest than guessing exact hours.

Tip: If you find yourself assigning "21" frequently, the task is probably too large. Break it into smaller items of 3–8 points each.

---

Configuration

Opening the Configuration Dialog

• Click the Settings icon (⚙️) in the board header
• Or use the "Configure Focus Board" button shown when the board is unconfigured

Changing Properties

1. Open the configuration dialog
2. Select a different Focus Cycle property from the dropdown
3. Select a different Status property
4. Select an Effort property to enable effort tracking (optional)
5. Click "Save Configuration"

Dismissing the Dialog

• Click "Cancel" to close without saving
• Click outside the dialog to dismiss it
• You can always reopen it from the settings icon in the header

---

Best Practices

Cycle Planning

✅ Do:

• Keep cycles to 1–2 weeks for predictable cadences
• Start each cycle with a planning session — review backlog, pick items
• Set clear goals for each cycle
• Complete cycles on time, even if items are unfinished

❌ Don't:

• Make cycles too long (4+ weeks reduces focus)
• Add items mid-cycle unless they're urgent
• Leave completed items in the backlog

Board Organisation

✅ Do:

• Use 3–5 status columns for clarity (e.g. To Do, In Progress, Review, Done)
• Use filters to focus on specific priorities or assignees
• Archive completed cycles periodically

❌ Don't:

• Create too many status columns — it fragments attention
• Leave the backlog unsorted — prioritise regularly

Team Collaboration

• Assign items to specific people using the Assignee property
• Use Priority properties to highlight critical work
• Review the progress bar in standups or check-ins
• Use the cycle selector to run retrospectives on completed cycles

---

Troubleshooting

Board shows "Configure Focus Board" instead of columns?

Solution: The board hasn't been set up yet. Click the button to open the configuration dialog and select your Focus Cycle and Status properties.

No cycles available?

Solution: Click "New Focus Cycle" in the board header to create your first cycle. Or, if creating a board from scratch, save the configuration and a default Cycle 1 is created automatically.

Items not appearing in the backlog?

Check:

• Items with a "done" status (Complete group) are excluded from the backlog by default
• The item might have a Focus Cycle assigned — check its property value
• Try loading more items using the "Load more" link at the bottom of the column

Drag and drop not working?

Check:

• You have edit permissions on the database
• The board is not in a read-only state
• Try refreshing the page

Progress bar not updating?

• The bar updates after drag-and-drop operations
• It reflects the distribution of items across status columns for the selected cycle
• Ensure items are assigned to the cycle you're viewing

"Load more" shows incorrect count?

• The count tracks the maximum observed items per column to avoid confusion during drag operations
• If the count seems off, changing the selected cycle resets the counters

---

Related

• Kanban Board — Visual board view grouped by any property
• Views, Filters & Sorting — Complete view system guide
• Property Types — Understanding property types including Sprint
• Working with Rows — Managing database records