Reading the TEA Leaves

The phrase reading the tea leaves comes from the ancient practice of tasseography, where tea leaves in a cup are interpreted to predict the future. It refers to the act of making sense of subtle signs, helping individuals draw conclusions.

This expression can be generalized to mean analyzing details to interpret meanings or insights.

In Cherry Task, the symbol to the left of every action is called a TEA Leaf. It can be interpreted at a glance to reveal three important properties of an action without cluttering the interface — Time, Energy, and Area.

TL;DR

  • Color represents the Area of Focus & Accountability

  • Length represents the Estimated Time to Complete

  • Boldness represents the Energy Required

Area of Focus & Accountability

When you choose a color for an Area of Focus & Accountability, this makes it easy to identify at a glance what actions, projects and agendas belong to that Area.

Each TEA Leaf will take the color of the Area that belongs to its action.

Areas-Tea Leaf-Doc.png

Estimated Time to Complete

When you clarify an action, you can enter the estimated time to complete that action. (5 min — 8 hrs in 5 minute increments). Longer than 8 hours is represented by 🕛🕒🕕🕘🕛.

If you do not enter a time, it will default to 30 minutes.

Each TEA Leaf represents the estimated time for its action by its length. Actions with longer TEA Leaves require more time to complete than actions with shorter TEA Leaves. This makes it simple to select actions appropriate to your available time.

Customize TEA Leaf Display

Because everyone will have work that is unique to them, the maximum time estimate for a TEA Leaf display can be changed to fit your work. To change this setting, go to Preferences and select your desired maximum estimated time displayed.

Tea Leaf Preference-Doc.png
A Maximum Estimated Time Displayed of 8 hrs can make it difficult to see the differences between shorter time estimates. A Maximum Estimated Time Displayed of 2 hrs can make it difficult to see the differences between longer time estimates.
Maximum Estimated Time Display.png
Maximum Estimated Time Displayed — 2hrs; 4 hrs; and 8 hrs

Energy Required

When you clarify an action, you can enter the energy required to complete that action. Energy levels are Low, Normal, or High.

Each TEA Leaf represents the energy required to complete its action by its boldness.

  • Low Energy

    • Thin border and hollow fill

  • Normal Energy

    • Thin border and light colored fill

  • High Energy

    • Thick border and Dark colored fill

Energy-Tea Leaf-Doc.png