Projects are the "how". They organize your tasks and keep your work on track. Goals are the "why" – outcomes you're working toward. Link tasks from any of your projects to a goal and get a single view of everything contributing to what matters most, with progress tracked automatically as you work.
Enable Goals
To turn Goals on:
- Go to Settings > General.
- Turn on Experimental features.
- Goals appears in the left sidebar.
You can pin or unpin Goals from the sidebar at any time in Settings > Sidebar.
Create a goal
Start by deciding whether your goal is personal or for your team.
Personal goals are private, so only you can see them. You can create up to 10. For example: complete a certification course, launch a side project, or prepare for a job interview.
Team goals are visible to everyone in your team workspace. You can create up to 50 team goals per team. For example: launch the Q3 roadmap, complete the annual handbook review, or onboard a new team member.
To create a goal:
- Click Goals in the left sidebar.
- Click Add goal.
- Select Personal or Team.
- Enter a name, optional description, and deadline.
- Optionally, select a Responsible person (team goals only).
- Click Create goal.
Link tasks to a goal
You can link tasks to a goal at any time, whether you're creating the goal or coming back to it later.
From a task:
- Open a task.
- Click Goal in the task details panel.
- Select a goal.
Using the multi-select toolbar:
- Select multiple tasks by holding Shift or Ctrl/Cmd and clicking each one.
- Click Goal in the multi-select toolbar.
- Select a goal.
From a project or section context menu:
- Click the three dots icon on a project or section.
- Select Add tasks to Goal.
- Select a goal.
This links every current task in the project or section to the goal at once. Tasks added later won't be linked automatically – you'll need to link new tasks manually using one of the methods above.
How progress is calculated
Your goal's progress percentage is based on how many linked non-recurring tasks you've completed. Link 10 tasks, complete 4, and your goal shows 40% progress. It updates automatically each time you check off a linked task.
Goals vs. projects
Projects organize your work. Goals define what you want to achieve.
A project is a container for tasks, the "how." A goal is an outcome you're working toward, the "why." A project lives in one place, but you can link tasks from any of your projects to a single goal, giving you one view of everything contributing to what matters most.
Complete or delete a goal
Complete a goal: Click the pentagon icon in the goal view to mark a goal complete. The goal is checked off but stays visible in your goals list, and linked tasks keep their connection to it.
Delete a goal: Deleting a goal removes the goal permanently and unlinks it from any tasks it was connected to.
Use Goals with AI assistants
Goals works with the Todoist MCP, so you can manage your goals through any MCP-enabled AI assistant, from creating and updating goals to linking tasks and marking them complete.
Find out more:
Known limitations
Goals is an experimental feature, and we're actively building it out. A few things to keep in mind for now:
- Auto-linking tasks in a project or section – Auto-linking tasks within a project or section, or linking an entire project or section to a goal, isn't supported yet, but we're working on it. For now, add all of a project or section's current tasks at once from its menu, then link any new tasks manually.
- Mobile – Goals is currently available on web, with mobile support coming.
- Viewing completed tasks within a goal – Viewing completed tasks within a goal isn't available yet.
- Reordering goals – You can't change the order of your goals manually yet.
Troubleshooting
Goals isn't showing in my sidebar
Enable experimental features first. Go to Settings > General and turn on Experimental features. If it still doesn't appear, check that Goals is pinned: go to Settings > Sidebar and make sure Goals is turned on. If it's still missing, make sure your app is updated to version 10552 or later.
I can't find the Goal option on a task
The Goal option appears in the task details panel when you open a task on web. Make sure you're viewing the full task panel and that experimental features are turned on.
Some tasks are grayed out when I try to link them
Tasks in restricted (private) projects in a team workspace can't be linked to goals. Set the project to team access to link those tasks.
A button isn't responding, or I'm getting an error
Update your app to the latest version, then log out and back in. If the issue continues, contact our support team.
Goal tools aren't showing in my AI assistant
After connecting, refresh the connector. Go to Customize > Todoist connector > Refresh tool list.
Get in touch
Head to Goals in your sidebar and create your first goal. Link a few tasks from your current projects and watch your progress update as you check them off.
If you have questions, get in touch with us.