Ah, the dreaded box-ticking exercise. It's a problem not just for digital tools like Trail, but the likes of paper as well. Teams can grow complacent when charged with completing the same task content day after day. Fortunately, Trail offers plenty of opportunity to keep things feeling fresh and teams engaged.

Ever find yourself emailing the teams on site last minute? Maybe there's a menu launch to introduce, training to refresh, recall to announce... forgo the email and break up the monotony by introducing one-off tasks to Trail.

Just click the 'Create task' button on your Manage Tasks page as usual. On the Schedule tab, you'll want to select 'One off' and the date you'd like this task to appear for the teams.

When you know exactly what actions make up a task, it's easy to tick through items without giving them much thought. Keep your teams engaged by updating checklist content regularly.

Simply hover your cursor between two checklist items to add a new item in-between.

💡 Note: Rearranging checklist content can also shake things up! Drag and drop items to switch up the order.

Comments and photos on tasks not only help paint a full picture of the goings on at site, but can help the teams slow down and pay proper attention to the tasks that they complete on Trail.

You have the option to force a comment or photo (and even a photo just from a devices camera) on every task.

Once enabled, a user wont be able to mark a task complete without uploading the relevant details.

You'll feel more confident that tasks have been completed thoroughly, and have a more robust entry to back up your records.

If you're worried that your task content might be feeling a little bit "stale," take inspiration from our Templates! The Templates page is a collection of tasks we've built to help you build your Trail. Let our templates inspire you to add other content from different areas of your business - if it's actionable, there's probably a place for it on Trail!

And remember, if you're worried that the team is completing their tasks on Trail but not in real life, Task Reports can serve as a tool for spotting this behaviour. Select the 'Early Tasks' shortcut to help spot those tasks that have been completed before it would have been possible to do so. A gentle reminder to the teams that you can see this behaviour can help nip it in the bud.

💡 Note: Use your discretion with tasks that have been completed early! In some cases, it's reasonable and appropriate to complete a task early. Other times, it's a sign of trouble.