Loading the new Help Center

Introduction to tasks

Available for:
Free
Premium
Business

Your journey to clarity and achieving your goals starts with your first task. Add a task for just about anything by using simple, natural language. No matter how quick the task (Call Mom today) or how large the workload (Write thesis introduction at 2PM for 3 hours), Todoist lets you quickly offload that growing mental checklist.

Add a task

Let's start by creating your first task:

Add a Task Animation.gif

Click Add task either the sidebar or at the bottom of any list to add a task. Give your task a name and a date using natural language. Then, click Add task to confirm.

Customer Experience Specialist If you prefer using keyboard shortcuts, press the Q shortcut to open Quick Add. If you’re using another app, use your global Quick Add shortcut.

Add a Task iOS (1).gif

Tap the red Dynamic Add button at the bottom-right to open the task composer. Give your task a name and a date using natural language. Then, tap the submit icon to confirm.

Drag the Dynamic Add button to any spot in the task list. Todoist will open the task composer, so you can quickly add the task to the project.

Add a Task Android (1).gif

Tap the red Dynamic Add button at the bottom-right to open the task composer. Give your task a name and a date using natural language. Then, tap the send icon to confirm.

Drag the Dynamic Add button to any spot in the task list. Todoist will open the task composer, so you can quickly add the task to the project.

Edit a task

You may need to add more context to your task, especially if you’re working with others. Here’s how to edit a task and provide more details:

Click the task itself to open the task view. You can change the task name or add a description. Click Save to confirm.

In the task view, you can reschedule the date or add additional information, like priority, labels, or reminders. This lets you organize tasks according to its urgency or category.

Tap an existing task to open the task view. Then, tap the task name to rewrite it or add a task description. Tap Save to confirm.

In the task view, you can reschedule the date or add additional information, like priority, labels, or reminders. This lets you organize tasks according to its urgency or category.

Copy a task link

There are times when you’ll want to copy a link to a task for your own notes, or to share with people who're part of the project. You can use this link to view the task in Todoist on any platform.

  1. Click a task to open the task view.
  2. Click the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Select Copy link to task.

The task link is copied to your clipboard automatically.

You can right-click a task in a project and select Copy link to task, or select a task and use the keyboard shortcut Shift ⇧ + Command ⌘ + C (macOS) or Shift + Control + C (Windows).
  1. Tap a task to open the task view.
  2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Select Copy Link to Task.

The link will be copied to your clipboard automatically.

Touch and hold a task to open its context menu. Then, tap Copy Link to Task to copy the task link.
  1. Tap a task to open the task view.
  2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Select Copy link to task.

The task link is copied to your clipboard automatically.

If you're using Android 12, you can copy a link to a task from the list of recently used apps:

  1. Tap a task to open the task view.
  2. Go to the recent apps overview on your Android device.
  3. Tap the link icon in the Todoist preview.

Duplicate a task

If you need to create copies of a task, you can save time and effort by duplicating the task and any of its active sub-tasks. The copies will appear right below it in the task list. They, however, won’t include comments, custom reminders, and completed sub-tasks of the original task. If there's information to retain, add it to the task description before duplicating it.

Duplicate a single task

Click the three dots icon to the right of the task name. If you’re in the task view, click the three dots icon at the top-right. Then, select Duplicate. A copy of the task will appear in your list.

  1. Tap a task to open the task view.
  2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Select Duplicate Task.
Press and hold a task to bring up the iOS context menu. Then, select Duplicate Task.
  1. Tap a task to open the task view.
  2. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Select Duplicate task.

Duplicate two or more tasks

  1. Press and hold the ⇧ Shift key as you click the first and last task you want to duplicate. This selects all the tasks in the task list.

    To select tasks that aren’t next to each other on the list, press and hold ⌘ Command (macOS) or CTRL (Windows) as you click each individual task.

  2. Click the three dots icon in the menu that appears at the top of your Todoist.
  3. Select Duplicate.

A copy of the tasks and any of their active sub-tasks will be created below each of the original.

  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Open the project, filter view, or label view.
  3. Swipe right on each task to select them.
  4. Tap the three dots icon at the bottom-right.
  5. Select Duplicate Tasks. You’ll see the number of tasks that’ll be duplicated in Todoist.

A copy of the tasks and any of their active sub-tasks will be created below each of the original.

  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Open the project, filter view, or label view.
  3. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  4. Tap Select tasks.
  5. Tap each task in the list to select them. They’re highlighted in gray.
  6. Tap the three dots icon at the bottom-right.
  7. Select Duplicate tasks. You’ll see the number of tasks that’ll be duplicated in Todoist.

A copy of the tasks and any of their active sub-tasks will be created below each of the original.

Move a task

After adding several tasks to your projects, you realized that a task has to move down the task list, or to a different project. Here’s how to move a task in Todoist:

Move a task within the project

If you're using the list layout:

  1. Hover your cursor over the left side of the task.
  2. Click the drag handle icon to the left of the task.
  3. Drag the task to its new position in the task list.

If you’re using the board layout, press and hold a task. Then, drag it to its new position in the task list.

  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap to open and view a project.
  3. Press and hold a task.
  4. Drag it to its new position in the task list.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap to open and view a project.
  3. Press and hold a task.
  4. Drag it to its new position in the task list.

Move a task to a different project

  1. Click the three dots icon next to the task name.

    If you’re moving two or more tasks, press and hold ⌘ Command (macOS) or CTRL (Windows) to select these tasks.

