A stage is where a task has got to — the columns work moves through. You name them after what your work really does rather than accepting a generic to-do, doing, done.

Every stage maps to one of seven fixed status categories: open, in progress, review, paused, done, blocked or closed. Reports and filters read the category, not the name, which is what makes naming your own stages safe.

Stages are set on the workspace, the project or the folder, so a folder usually inherits sensible ones before anybody configures anything. And they are tied to the timer: moving a task between stages prompts you to start, stop or restart timing, and restarting is usually right, because it records which stage the hours went into.