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Buffers: Travel Time, Decompression Time, and Tasks + Habit Breaks in Reclaim
Buffers: Travel Time, Decompression Time, and Tasks + Habit Breaks in Reclaim

How to use buffers between events to give yourself time to travel, take breaks, or chunk up Tasks and Habits.

Updated over a week ago

Reclaim can automatically add smart buffers between events to ensure you have time to travel, take a break, or chunk up your Task and Habit events. There are three different kinds of buffers in Reclaim:

  • Travel Time: auto-add time before and after events with a location.

  • Decompression Time: auto-add time after meetings to take a break.

  • Task and Habit Breaks: add free space (not events) between Tasks and Habits.

Below, we'll cover the three different kinds of buffers in Reclaim.


Travel Time

Reclaim can automatically add travel time before and after events on your main account's primary calendar (including synced events added through Reclaim's Calendar Sync feature) so you have time to go from place to place.

Travel time will automatically stay in sync with changes to events. For example, if an event is rescheduled, the travel time blocks will move with it. If you change the time duration of travel time blocks, we will preserve that change and not attempt to override it.

How to enable Travel Time

  1. Navigate to Settings > Buffers

  2. Under Buffer time and breaks, click the toggle button next to Add travel time before and after events.

  3. Add a default duration for your Travel Time that will be added before and after events with a location.

Travel Time tips

  • The feature will only schedule Travel Time if there is free time before/after the event. If you have a busy event that is blocking the space where Travel Time would go, it might not schedule.

  • The feature will only schedule Travel Time on the primary / main calendar that Reclaim blocks time on, and will only schedule Travel Time before and after events that are marked busy.

  • Travel Time does not check the location in a maps database (for privacy reasons). It is meant to do rough time blocking to prevent double booking, not tell you the duration of your commute. You can always manually extend the Travel Time blocks from the Planner or your calendar.

  • If you're finding that Travel Time isn't being added to an event, first check to make sure it's a fully formed address, with at least two commas. For example 123 Main St, Portland will not work, but 123 Main St, Portland, OR 97123 will work.

  • You can also use #needs_travel or #flight in the title, description, or RSVP response of an event to force travel time to be added to an event. Learn more about hashtags in this doc.

Travel Time for flights

Reclaim will automatically detect events that are flights on your calendar and schedule 2h before the flight and 1h after to give you additional time for navigating airport security and travel.

Note: If Reclaim doesn't automatically identify a flight on your calendar, you can manually override the event category from the Planner to 'Flight'.

Who can see Travel Time on my calendar?

Travel Time is scheduled for an event on your main calendar will be as public, meaning others will be able to see your Travel Time as a "travel" event.

Travel Time scheduled for an event on a synced calendar will follow the visibility setting of your Sync Policy. Learn more here.


Decompression Time

Reclaim can automatically add smart, adaptive time blocks after your meetings to give you a chance to take a break.

Note: Decompression Time will not schedule if there are other events directly after a meeting. If your Decompression Time is not scheduling, take a look at this article.

How to enable Decompression Time

  1. Navigate to Settings > Buffers.

  2. Scroll down to Buffer times & breaks section.

  3. Click the toggle next to Add decompression time after meetings to turn on Decompression Time.

  4. Additional settings will expand below that allow you to:

    1. Modify the default duration for Decompression Time

    2. Apply Decompression Time to all meetings, or just videoconference meetings

    3. Customize the title & Emoji

    4. Decide whether you want the title to appear to others or if you want it to show as "Busy".


Task and Habit breaks

Reclaim can add free space between your Tasks and Habits to prevent them from being scheduled back-to-back and break up your focused work.

How to set up Task and Habit breaks

  1. Scroll to Buffer time & breaks section.

  2. Under Tasks & Habit breaks, click the drop-down menu.

  3. Select the break duration of your choice.

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