Temporal Triggers Guide¶
Summary¶
Temporal triggers let you schedule tasks using natural language. Instead of manually creating tasks every day, you can tell MAGIEVA when and how often to create them for you.
Examples: - "Remind me every Monday at 9am to review my goals" - "Create a task to call Mom in 2 hours" - "Every weekday at 5pm, remind me to log my time" - "30 minutes before every meeting, remind me to prepare"
Table of Contents¶
- How Temporal Triggers Work
- Creating Triggers with Maggie
- Creating Triggers Manually
- Trigger Types
- Natural Language Patterns
- Managing Triggers
- Advanced Features
- Examples & Recipes
- Troubleshooting
- Best Practices
How Temporal Triggers Work¶
A temporal trigger is a scheduled action that creates tasks, sends notifications, or starts workflows at a specific time — or relative to another event.
The Three Types¶
| Type | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute (fixed times) | Fires on a recurring schedule | "Every Monday at 9am," "Daily at 5pm," "First day of every month" |
| Relative (time offsets) | Fires a set amount of time from now | "In 2 hours," "Tomorrow at 10am," "Next Friday" |
| Event-based (before/after events) | Fires relative to a calendar event or task due date | "30 minutes before every meeting," "1 hour before task due date" |
How They Differ from Automation Rules¶
| Feature | Temporal Triggers | Automation Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Scheduling tasks | Conditional automation |
| Trigger | Time-based | Event + conditions |
| Actions | Usually create tasks | Multiple action types |
| Recurring | Yes (built in) | Yes (via a schedule trigger) |
| Best for | "Do X every Monday" | "When Y happens, do Z" |
When to use which: - Temporal Trigger: "Remind me to review goals every Monday at 9am" → simple recurring task - Automation Rule: "When a high-priority task is created, send me a notification" → conditional logic
Creating Triggers with Maggie¶
The easiest way to create a trigger is to describe it to Maggie in plain language.
Example 1: Simple one-time reminder¶
User: "Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 2pm"
Maggie: "I'll remind you to call the dentist tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
I've set up a reminder that will create a task at that time.
Would you like me to:
• Add it to your calendar?
• Set a specific priority level?"
Maggie detects the scheduling intent, works out the exact time, creates a one-time trigger, and confirms with you before finishing.
Example 2: Recurring weekly task¶
User: "Every Monday morning at 9am, remind me to review my goals"
Maggie: "I'll create a recurring reminder for you:
• Schedule: Every Monday at 9:00 AM
• Action: Create task 'Review my goals'
• Priority: 7 (default)
This will continue indefinitely. You can pause or delete it anytime in
Settings → Triggers.
Should I create this trigger?"
User: "Yes"
Maggie: "✅ Recurring trigger created! Your first reminder will be next
Monday at 9:00 AM."
Example 3: Relative time trigger¶
User: "In 30 minutes, remind me to check on the deployment"
Maggie: "I'll remind you in 30 minutes to check on the deployment."
[30 minutes later]
[Notification]: "🔔 Reminder: Check on the deployment"
[New task created]: "Check on the deployment" (Due: Today)
Example 4: Event-relative trigger¶
User: "30 minutes before every meeting, remind me to prepare"
Maggie: "I'll create reminders 30 minutes before your calendar meetings:
• Trigger: 30 minutes before each calendar event
• Action: Create task 'Prepare for: [Meeting Title]'
• Calendar: your connected calendar
This works with your connected calendar. Make sure calendar sync is enabled.
Create this trigger?"
User: "Yes"
Maggie: "✅ Trigger created! You'll get preparation reminders 30 minutes
before all calendar meetings."
Creating Triggers Manually¶
You can also build a trigger directly in the app, without talking to Maggie.
Step 1: Open Triggers¶
- Open MAGIEVA
- Go to Settings → Temporal Triggers
- Click Create New Trigger
Step 2: Choose a trigger type¶
Select one of: - Absolute (fixed schedule) - Relative (time offset from now) - Event-based (relative to calendar events or task due dates)
Step 3: Configure the schedule¶
Absolute triggers — set a schedule using either a visual builder or a cron-style expression (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week), plus a timezone.
