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⏰ Time Window Scheduling for Chores

Organize your household tasks with smart time-based scheduling that fits your family's natural rhythm!

Overview​

Time window scheduling allows you to assign chores to specific parts of the day, making it easier to distribute tasks and establish household routines. Whether it's morning prep, afternoon cleaning, or evening wind-down, you can schedule chores when they make the most sense.

Key Benefits​

  • Natural rhythm alignment: Schedule tasks when your family is most productive
  • Balanced distribution: Prevent overwhelming any single time period
  • Routine building: Create consistent daily and weekly patterns
  • Conflict reduction: Spread out household responsibilities throughout the day
  • Better planning: Know when chores are expected to be done

How It Works​

When creating or editing chores, you can assign them to predefined time windows. The system tracks these assignments and helps distribute workload evenly across different times of day.

Available Time Windows​

Mind Your Now provides several time window options to match common household patterns:

🌅 Morning Window (6:00 AM - 12:00 PM)​

Perfect for:

  • Making beds
  • Breakfast cleanup
  • Getting ready for school/work
  • Walking pets
  • Quick tidying before the day starts

Best for: Energy-driven tasks, daily routines, preparation activities

☀️ Afternoon Window (12:00 PM - 6:00 PM)​

Perfect for:

  • Lunch cleanup
  • Laundry tasks
  • Outdoor activities
  • Shopping errands
  • Major cleaning projects

Best for: Bigger tasks, errands, deep cleaning when energy is sustained

🎒 After School Window (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM)​

Perfect for:

  • Student chores and responsibilities
  • Snack cleanup
  • Homework area organization
  • Pet care
  • Quick room tidying

Best for: Kid-friendly tasks, after-school routines, light responsibilities

🌙 Evening Window (6:00 PM - 10:00 PM)​

Perfect for:

  • Dinner cleanup
  • Kitchen restoration
  • Tomorrow's preparation
  • Relaxing organization tasks
  • Family cleanup time

Best for: Wind-down activities, meal cleanup, next-day preparation

🕐 No Time Window​

Perfect for:

  • Flexible tasks
  • As-needed chores
  • Emergency cleanups
  • Tasks done whenever convenient

Best for: Flexible scheduling, claiming system, spontaneous cleaning

Setting Up Time Windows​

During Chore Creation​

  1. Open Add Chore Dialog

    • Click the "Add Chore" button in your chores section
    • Fill in the basic chore information (name, icon, difficulty)

  2. Configure Time Window

    • Navigate to the "Schedule & Recurrence" section
    • Find the "Add Time Window" dropdown
    • Select from the available options:
      • 🕐 No time window (default)
      • 🌅 Morning (6:00 AM - 12:00 PM)
      • ☀️ Afternoon (12:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
      • 🎒 After School (3:00 PM - 6:00 PM)
      • 🌙 Evening (6:00 PM - 10:00 PM)
      • ⚙️ Custom Time Range (future feature)

  3. Combine with Other Settings

    • Time windows work with assignment types (individual, shared, rotational)
    • Compatible with auto-scheduling
    • Integrates with recurrence patterns (daily, weekly, monthly)

Editing Existing Chores​

  1. Open Edit Dialog

    • Click the edit button (pencil icon) next to any chore
    • Navigate to the Schedule & Recurrence section

  2. Modify Time Window

    • Change the time window selection in the dropdown
    • The change applies immediately to future occurrences
    • Existing incomplete assignments retain their original time window

  3. Save Changes

    • Time window updates are saved automatically
    • All household members see the updated schedule

Time Window Logic & Algorithms​

Assignment Distribution​

When multiple chores share the same time window, Mind Your Now intelligently distributes them:

  • Load balancing: Prevents any single time period from becoming overwhelming
  • Member availability: Considers when different household members are typically available
  • Recurrence patterns: Spreads recurring chores across different days
  • Difficulty weighting: Balances easy and hard tasks within time windows

Auto-Assignment Within Time Windows​

For auto-scheduled chores with time windows:

  1. Priority calculation: System evaluates urgency, difficulty, and member availability
  2. Conflict detection: Checks for overlapping responsibilities in the same time window
  3. Fair distribution: Rotates assignments to prevent burnout in specific time periods
  4. Household patterns: Learns from completion patterns to optimize future assignments

Boundary Handling​

  • Strict boundaries: Chores assigned to specific windows shouldn't bleed into other times
  • Flexibility buffer: 15-minute grace period at window boundaries for completion
  • Cross-midnight: Evening chores can extend past 10 PM if started before the window closes
  • Timezone awareness: All times adjust to household's configured timezone

API Integration​

Time Window Field Structure​

Time windows are stored in the timeWindow field of chores:

interface ChoreData {
  id: string;
  title: string;
  timeWindow: string | null; // "morning" | "afternoon" | "after-school" | "evening" | null
  // ... other chore properties
}

Backend Endpoint​

Update chore time windows through the unified tasks API:

PUT /api/v2/unified-tasks/{choreId}
Authorization: Bearer {token}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "timeWindow": "morning",  // or "afternoon", "after-school", "evening", null
  // ... other fields to update
}

Response Handling​

  • Success: Updated chore data with new time window
  • Validation: Ensures time window values are valid
  • Conflict resolution: Checks for scheduling conflicts with existing assignments