  2. Select Move to… and enter either the project name or the section name.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Open a project or view.
  3. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  4. Tap Select Tasks.
  5. Tap the tasks you want to move to a different project. They're highlighted in gray.
  6. Select the Move to… icon.
  7. Enter the project name or the section name.
Press and hold the task to use the iOS context menu. Then, select Move to... and enter the project name or section name.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Open a project or view.
  3. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  4. Tap Select tasks.
  5. Tap the tasks you want to move to a different project. They're highlighted in gray.
  6. Tap the Move to… icon at the bottom.
  7. Enter the project name or the section name.

Complete a task

Each task in Todoist has a circle icon next to it. Click or tap this circle icon whenever you complete a task. The task disappears from the list, it’s recorded in your Activity Log, and counted as a point to your Karma.

If you're using an Apple or Android device, you can customize swipe actions in Todoist to complete tasks. Tap Settings → General → Swipe actions and choose the Complete action.

Customer Experience Lead When working with tasks in sections, completed tasks remain in the sections they’re completed in. To move a completed task to a different section, uncomplete it first. Then, move the task to a different section.

Turn on the task complete tone

The task complete tone gives you that motivational oomph to get things done. If this is right up your alley, here’s how to turn it on in Todoist:

  1. Click your avatar at the top-left.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Open the General tab.
  4. Scroll down to the Sound & appearance section.
  5. Turn on the task complete tone for either the desktop and web apps, or the mobile app.

You’ll hear a sound when you complete tasks in Todoist.

  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap the gear icon.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Scroll down and tap Task Complete Tone in the Sound section.
  5. Turn on the task complete tone for either the mobile app, or the desktop and web apps.

You’ll hear a sound when you complete tasks in Todoist.

  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap the gear icon at the top-right.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Scroll down to SOUND and tap Task complete tone.
  5. Use the toggle to enable the feature either for Mobile or Desktop and Web.

You’ll hear a sound when you complete tasks in Todoist.

Uncomplete a task

If you complete a task you didn't mean to, or need to bring a completed task back, you can uncomplete it.

  1. Open the project from the sidebar.
  2. Click the three dots icon at the top-right.
  3. Turn on Completed tasks.
  4. Find the completed task and click the circle icon.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap a project to open and view it.
  3. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  4. Select View.
  5. Turn on Completed Tasks.
  6. Find the completed task and tap the checkmark icon.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap a project to open and view it.
  3. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  4. Select View.
  5. Turn on Completed tasks.
  6. Find the completed task and tap the checkmark icon.
If you're working with sub-tasks, and you decide to uncomplete them, this will uncomplete their parent tasks automatically.

Uncomplete a task with a recurring date

When you complete a task with a recurring date, an Undo pop-up will appear at the bottom-left of Todoist. This pop-up lasts for just a few seconds.

Recurring Date.png

Once the popup disappears, you won’t be able to uncomplete the task. Instead, either create a new task or reschedule the existing task to a recurring date that starts at your previous instance.

Unlike tasks with absolute dates, there’s no option to uncomplete or undo any previous occurrences of a task. If you’ve a task called “Buy fruits everyday” and you’ve completed several occurrences in the past, you’ll only be able to undo changes to today’s occurrence.

Delete a task

Clean up your projects by deleting tasks created by mistake or that are no longer relevant. Once the task is deleted, it can’t be restored to your project.

  1. Click the project or view.
  2. Click the three dots icon to the right of the task. If you’re using the task view, click the three dots icon at the top-right of the window.
  3. Select Delete.
  4. Click Delete again to confirm.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap to open the project or view.
  3. Tap a task to open the task view.
  4. Tap the three dots icon at the top-right.
  5. Select Delete Task.
  6. Tap Delete task to confirm.
You can press and hold a task to delete it through the iOS context menu.
  1. Tap Browse at the bottom-right.
  2. Tap to open the project or view.
  3. Tap a task to open the task view.
  4. Tap the three dots icon at the top right.
  5. Select Delete task.
  6. Tap YES to confirm.
Careful! There's no option to delete a completed task, or undo the deletion of a task. However, if you're a Pro or Business customer, you can restore it by import a copy of the task using a backup.

Best practices for tasks

Tasks are the building blocks of your project, so we’ve listed several best practices we find helpful when adding and working with tasks.

Start your task name with an action word

When writing a task name, start with a verb or an action word to give yourself a clear direction over what needs to be done. If you need to buy apples tomorrow at 10:00, add a task called “Buy apples tomorrow at 10:00” instead of “Apples tom 10:00”.

Break large tasks into sub-tasks

Overcome the overwhelm of completing a large task by breaking it down into sub-tasks. This is helpful for any task that needs two or more steps to complete, or it’ll take more than 24 hours to get done.

Add all the relevant task details

You can add details like a date, time, label, or priority to a task. This makes it easy to organize tasks according to when you’ll start working on them, their category, or their priority. If you’re on the paid plan, you can add deadlines and custom reminders as well.

Provide context in the task description

If you’re working with one or more people to complete a task, the task description gives you plenty of space to format and share details about the work, including links, quotes, bullet points, and more.

Attach relevant images or files to the task

Whether you’re collaborating across departments, or you need to give Mom a photo of the flowers to buy at the shop, you can attach images or files to tasks, so that every piece of information can be found and referenced in one central location.

Get in touch

If you’re having trouble adding tasks to your projects, making changes to an existing task, or managing tasks with other people, get in touch with us. We— Galina, Diane, Rikke, and any of our other teammates—are happy to work through these issues and keep you on track.