Relative triggers — choose a starting point ("Now") and an offset, for example "2 hours," and MAGIEVA shows you the resulting date and time.
Event-based triggers — choose what to measure from (event start, event end, or task due date), an offset (before or after), and optional filters, such as only meetings you're organizing or excluding all-day events.
Step 4: Configure the action¶
Most triggers create a task. You can set: - Title and optional description - Priority - Agent archetype (if you want a specific assistant persona to handle it) - Project (optional) - Whether the due date matches the trigger time - Whether to add the task to your calendar
Step 5: Save and activate¶
- Click Test Trigger to verify it behaves as expected
- Click Save & Activate
Your trigger is now live.
Trigger Types¶
Absolute triggers (fixed schedule)¶
Fire at specific times on a recurring schedule.
Use cases: daily reminders, weekly reviews, monthly reports, hourly check-ins.
Schedule format (cron-style):
┌─────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌─────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌─── day of week (0 - 7, Sunday = 0 or 7)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *
Common patterns:
| Description | Expression | Natural language |
|---|---|---|
| Every day at 9am | 0 9 * * * |
"Daily at 9am" |
| Every weekday at 8am | 0 8 * * 1-5 |
"Every weekday at 8am" |
| Every Monday at 2pm | 0 14 * * 1 |
"Every Monday at 2pm" |
| Every hour | 0 * * * * |
"Every hour" |
| Every 30 minutes | */30 * * * * |
"Every 30 minutes" |
| First day of month at 9am | 0 9 1 * * |
"First day of every month at 9am" |
| Last day of month at 5pm | 0 17 L * * |
"Last day of every month at 5pm" |
Tools to help: crontab.guru explains cron expressions in plain English, or use the visual builder inside MAGIEVA.
Relative triggers (time offsets)¶
Fire a specific amount of time from now — good for quick or one-off reminders like "in 30 minutes" or "next Friday."
Offset units: minutes, hours (1h, 2h), days (1d, 7d), weeks (1w, 2w).
| Natural language | Relative to | Offset |
|---|---|---|
| "In 30 minutes" | Now | +30 minutes |
| "In 2 hours" | Now | +2 hours |
| "Tomorrow at 10am" | Now | +1 day, time set to 10:00 |
| "Next Monday" | Now | Days until next Monday |
| "Next Friday at 5pm" | Now | Days until next Friday, time set to 17:00 |
Note: Relative triggers are one-time only. Once created, they are converted to a fixed date and time.
Event-based triggers (relative to events)¶
Fire relative to calendar events or task due dates.
Use cases: meeting preparation, due-date reminders, post-meeting follow-ups.
| You can measure from | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Calendar event start | The start time of a calendar event |
| Calendar event end | The end time of a calendar event |
| Task due date | A task's due date |
Use a negative offset for "before" (e.g., 30 minutes before) and a positive offset for "after" (e.g., 1 day after).
Examples:
| Description | Relative to | Offset |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min before meeting starts | Event start | -30 minutes |
| 1 hour before task due | Task due date | -1 hour |
| 1 day after meeting ends | Event end | +1 day |
| 15 min before every 1-on-1 | Event start | -15 minutes (filtered by title containing "1-on-1") |
Optional filters: event title contains a keyword, event type (exclude all-day events), organizer is you, or specific attendees.
Natural Language Patterns¶
MAGIEVA understands common phrasing when you describe a trigger to Maggie.
