# Schedule and finish an activity

Plan a call from a contact's chatter, find it in My Activities, time the work and mark it done, the path every activity follows.

An activity is a piece of follow-up work: call a client back, file a claim before its deadline, collect a signed letter. It has a type, a title, a due date and time, and the people it is assigned to. **Activities** turns them into one task list for the whole firm, and it lists the activities of every app, an invoice's or a case's as well as its own. This walk-through plans a call with the demo client Kenan Al-Wahmi, finds it in your list, times the work and marks it done.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need at least the **User** access right in the **Activities** section of your user; the **Viewer** access right cannot create activities. [Create a user and set access rights](/docs/general-settings/create-a-user-and-set-access-rights) shows where it is set.
- You also need the right to edit the record you plan the activity on, here a contact.
- The chatter itself (messages, notes, followers) is explained in [Follow a record: chatter, notes, followers and attachments](/docs/essentials/follow-a-record-with-the-chatter).

## Step 1: open the record {#open-the-record}

Open **Contacts/Contacts** and click **Kenan Al-Wahmi**. The top bar of the chatter, beside the form, holds **Activity**.

![The contact's chatter; the Activity button plans work on this record.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12134-64521ff0/activities-first-activity-chatter_activity_button-en.png)

On a phone, the chatter sits below the form.

## Step 2: plan the call {#plan-the-call}

1. Click **Activity**. The **Schedule Activity** dialog opens.
2. Click the type **Call**. The **Summary** takes the type's default text; replace it with your own title: "Activity demo: call the client about the hearing date".
3. Fill **Due Date & Time**, here 12 January 2027 at 10:00. The field starts empty; left empty, the activity is due on the type's own delay, at 17:00 in the assignee's time zone.
4. **Assigned To** shows you. Add other people when the work is shared: each of them sees the activity in **My Activities**. Choose a **Supervisor** when someone must follow it.
5. Set the **Priority** to **High** and add the tag **Client follow-up**. **Client** links a contact when the activity concerns a client other than the record.

![A call planned for a date and a time, with a High priority and a tag.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12138-ce69cc07/activities-first-activity-schedule_dialog-en.png)

On a phone, the dialog opens full screen with the same fields and buttons.

6. Click **Save**. **Mark Done** would record the call as already done, and **Discard** closes the dialog.

The type **Meeting** books a real meeting in the calendar for everyone assigned; [Calendar](/docs/calendar) explains the meeting itself.

## Step 3: see it on the record {#see-it-on-the-record}

The call now waits under **Planned Activities** in the chatter, with how many days remain before it is due. **Mark Done**, **Edit** and **Cancel** act on it from there; **Cancel** deletes it.

![The call waits under Planned Activities, with how soon it is due.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12140-a37b6b68/activities-first-activity-planned_in_chatter-en.png)

## Step 4: find it in your list {#find-it-in-your-list}

Open **Activities/My Activities**. The list holds every open activity assigned to you, from every app, the highest priority first and then the nearest due date. The call shows its tag, its type, the contact in **Document** and its status, **Planned**.

![The same call in My Activities, beside the other work assigned to you.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12144-f8cb6d7f/activities-first-activity-my_activities_row-en.png)

## Step 5: time the work {#time-the-work}

1. Click the call to open it.
2. Open the **Actions** menu and choose **Start Timer**. The timer keeps running while you work, even if you leave the page.
3. When you stop working, choose **Stop Timer** in the same menu. Each start and stop is kept as a session in the **Timer Sessions** tab.

![While the timer runs, the Actions menu offers Stop Timer.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12148-33d5eef9/activities-first-activity-timer_running-en.png)

On a phone, the **Actions** menu holds the same items.

## Step 6: mark it done {#mark-it-done}

Choose **Mark Done** in the **Actions** menu. A running timer stops first and its time is kept. The status turns **Done**, a green ribbon crosses the form, and the activity is archived: it leaves **My Activities** and the open lists, and the **Done** filter finds it again. The contact's chatter keeps a line saying the call is done, with its title.

![The activity is done; it leaves the open lists and keeps its time.](https://jaah.app/web/image/12150-1da7c298/activities-first-activity-activity_done-en.png)

## What you have done {#what-you-have-done}

You planned a call on a record, with a date and a time, a priority and a tag, found it in your own list, timed the work and closed it. Every activity follows the same path, whichever app it comes from. The user guide takes each part further: [Work through your activity list](work-through-your-activity-list), [Track time on an activity](track-time-on-an-activity), [Repeat an activity](repeat-an-activity) and [Run a matter with a center](run-a-matter-with-a-center). [How activities work](how-activities-work) explains the statuses, the roles and the emails.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/activities/schedule-and-finish-an-activity
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Version: Activities 19.0.2.0.1
- Verified: 2026-10-27