Visual Timeline & Distribution​

Daily Timeline View​

Time windows appear in a visual timeline format:

6 AM    ├─────────────────────┤ Morning Window
        │  🛏️ Make beds       │
        │  🍳 Breakfast prep  │
        │  🐕 Walk dog        │
12 PM   ├─────────────────────┤ Afternoon Window
        │  🧺 Laundry         │
        │  🛒 Grocery run     │
        │  🧹 Deep clean      │
6 PM    ├─────────────────────┤ Evening Window
        │  🍽️ Dinner cleanup  │
        │  📚 Homework area   │
        │  🗑️ Take out trash  │
10 PM   └─────────────────────┘

Workload Distribution Charts​

Household admins can view:

  • Time window utilization: How many chores are assigned to each window
  • Member distribution: Which family members handle which time periods
  • Completion patterns: Success rates by time window
  • Bottleneck identification: Overloaded time periods requiring redistribution

Common Scheduling Patterns​

Family with School-Age Children​

  • Morning: Quick prep tasks, pet care, bed-making
  • After School: Kid-friendly chores, homework area cleanup
  • Evening: Family cleanup time, dinner responsibilities

Working Parents Household​

  • Morning: Essential prep tasks only
  • Afternoon: Major cleaning (if working from home)
  • Evening: Primary household maintenance time

Multi-Generational Homes​

  • Morning: Energy-intensive tasks for active members
  • Afternoon: Flexible tasks for varying schedules
  • Evening: Shared family responsibilities

Weekend Schedules​

  • Morning: Week preparation, grocery runs
  • Afternoon: Deep cleaning, outdoor maintenance
  • Evening: Meal prep for the upcoming week

Troubleshooting Time Windows​

Common Issues​

Time window not saving:

  • Verify you have edit permissions for the chore
  • Check that you've selected a valid time window option
  • Ensure you're not in read-only mode

Chores appearing at wrong times:

  • Confirm your household timezone is set correctly
  • Check if the chore has auto-scheduling enabled
  • Verify the time window assignment in the edit dialog

Overwhelming single time period:

  • Review chore distribution across all time windows
  • Consider moving some chores to less busy periods
  • Use the "No time window" option for flexible tasks

Family members missing time window chores:

  • Enable notifications for time-based reminders
  • Use the visual timeline to show daily expectations
  • Consider creating family calendar integration

Performance Tips for Large Households​

  • Limit concurrent chores: Max 3-5 chores per time window per day
  • Rotate heavy tasks: Don't schedule all difficult chores in the same window
  • Use after-school window strategically: Great for kid involvement without overwhelming
  • Balance weekday vs. weekend: Heavier tasks on weekends when more time available

Mobile Experience​

Time Window Selection​

  • Touch-friendly dropdown: Easy selection on mobile devices
  • Visual time icons: Emojis help identify windows quickly (🌅🎒🌙)
  • Swipe navigation: Move between different time periods easily

Mobile Notifications​

  • Time-based alerts: Notifications when time windows begin
  • Completion reminders: Gentle nudges before time windows end
  • Family coordination: See what other members have scheduled

Responsive Design​

  • Compact timeline: Optimized view for smaller screens
  • Quick actions: One-tap time window assignment
  • Gesture support: Swipe to change time windows during editing

Advanced Features​

Custom Time Ranges (Coming Soon)​

While currently limited to predefined windows, custom time ranges will allow:

  • Flexible start/end times: Define your own household rhythm
  • Multiple windows per chore: Split larger tasks across time periods
  • Seasonal adjustments: Different schedules for summer vs. school year

Smart Suggestions​

The system learns your household patterns and suggests:

  • Optimal time windows: Based on completion success rates
  • Workload rebalancing: Recommendations to distribute tasks more evenly
  • Member preferences: Time windows that work best for each family member

Integration with Calendar Systems​

Time windows can sync with:

  • Google Calendar: Show chore blocks in your personal calendar
  • Family calendars: Coordinate with other family activities
  • School schedules: Automatically adjust after-school window timing

Best Practices​

For Families with Young Children​

  • Visual cues: Use emoji-rich time window names
  • Short windows: Keep after-school window tasks brief
  • Consistency: Same time windows for similar chores build habits
  • Celebration: Acknowledge when time window goals are met

For Busy Professional Households​

  • Strategic morning: Only essential tasks before work
  • Evening focus: Primary cleanup and preparation time
  • Weekend intensive: Batch larger tasks into longer time blocks
  • Flexibility: Use "no time window" for unpredictable schedules

For Multi-Generational Homes​

  • Energy matching: Assign tasks when members have appropriate energy
  • Respect routines: Don't disrupt established personal schedules
  • Communication: Clear expectations about who does what when
  • Adaptation: Adjust time windows as household needs change

What's Next?​

Time window scheduling integrates with other Mind Your Now features:

  • Achievement system: Earn rewards for consistent time window completion
  • Analytics dashboard: View household patterns and optimization opportunities
  • Smart recommendations: AI-powered suggestions for better time distribution
  • Calendar integration: Sync time windows with family calendars

Ready to create a more organized household schedule? Start by assigning time windows to your most important daily chores and watch your family routine become more predictable and manageable!