UP in Practice — Examples
The same activity can belong to different tools depending on the nature of the commitment, not the nature of the activity itself. These examples illustrate how to think about assigning things to the right tool — and where the boundaries between tools lie.
The same thing, different tools
A book
A book is just a book. But the commitment around it determines where it lives in UP.
You need to read a specific book before writing a review next month. There is a horizon and a consequence — it goes into the Scale-Free Planner, assigned to the appropriate time slot.
You want to read more fiction for pleasure. There is no deadline, just an intention to maintain a habit. Reading goes into the Pace Planner as a category, with a target daily average. A separate list of books to read lives outside UP entirely — it is a reference, not a commitment.
Exercise
You go to a yoga class every Tuesday evening. It is a fixed, recurring slot in your week — it goes in the weekly calendar as a standing entry.
You have arranged to play squash with a friend on Wednesday. That is an appointment — it goes in the calendar.
You want to run regularly for your health, with no event in mind. Running goes into the Pace Planner — you set a daily average and track whether you are keeping pace.
You are training for a specific race in three months. There is a horizon and a target. Training goes into the Scale-Free Planner, where it can be refined as the race approaches.
Staying in touch with someone
You have arranged to have dinner with a friend next Saturday. That is a fixed commitment — it goes in the calendar.
You want to call your grandmother regularly — no specific schedule, just often enough. This is a Recurring Tasks entry: a rough frequency, a last-done date, a gentle nudge when the interval passes.
Where the boundaries lie
Cyclic deadlines vs Recurring Tasks
Both involve regularity, but the nature of the obligation is different.
A cyclic deadline is an external obligation with a fixed due date that recurs on a predictable schedule — a monthly bill, an annual insurance renewal, a quarterly tax filing. The date is not yours to choose. Missing it has consequences. It belongs on the cyclic deadlines list.
A recurring task is something you want to do regularly, at a frequency you set yourself. Washing the car, cleaning the coffee machine, checking the tyre pressure — these have no external due date. The interval is your own judgment of what makes sense. They belong in Recurring Tasks.
The car is a good illustration of the boundary. Paying the annual road tax is a cyclic deadline — the date is fixed and missing it has legal consequences. Washing the car is a recurring task — it needs doing roughly every month or two, but the exact timing is yours.
Recurring Tasks vs Pace Planner
Both cover open-ended activities with no fixed deadline, but they differ in what you are tracking.
Recurring Tasks is for discrete, completable activities — things you do once and then it is done until next time. Cleaning the bathroom filter, replacing a lightbulb, descaling the kettle. Each instance is a finished event. The tool tracks when it last happened.
The Pace Planner is for continuous activities — things you do a little of at a time, where what matters is the accumulated amount over time. Reading, practising an instrument, exercising. There is no single moment of completion. The tool tracks whether your overall pace matches your intention.
Maintenance and enjoyment of the same object can fall on different sides of this boundary. Servicing the car annually is a Recurring Task. Going for a drive on weekends for pleasure is a Pace Planner entry.
A full-spectrum example: home aesthetics
Caring about how your home looks and feels involves commitments of every kind. The same broad intention — a pleasant, well-kept home — distributes naturally across the entire UP toolkit.
Bins that need taking out — a concrete task waiting to be done today or tomorrow. It goes on the TODO list. It is not recurring in any meaningful sense; it just needs doing when it needs doing.
Regular hoovering — something that needs to happen every week or two, with no external deadline. It goes into Recurring Tasks, with a frequency you set and a gentle nudge when the interval passes.
Small improvements to the décor — hanging a picture, rearranging a shelf, buying a plant. These are not urgent, not scheduled, but you want to invest some time in them regularly. They go into the Pace Planner as a category — a small daily average that keeps this kind of activity from always being crowded out by more pressing things.
A planned room renovation — a project with a horizon, a budget, decisions to make, and work to coordinate. It goes into the Scale-Free Planner, starting as a distant slot and ripening into concrete steps as the time approaches.
A consultation with an interior designer — a fixed appointment at a specific time. It goes in the calendar.
The home does not change. The nature of each commitment does.