The Workday inbox, called My Tasks, includes tasks, approvals, due dates, and other items requiring action. With all the items that come through the My Tasks inbox, employees may encounter unwanted or unneeded items, such as old items that are incomplete that have been superseded by a new task.
This Tips & Tricks post shares ways to unclutter your My Tasks inbox and best practices to follow that keep your inbox clean.
What types of items can clutter your My Tasks?
It’s important to ensure action is taken on the items in your My Tasks inbox as some items, if left in-progress, can impact desired events or tasks in the future. Actions include approve or send back, and in many cases, employees have the ability to cancel, skip, or delete items from their My Tasks inbox. Examples of unwanted items employees may need to cancel or delete are:
- Any item that was initiated by mistake
- Actions or tasks that were accidentally duplicated
- A benefits change that was started accidentally or that employees no longer wish to complete
- Actions sent to an Approver that they wish to cancel
- A delegation request that was triggered as part of a leave of absence request and is not required can be skipped
How do I remove these items?
Employees can learn how to remove unwanted My Tasks items by reviewing the “Cancel, Skip, and Delete Inbox Items” section of the Workday My Tasks (Inbox) and Notifications reference guide.
- Tip: Be sure to use the Gear icon at the top of the task window to select the option to Cancel, Skip, or Delete a transaction completely. The “Cancel” icon at the bottom of the window only cancels the most current action being taken on an item, and does not delete or cancel the item itself.
When should I clean up my My Tasks inbox?
It is recommended that employees regularly review their My Tasks inbox to prevent any unwanted in-progress items from impacting desired tasks downstream.
Managers and supervisors, or those who perform tasks impacting other employees, are encouraged to take action on My Tasks items in a timely manner to prevent delays or errors. Get in the habit of knowing when the key events are throughout the year. For example:
- Monthly, Semester Start/End, Quarterly, or Yearly
- Pay lock
- After each hire event
To learn more about how to prepare for and plan around key events, explore the Calendar Planning & Best Practices reference guide, or review the related 2023 Elevating Cougs session in Percipio.
- Tip: In the case of an employee leaving their positions, Managers must review tasks assigned to terminating workers and determine if the tasks should be canceled or reassigned. Please review the tasks assigned to the terminating worker.
- Tasks assigned only to the terminating worker may be canceled or reassigned as necessary.
- Tasks assigned to multiple individuals may be left if other individuals are able to take action. In this case, please be sure to coordinate if the terminating individual was the responsible party so others are aware they need to take action.
How do I find inbox items that have been delegated to me, assigned to multiple people, or assigned only to me?
When organizing their My Tasks inbox, employees can use the Advanced Search to find and display inbox tasks according to assignment type. These include:
- Assigned Only to Me
- Assigned to Multiple People
- Delegated to Me
Tasks that have been delegated to you can also be filtered by selecting “Delegated to Me” in the Filters option in the My Tasks menu.
For instructions and examples to save the Assigned Only to Me, Assigned to Multiple People, and Delegated to Me searches, review the “Find Inbox Items That Have Been Delegated to You, Assigned to Multiple People, or Assigned Only to You” section in the Workday My Tasks (Inbox) and Notifications reference guide. For instructions on how to run and save an Advanced Search, review the “Search the Inbox Items and Save the Search Parameters” section.
Mass Submit, time entry approval, and My Tasks
Employees may receive a time entry approval task, including requests to approve or certify “0” hours, in their inbox following a Mass Submit event in Workday. Mass Submit is a task in Workday run by HRS for time that remains in a not submitted status (Not Submitted, Denied, or Sent Back) after 60 days.
- Tip: Inbox items resulting from a Mass Submit event will appear as submitted by Emily Goodwin. Emily is the Workday Administrator for Time and Absence, and performs the Mass Submit process, which is why these items display her name. Please do not delete or cancel these time entry tasks. If the time is accurate, please approve! If not, please revise and re-submit the time for approval.
Learn more about how to manage tasks related to Mass Submit in this FAQs guide.
Where should I go if I need help?
You may encounter items in your My Tasks that do not have the option to Cancel, Skip, or Delete. For help removing these items from your inbox, submit a ticket to the Workday Service Desk. Choose from the following ticket types for each functional area:
- General Human Resource Services Question
- General Payroll Question
- General Purchasing Question
- General A/P, Card, Travel Question
For a comprehensive list of instructions on how to navigate the My Tasks inbox, save searches, sort, create filters, and view notifications, review the Workday My Tasks (Inbox) and Notifications reference guide.
If you have general questions about this article, or managing your My Tasks inbox, submit a General Workday Question ticket via Workday Service Desk.
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