Deal with overdue tasks
The number that tells you whether your task list is a tool or a graveyard.
The overdue count sits in the header of Tasks, and it is the single best health check on whether follow-ups are actually happening in your team.
Before treating a high number as a performance problem, separate the two causes. Some tasks are late. Others were created with a default due time nobody adjusted, and were never really due when they said. The second is a process problem and much more common.
Before you start
- Five minutes a week. This is a habit rather than a project.
Steps
Look at overdue weekly
The count is in the header. Five minutes a week is enough to keep this from becoming a backlog nobody will ever face.
Separate genuinely late from badly dated
A task created from a chat with an unadjusted 15-minute reminder was never really due then. That is a training issue, not a performance one.
Deal with the oldest first
A customer promised a callback three weeks ago is a much bigger problem than one promised yesterday, and it is the one most likely to have already cost you.
Ask whether an automation is the cause
A pile of identical automated tasks means the workflow is too broad. The fix is a condition, not a conversation with the team.
Close what will never be done
Honestly, and in one pass. A shorter list everybody works is worth far more than a complete list nobody believes.
Check the contacts behind the oldest ones
Sometimes an overdue task is attached to a customer who has since been marked Not interested. Closing it is right — and worth a moment to confirm.
Check it worked
After a cleanup, note the overdue count. Check it again in a fortnight. If it has climbed straight back, the cause is structural — most likely automated tasks nobody has capacity to absorb.
The parts people get wrong
- Overdue callback tasks are visible on the contact record, so whoever calls next can see the promise was missed before they open with an apology.
- A team whose overdue count is always zero may be closing tasks rather than doing them. Spot-check a few.
The ones people actually ask
Where do I start with a large overdue pile?
The oldest first. A customer promised a callback three weeks ago is a much bigger problem than one promised yesterday, and it is the one most likely to have already cost you. Then separate genuinely late from badly dated — a chat task with an unadjusted 15-minute reminder was never really due then, which is a training issue rather than a performance one.
Should I close tasks that will never be done?
Yes, honestly and in one pass. A shorter list everybody works is worth far more than a complete list nobody believes. Check the contacts behind the oldest ones first — some are attached to customers since marked Not interested.