# Estimated/Actual time

## What is estimated time?

The estimated time on a task represents the estimated time you think it will take you to complete a task.

The estimated time lives on this chip on each card, and clicking it exposes a dropdown menu where you can view the Actual time, estimated time and a play button to start timing a task.

<figure><img src="/files/BS4mqBmqL0jHeiLKXNOV" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can also access this when you click a task directly from the task modal.

<figure><img src="/files/c95SaQCkKhgGsbjXj9Ko" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Here are a few ways you can leverage "Estimated time" in tasks:

### A way to gauge capacity

You can get a gauge of how packed your day is and if you are over-capacity or can take on more work. We display the total amount of "estimated time" at the top of each column inside the "Add a task" card

<figure><img src="/files/TR4JYu6b2iJjir7janwH" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### See how accurate you are at estimated

Combined with the "Actual time", the estimated time can give you a look into how accurate you are at estimated times.

This data is also used in the Analytics feature to display a breakdown of your "Estimated vs Actual" time spent

This is also great if you want to see "Where am I spending time?" we use estimated time to show you a breakdown

<figure><img src="/files/fajrlUpJKBOpJ6jKxdKX" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## What is actual time?

Actual time is similar to estimated time but is the actual time it took you to complete the task.

You can fill this out manually if you track your time outside of Ellie (or have a rough estimated), but we recommend using the built in task timer feature in Ellie to do this automatically for you.

{% hint style="info" %}
When you complete a task and there is no "actual time" already set, we will automatically set it as the "estimated time"
{% endhint %}

## Showing estimated/actual times on the iOS app

You have 2 options to display actual/estimated times (and their totals) on the iOS app.&#x20;

1. **Floating button mode** - A purple button will appear at the bottom right corner. Estimated/Actual times will display on the task card but appear alongside things like labels, notes, etc...
2. **Add task card mode** - This is more similar to the desktop app. A new "A a task" card will appear at the top of any lists which you can click to add tasks. We'll also display actual/estimate times more prominently and show the total amount at the top of this card

<figure><img src="/files/uYQFj4VhKlGDU6mWPZ4j" alt=""><figcaption><p>Floating button vs add task card</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
The workthreshold feature on the desktop is not available on the iOS app (yet)
{% endhint %}


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