Recurring patterns¶
| You say | MAGIEVA understands |
|---|---|
| "Every day at 9am" | Daily at 9am |
| "Every weekday at 8am" | Monday–Friday at 8am |
| "Every Monday at 2pm" | Weekly on Monday at 2pm |
| "Every morning at 7am" | Daily at 7am |
| "Every evening at 6pm" | Daily at 6pm |
| "Every hour" | Top of every hour |
| "Every 30 minutes" | Twice per hour |
| "Twice a day" | 9am and 5pm |
| "First day of the month" | 1st of the month at 9am |
| "Last Friday of the month" | Last Friday at 5pm |
Relative time patterns¶
| You say | MAGIEVA understands |
|---|---|
| "In 30 minutes" | Now + 30 minutes |
| "In 2 hours" | Now + 2 hours |
| "Tomorrow at 10am" | Tomorrow, 10:00 |
| "Tomorrow morning" | Tomorrow, default morning time |
| "Tomorrow evening" | Tomorrow, default evening time |
| "Next Monday" | Next Monday, default time |
| "Next Friday at 5pm" | Next Friday, 17:00 |
| "This evening" | Today, evening default |
| "Tonight" | Today, night default |
| "In a week" | 7 days from now, same time |
Event-relative patterns¶
| You say | MAGIEVA understands |
|---|---|
| "30 minutes before every meeting" | -30 min from event start |
| "1 hour before my 1-on-1s" | -1 hour, filtered by title "1-on-1" |
| "15 minutes before client calls" | -15 min, filtered by title "client" |
| "Right before every meeting" | A short offset before event start |
| "1 hour before tasks are due" | -1 hour from task due date |
| "1 day after meetings end" | +1 day from event end |
Day-of-week shortcuts¶
| You say | MAGIEVA understands |
|---|---|
| "Weekdays" | Monday through Friday |
| "Weekends" | Saturday and Sunday |
| "MWF" / "Mon/Wed/Fri" | Monday, Wednesday, Friday |
| "Tuesdays and Thursdays" | Tuesday and Thursday |
Managing Triggers¶
Viewing all triggers¶
Go to Settings → Temporal Triggers to see all your triggers, their schedules, when they'll next fire, and when they last ran. Each trigger has Edit, Pause/Resume, and Delete options.
Editing triggers¶
- Click Edit on any trigger
- Modify the schedule, action, or settings
- Click Save
Editing a trigger does not delete tasks it already created. To change existing tasks, update them manually or use an automation rule.
Pausing triggers¶
To temporarily disable a trigger without losing its configuration:
- Click Pause — the trigger stops firing but stays in your list
- Click Resume to reactivate it
Useful for vacations, projects on hold, or while you're adjusting a schedule.
Deleting triggers¶
- Click Delete
- Confirm the action
Deletion is permanent — consider pausing instead if you might need the trigger again. Tasks the trigger already created are not removed; only future task creation stops.
Viewing trigger history¶
Click View History on any trigger to see a log of recent runs, including whether each execution succeeded and what task was created.
Advanced Features¶
Recurring limits¶
You can cap how many times a recurring trigger fires (for example, 30 occurrences) and choose what happens afterward, such as automatically pausing and notifying you.
Use cases: temporary habit-building reminders, limited campaigns, trial check-ins.
Skip weekends¶
Recurring triggers can automatically skip Saturdays and Sundays — for example, turning "every day at 9am" into "every weekday at 9am."
Skip holidays¶
Triggers can skip execution on holidays by checking your connected calendar for holiday events. The next occurrence is calculated automatically.
Custom timezones¶
By default, triggers use your account timezone, but you can override this per trigger — useful when coordinating across timezones or traveling.
Task due date options¶
When a trigger creates a task, you can choose to: - Set the due date to match the trigger time (default) - Set a later due date the same day - Leave the task without a due date
Calendar integration¶
Enable Add created tasks to calendar so that when a trigger fires, both a task and a corresponding calendar event are created.
Examples & Recipes¶
Morning routine builder¶
1. Every day at 7:00 AM: "Morning meditation"
2. Every day at 7:30 AM: "Review daily goals"
3. Every weekday at 8:00 AM: "Check inbox and respond to urgent emails"
Weekly review system¶
1. Every Monday at 9:00 AM: "Weekly goal review"
2. Every Friday at 5:00 PM: "Week in review – What went well?"
3. Every Sunday at 6:00 PM: "Plan next week's priorities"
Meeting preparation automation¶
1. 30 minutes before every meeting: "Prepare for: [meeting title]"
Create task with meeting agenda link, due at meeting start time.
