Unfinished work tends to stay on our minds. That can help us remember responsibilities, but it also leaves many tasks competing for attention when we need to concentrate on one.
Studies suggest that making a plan to finish a task is enough to ease that mental pressure. A to-do list lets you set work aside mentally until it is time to act.
Todoist offers ways to capture tasks from computers, phones, browsers, watches, and other platforms. Choose the options that fit your existing routines so recording a new task becomes a habit.
Use Quick Add on any platform
Quick Add is available across Todoist's platforms. Enter the task name along with its due date, label, priority, project, or assignee in the task field. Smart language recognition identifies those details and applies them to the task.
For example, entering the literal text “Take out the garbage every other Thursday” creates a task that repeats every other Thursday.
Quick Add also recognizes these shortcuts:
- Label: Type @ followed by the label name.
- Priority: Type p followed by a priority number (1–4).
- Project: Type # followed by the project name.
- Assignee: Type + followed by the collaborator's name.
Capture tasks with keyboard shortcuts
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Web, and Android with a keyboard.
Keyboard shortcuts reduce the steps needed to create and organize tasks:
- Press q anywhere within Todoist to open the quick add window. Enter dates, priorities, and other details using natural language.
- Within a project view, press a to add a task at the bottom of the list, or Shift + A to insert one at the top. These shortcuts work only in a project view.
- While editing a task, adjust its indentation with Ctrl + ] or Ctrl + [ on Windows, or Cmd ⌘ + ] or Cmd ⌘ + [ on Mac. Indenting makes it a sub-task of the item above, which helps divide larger jobs into multiple steps.
Dictate tasks instead of typing
Android and Android Wear
On Android, open Quick Add and type your task, or use Google's voice-to-text to dictate it. Direct Google Assistant voice commands are not currently supported; dictation into Quick Add provides an alternative.
On an Android Wear watch, open Todoist and use voice-to-text to capture the task.
iOS and Apple Watch
To dictate a task with Todoist for Apple Watch:
- Open Todoist on the watch.
- Force touch anywhere in the app.
- Tap Add task.
- Say the task name and due date.
Add tasks through your browser
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
Download the Todoist extension for your browser to capture tasks while working on the web.
Share content from mobile apps
On Android and iOS, sharing content from another mobile app offers another route for adding tasks to Todoist.
Put task shortcuts on your phone
Platforms: Android and iOS.
A phone shortcut makes it easier to record a task as soon as you think of it, without first navigating the full app.
On Android, place an Add Task widget on your home screen or add an Add Task tile to the Quick Settings drawer. To use the tile, swipe down on the home screen, tap it, then type or dictate your task in Quick Add.
On iPhone, a Todoist widget lets you view upcoming tasks and create new ones without opening the full app.
Turn email into tasks
Email clients: Gmail, Outlook, and other third-party clients.
Convert an email into a Todoist task with a button click. The task links back to the message, making it easier to find when you are ready to respond.
Email integrations let you give these tasks specific due dates for replies or follow-ups, helping keep correspondence organized. Third-party mobile email integrations offer similar task-capture options when you check messages on your phone.
Import sets of tasks with templates
Platforms: Mac, Windows, and Web.
Templates save you from rebuilding the same checklist for every new project. They are particularly useful when the required steps repeat but the project dates do not.
The source author describes using the same task sets for blog posts, videos, and podcasts. Because that production schedule changes from week to week, recurring tasks do not fit; importing a prepared template supplies the checklist whenever a project begins.
To create your own reusable task set:
- Choose an existing project, or create a new one and add the tasks you need.
- Export the project as a template.
- Import that template into a new project whenever you need the checklist again.
You can repeat the import as often as needed. Bookmark the template import link for convenient access.
Automate task creation with IFTTT or Zapier
Todoist has over 50 third-party integrations. Services such as IFTTT and Zapier extend those connections to hundreds of apps and services. Set up rules once, and tasks can then be created automatically.
For example, this Zap can turn important emails into Todoist tasks. Zap is Zapier's name for a custom integration.
The source author also describes connecting Pocket to a Todoist Reading project: saving a link in Pocket creates a task reminding them to read it. The corresponding applet uses IFTTT's term for a custom integration. To limit the number of tasks created, the connection can be restricted to Pocket articles with a particular tag, such as mustread.
Another automation described by the author creates a reminder to return a missed phone call. Browse the services for connections to apps you already use and choose workflows suited to your routine.
Whether you prefer typing, dictation, templates, or automation, capturing tasks consistently lets you focus on the current activity without relying on memory to hold everything else.
Todoist's Twitter account: @todoist.
Related teamwork tool from the remote team behind Todoist: Twist.
