You likely have tasks that repeat on a regular basis—writing monthly reports, recycling every week, or calling Mom on her birthday. Instead of creating a new task every single time, add a recurring due date! When you complete a task with a recurring due date, it automatically shifts to the next due date with no extra effort required on your part.
Add a recurring due date
In the task name, use natural language to set a recurring due date, like every Monday or every weekend. The smart Quick Add automatically recognizes, highlights, and adds the recurring date to the task.
monthly
is highlighted as a recurring due date. Click or tap the word to disregard it. You can also turn off smart date recognition.Use recurring due dates
Recurring due dates come in a wide variety of formats, so you can consistently complete your tasks. Whether it's to buy milk every week or take medication every 12 hours starting at 07:00 PM, there’s a recurring due date for almost anything.
Huge thanks to Todoist ambassador, Leighton Price, for providing examples for this article.
Basic recurring due dates
Let's start with basic examples:
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every day or daily | Every day starting from today |
every morning | Every day at 9am |
every afternoon | Every day at 12pm |
every evening | Every day at 7pm |
every night | Every day at 10pm |
every weekday or every workday | Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday |
every week or weekly | Every week starting today |
every weekend | Every Saturday |
every month or monthly | Every month starting today |
every 3rd friday | Every 3rd Friday of the month |
every 27th or every 27 | Every 27th of the month |
every year or yearly | Every year starting today |
every jan 27th | Every January 27th |
every last day | Every last day of the month |
every hour | Every hour starting from now |
Start and end dates
You can use natural language to schedule a recurring task with a start and end date:
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every day starting aug 3 | Every day starting on August 3 (from aug 3 also works) |
every day ending aug 3 | Every day starting today and ending on August 3 (until aug 3 also works) |
every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday ending Saturday | This Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday only |
every day for 3 weeks | Every day for the next 3 weeks starting today |
every day from 10 May until 20 May | Every day starting May 10th ending May 20th |
Due times
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every 12 hours starting at 9pm |
Every day at 9am and 9pm |
every mon, fri at 20:00 |
Every Monday and Friday at 20:00 |
every 3rd friday 8pm |
Every 3rd Friday of the month at 8pm |
every 6 weeks at 09:00 starting jan 3 |
Every 6 weeks starting on January 3rd, at 9am |
every fri at noon |
Every Friday at 12pm |
every mon in the morning |
Every Monday at 9am |
in the evening every weds |
Every Wednesday at 7pm |
Commas
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every monday, friday or ev monday, friday or every mon, fri |
Every Monday and Friday |
every 2, 15, 27 or ev 2, 15, 27 |
Every 2nd, 15th & 27th of the month |
every 14 jan, 14 apr, 15 jun, 15 sep |
Every January 14th, April 14th, June 15th & September 15th |
every 15th workday, first workday, last workday |
Every 15th workday, every first and every last workday of a month |
every 1st wed jan, 3rd thu jul |
1st Wednesday of each January and 3rd Thursday of each July |
Original date or the completion date
You can create a recurring task that repeats at regular intervals from either the original task date or from the task's completed date by using every or every!, respectively. Here's how:
- Every: Completing a task that has a due date of every 3 months will set the task’s due date to 3 months from the task's original date. So if you created a task on January 10th with a due date of every 3 months, it will recur on Jan 10, Apr 10, July 10, etc regardless of when you complete the task.
- Every!: When you complete a task with a due date of every! 3 months, it will set the next due date to 3 months after the day you completed the task. So if you completed the task on January 20th, the next occurrence of the task will be April 20th.
Here are some examples of recurring due dates that use every or every!:
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every 3 days |
Every 3 days starting today |
every first workday |
Every first working day (Mon to Fri) of the month |
every last workday |
Every last working day (Mon to Fri) of the month |
every 3 workday |
Every 3rd work day (mon-Fri only) from today |
every quarter or quarterly |
Every 3 months starting from today |
every! 3 hours |
Every 3 hours from the time the task is completed |
every! 5 days |
Every 5 days from the day on which the task is completed, starting today |
every! 2 months |
Every 2 months from the day on which the task is completed, starting today |
after 10 days | Once the due date is entered, it will change to every! 10 days effective from today |
after 10 days starting 1 Aug |
Once the due date is entered, it will change to every! 10 days effective from August 1 |
Every week is a dynamic recurring due date. This means that the task is scheduled according to when you last completed the task.
- For example, if you complete a recurring task that has the due date every week on a Monday, the task will be scheduled for the following Monday. If you complete the task on a Tuesday, the task will be scheduled for the following Tuesday.
Todoist will only schedule recurring tasks on future dates. If your recurring task is overdue past the date the task was next due to occur, Todoist will schedule the next occurrence on the next future recurring date when you complete the task.
- For example, if you create a task with the due date every 3 months starting from 15 Jan 2023 and you complete the task on 19 September 2023, Todoist will schedule the next occurrence of the task to 15 October 2023, because 15 April 2023 and 15 July 2023 have already passed.
"Every other" day, week, or month
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
every other day | Every other day starting from today |
every other week | Every other week starting from today |
every other month | Every other month starting from today |
every other year | Every other year starting from today |
every other fri | Every other Friday, starting with the second Friday from now (and not the next upcoming Friday) |
Holidays
Use these keywords to schedule tasks during specific holidays:
Type this | To add this recurring due date |
---|---|
new year day | January 1 |
valentine or Valentine's Day | February 14 |
halloween | October 31 |
new year eve | December 31 |
Reschedule a task with a recurring due date
If you suddenly need to put a task off for another day, reschedule the task.
When rescheduling a task with a recurring due date, the next recurrence depends on the type of recurring due date:
- Absolute recurring due date: the next recurrence will always be on that specific day of the week or date of the month. For example:
every Tues
orevery 15th day
. - Relative recurring due date: the next recurrence will continue based on the newly set date. There's no option to reschedule them where they would still maintain the original pattern. For example:
every week
orevery 12 days
.
To postpone a recurring task, use the task scheduler and pick a new date. If you type a new date for a recurring task, you will completely change the task's due date and lose the recurrence.
Best practices for recurring due dates
When adding a recurring due date, follow these best practices to ensure Todoist recognizes and adds it correctly:
- Place the start date at the end:
every 14 days 7am starting 1 Nov
- Place the due time after the first date:
every other Tues 7am starting 1 Nov
- Specify the days of the week the due date will recur:
every mon, tues, wed, and fri
Todoist doesn't support every day except as a recurring due date.
Get in touch
Start creating tasks with recurring due dates to build strong habits over time. If you run into any issues scheduling recurring due dates, get in touch with us. We—Summer, Keita, Stef, or another one of our 14 teammates—will make sure you stay on track with all your recurring tasks.
FAQ
Can I reset the sub-tasks that belong to a recurring parent task?
Yes, you can! Here's how.
How can I view all the recurring tasks on my account?
You can view all the recurring tasks on your account by either searching recurring or using recurring as a filter query.