For everyone
Follow-ups and escalation
How Pondros checks in with the owner before the due date, reads their reply, and tells the requester when work goes quiet.
When Pondros checks in
A task gets check-ins when it has an owner and a due date, and:
- it’s due within two days, or already late;
- nobody has updated it in the last day.
Check-ins go out on weekday mornings, around 9 AM US Eastern, and repeat each weekday until the task is done. Tasks with no due date are never chased.
The check-in
The owner gets one DM listing every task that needs a nudge, with a button row for each:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Done ✅ | Closes the task. |
| Tomorrow / Next week | Quiets the check-ins until then. The due date doesn't change. |
| Not mine | Takes the task off their plate and tells the requester. |
| Reassign | Hands it to someone else. |
Or they just reply in their own words. The DM ends: Or just reply — I’ll update the board.
How replies are read
| They say | Pondros |
|---|---|
| "on it", "working on it" | 👍 Tracking it. |
| "can we push to Friday?" | Moves the due date: Got it — moved it to Friday. |
| "blocked on legal" | Marks it blocked, with the reason. |
| "sent it this morning" | Asks before closing: Looks done — mark it complete? with a Mark done ✅ button. |
| "this should be Sam's" | Flags it for the requester to reassign on the board. |
Pondros never closes a task on its own reading of a reply; the owner confirms. Whatever the owner says, the person who asked gets it too: Rob came back on what you’re owed: …
When it goes quiet
If check-ins go unanswered, Pondros turns up the pressure one step per weekday:
| Unanswered check-ins | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Another check-in the next weekday. |
| 2 | A warning to the owner: the requester is waiting, and will hear about it tomorrow unless they reply. |
| 3 | The requester gets a DM that the owner hasn't answered. |
| 4 or more | A reply in the thread the task came from, tagging the owner. |
- Any reply from the owner, even one Pondros can’t act on, resets the count.
- If the owner asked for the task themselves, nobody else is told.
- A task that goes past its due date is marked late and stays at the top of the board.
Note
Every weekday at 8 AM US Eastern, each person also gets a short morning DM with what’s due today and what’s slipping, when there’s anything to say. See Scheduled jobs and digests.
Turning follow-ups down
For one task
Turn off Chase on Slack on the task in the board, or press Tomorrow or Next week on a check-in.
For a person
Each person’s Nudges setting on the People page turns off their check-ins and morning DM.