etm is an acronym for Event and Task Manager. It provides a format for using simple text files to store event, task and action information, a command line interface for viewing tasks and events in a variety of convenient ways and a wx(python)-based GUI for creating and modifying events and tasks as well as viewing them. Displayed items can be grouped by date, context, keyword or project and can be filtered in a number of ways. A display of busy and free times is also supported as is a reckoning view of time spent that is suitable for client billing. Alarms are supported for events and repetition for both events and tasks in a powerful and flexible manner.
In etm, the important distinctions among events, tasks and activities are the following:
| Event: | A reminder of something that will happen on a particular day (or days) and, perhaps, at a particular time. An event cannot be begun or finished either early or late. Events may or may not require our participation. |
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| Task: | A reminder of something that needs to be done. It may or may not have a due date, and if it does, it might be begun and even finished before the due date. It might also be finished and even begun after the due date. |
| Action: | A record of the time-consuming action required to complete a task or participate in an event. Actions are not reminders, they are instead records of how time was actually spent. |
