# Start dates and deadlines

> The difference between when a task starts and when it is due, and which one to set.

A task has two different date fields and they mean different things. Setting the wrong one is the most common source of confusion in Done Bear.

- **Start date** — when the task becomes relevant. This is what decides whether a task is in Today or Upcoming.
- **Deadline** — when it is actually due. It is independent of the view: a task can sit in Anytime with a deadline next month.

## Which one to set

If you know when something is **due**, set a deadline. If you know when you want to **start on it**, set a start date. Plenty of tasks want both, and plenty want only one.

Scheduling a task for today sets a start date of today. It does not set a deadline — the task shows up in Today because you decided to work on it, not because anything is due.

The reverse also holds. A deadline on its own does not schedule the task; it stays wherever you put it until the deadline is today or overdue, at which point it appears in [Today](/help/views) so you cannot miss it.

## Dates are whole days

Dates are calendar days. There is no time-of-day field on a task, so a task is due on a day rather than at an hour.

## Clearing a date

Clearing a deadline leaves the task where it is — it only removes the due date. Clearing a start date is what moves the task back out of Today or Upcoming.

## Repeating tasks

A repeating task is set up in the app, on the task itself. Repeats are a property of the task rather than something you approximate by making a series of dated copies.

## Related

- [Views](/help/views)