Motion (AI Planner)

AI calendar and task planner that fits your tasks into open blocks around your meetings and recalculates when your calendar and task constraints change.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: Motion Web & Desktop App (Windows & macOS)

These instructions were checked against official product documentation on the review date. Menus, features and availability may change or vary by device, software version and subscription. If your screen looks different, check the official help links below or contact AAT Solutions.

How Motion's auto-scheduling works (and its key conditions)

Instead of leaving tasks on a separate to-do list while your calendar fills up with meetings, Motion places tasks directly onto your calendar based on their duration, deadline, priority, and assigned schedule.

Three rules prevent surprises when you first set it up:

  • Calendar conflict protection requires membership in My Calendars: Motion avoids scheduling tasks over Busy calendar events when that connected calendar is included in My Calendars for conflict checking (Settings → Calendars → Calendar Grouping → Edit My Calendars) and has synced. Events marked Free or sitting on a calendar outside My Calendars will not block task time.
  • Hard Deadlines vs Soft Deadlines: Setting a Hard Deadline can override your assigned working hours and schedule a task into the evening or weekend if daytime slots are full before the due date. Use a Soft Deadline when you want the task kept within your assigned schedule hours, and check Motion's overdue or at-risk indicators if your week is full.
  • Update the calendar when meetings change or run late: Motion recalculates from your calendar and task data rather than detecting an unrecorded real-world overrun automatically. Update the calendar event when a meeting changes or runs late; Motion then recalculates using the updated calendar and task constraints.

Getting started in 5 steps

  1. Configure your schedules, breaks, and conflict calendars: Open Settings → Calendars → Calendar Grouping → Edit My Calendars and confirm that the work (and personal) calendars you want Motion to respect for conflict checking are included in My Calendars. Next, open Settings → Schedules to create or edit your working-hours schedule (for example, Work Hours, Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00; remember that a Hard Deadline can still override assigned hours if daytime slots are full, so pair your schedule with Soft Deadlines for standard work). Separately, open Settings → Auto-scheduling and enable Schedule a break (to leave short recovery buffers around task blocks), and create a recurring Busy calendar event for a fixed lunch break.
  2. Open the global New Task dialog: Click + New → New Task inside Motion — or use the quick-entry shortcut:
    • Windows Desktop app (when running): Alt + Space
    • Mac Desktop app (when running): Option + Space
    • Windows Web browser: Ctrl + Space

    (Inside Motion, pressing Ctrl + K or Cmd + K opens Search.)

  3. Enter a realistic duration and choose whether it can be chunked: Give the task a realistic duration — if you tend to underestimate how long tasks take, try adding a 25% buffer (for example, entering 75 minutes instead of 60 minutes). If a longer piece of work (such as a 3-hour report) does not need to be finished in one sitting, enable Chunking and set the minimum chunk duration (the smallest useful session length, such as 30 or 45 minutes). How Motion splits the task across your calendar depends on your available time slots and constraints.
  4. Select your Schedule, Deadline, and Priority, then click Save task: Confirm the task's assigned Schedule (working hours), set a Deadline (choosing Soft Deadline for standard work so it stays within your assigned schedule hours), and pick Medium or High priority (reserving ASAP for genuine emergencies). Click Save task and check where Motion places the block on your calendar.
  5. Work from a clear view and update unfinished tasks: Use My Tasks in List view or a single Day calendar view if a full 7-day grid feels visually busy. If you finish a task early, mark it complete. If a task needs more time than originally planned, update its remaining duration (or use the timer's partial-completion control) and check the updated schedule — Motion will try to fit the remaining time into an available slot around your constraints, or display a scheduling warning if no suitable slot exists before the deadline.

Common problems, and what to do

  • Motion scheduled a task in the evening or over lunch. If a task appeared at 7 p.m. or on a weekend, check whether the task has a Hard Deadline (which can override your assigned working hours when daytime slots are full) or the wrong Schedule selected, and change it to a Soft Deadline on your work schedule. If a task scheduled over lunch or a personal appointment, check that the event is marked Busy (not Free), has synced, and that its calendar is included under Settings → Calendars → Calendar Grouping → Edit My Calendars.
  • You have at-risk warnings on several tasks. This means your tasks cannot fit within their current deadlines, durations, and schedule constraints. Extend the due dates or adjust durations on lower-priority tasks so Motion can fit them in. (Note: choosing Ignore warning in AI Agenda only hides the warning indicator — it leaves the task unchanged and does not create extra time on your calendar.)

5-minute practice exercise

  1. Open Motion, check Settings → Schedules to confirm your working hours, and check Settings → Calendars → Calendar Grouping → Edit My Calendars to confirm your main calendar is included for conflict checking.
  2. Create a temporary 45-minute Busy event on your calendar today titled Practice Busy Slot.
  3. Click + New → New Task (or press Alt + Space in the Windows desktop app / Option + Space on Mac / Ctrl + Space on Windows web), title it Practice task — review draft, set duration to 30m, confirm your work Schedule is selected, choose a Soft Deadline two days from today, and click Save task.
  4. Locate the new 30-minute task block on your calendar and confirm it scheduled during your working hours without overlapping Practice Busy Slot.
  5. Drag Practice Busy Slot onto the time where your practice task was placed: Motion will reschedule the practice task into another open slot if a suitable slot exists before its deadline (or display a scheduling warning if no slot is available). Afterwards, mark the practice task complete and delete Practice Busy Slot.

Official Motion help links

Need more detailed guidance?

This quick guide covers the basics. Get hands-on training to set up Motion around your working hours, calendar, and workload.

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Using this as part of a dyslexia or ADHD toolkit? See our dyslexia & ADHD training.

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