2. 1 day after every client meeting: "Follow up with attendees"
Filter: event title contains "client"
Habit building (30-day challenge)¶
Schedule: Every day at 8:00 PM
Action: Create task "30-day habit: Exercise for 30 minutes"
Max occurrences: 30
After max: Pause and notify "You did it! 30 days complete."
Focus time protection¶
1. Every weekday at 7:00 AM: If your calendar isn't already blocked
9am–12pm, create a "Focus Time (Do Not Disturb)" event.
2. Every weekday at 8:45 AM: "Prepare for focus time" —
close chat apps and silence notifications, due at 9:00 AM.
Client check-in cadence¶
1. Every other Monday at 10:00 AM: "Check in with Client A"
2. First day of every month at 9:00 AM: "Monthly check-in with all clients"
Troubleshooting¶
Trigger not firing¶
- Check if it's active — go to Settings → Temporal Triggers and verify it shows active, not paused.
- Check the next occurrence — the "Next" field shows when it will fire again.
- Verify the schedule — for absolute triggers, use crontab.guru to confirm the expression matches what you intend (a common mix-up is Monday vs. Sunday).
- Check your timezone — under Account Settings → Timezone.
- Review the execution history — look for error messages if the trigger appears to have fired but nothing happened.
Task created at the wrong time¶
- Timezone mismatch — check your account timezone; if you've traveled, update it.
- Daylight saving time — transitions can shift trigger times by an hour; review your triggers after DST changes.
- Schedule expression issue — double-check day-of-week (Sunday = 0 or 7, Monday = 1) and month (1–12) values.
Duplicate tasks created¶
- Check for duplicate triggers with the same schedule and delete the extra one.
- If duplicates persist and you can't find a configuration cause, contact support with your trigger details.
Trigger skipped an expected run¶
- Service outage — if MAGIEVA was temporarily unavailable at the scheduled time, that run is skipped and is not retried retroactively.
- Max occurrences reached — check the execution history for the run count.
- Skip weekends/holidays enabled — if the missed day was a weekend or holiday and skipping is turned on, this was expected; check Edit → Advanced → Skip Options.
Event-based trigger not firing¶
- Calendar not connected — event-based triggers require a connected calendar (Settings → Calendar).
- Sync issue — check the "Last synced" time under calendar settings and try Sync Now.
- Filter too narrow — a filter like "title contains 'Client'" won't match an event titled "Acme Corp Meeting." Try removing filters to test.
- Not enough lead time — a trigger created after the offset window has already passed for an upcoming meeting won't fire for that occurrence; it will apply to future meetings.
Best Practices¶
Start with weekly routines¶
Begin with a weekly review and weekly planning trigger, then add daily or more frequent triggers gradually.
Use descriptive names¶
Good: "Daily Morning Goals Review (9am)," "30min Before Client Meetings." Avoid vague names like "Trigger 1" or "Reminder."
Set appropriate priorities¶
Match task priority to urgency — reserve the highest priorities for time-sensitive items like meeting prep, and lower priorities for nice-to-have check-ins.
Review triggers periodically¶
Every few months, revisit Settings → Temporal Triggers and ask: - Am I actually completing the tasks this trigger creates? - Is the timing still right? - Could several triggers be combined into one automation rule?
Use triggers for habits, rules for automation¶
- Trigger: "Do X at Y time" (habits, routines)
- Rule: "When Z happens, do X" (conditional automation)
Avoid using very frequent triggers (e.g., "every minute") to check for conditions — an automation rule is a better fit for that.
Combine with calendar sync¶
Turning on Add to calendar for triggered tasks gives you a visual schedule and helps calendar-aware features understand your commitments.
Need Help?¶
- Ask Maggie: Just say "Remind me to…" and Maggie will set it up for you.
- Review the examples in this guide.
- Build cron expressions: crontab.guru
- Documentation: https://docs.magieva.com
- Contact support: support@magieva.com
What's Next?¶
Now that you know how to create temporal triggers, you may also want to explore: - Automation Rules — build conditional "if this happens, then do that" workflows - Calendar Integration — sync tasks with your calendar - Workflows — build more complex, multi-step processes