Concepts
Projects
Group tasks toward an outcome — with headings, tags, a deadline and progress.
A project is a group of tasks working toward an outcome. Where a task is one thing to do, a project is the larger thing they add up to.
Notes and tags#
A project can carry its own description — room for the plan, context or links — and its own tags.
Project tags flow down to their tasks
When you filter a list by a tag (⌘F), a task matches not only its
own tags but also the tags of its project and its heading. So tag a
project @client-x once, and filtering by @client-x surfaces every task in
it — no need to tag each task by hand. See Tags.
Headings#
Break a project into sections with headings (⌘⇧N) — for example Research, Build, Launch. Tasks group under the heading they belong to, and the tasks above the first heading form the project's default top list.
- Deleting a heading keeps its tasks — they simply become un-sectioned.
- Moving a heading to another project takes its tasks with it (into another project only).
- Headings can carry tags too, which — like project tags — flow down to the tasks beneath them when filtering.
Subprojects#
A project can live inside another project, so you can nest a big effort into smaller ones. Along with areas, that gives you as much or as little structure as you want.
A deadline you can see#
A project can carry a countdown — a project-level date with a Show on Today switch. Turn it on and the project's finish line appears on your Today view, counting down. See Countdowns.
Progress#
As you complete a project's tasks, it can show a progress ring on its page. Turn it on with Project progress on project page in Settings → Tasks.
Reorganizing by drag and drop#
Almost everything in Todebaran can be picked up and moved:
- Reorder tasks — drag a task up or down within a list to change its order.
- Move a task under a heading — drag it onto a heading to file it into that section.
- Refile a task — drag it onto a different project or collection in the sidebar to move it there (or use ⌘R).
- Reschedule a task — drag it onto a day in Today or the Calendar to schedule it for that date.
- Reorder headings — drag a heading to reorder the sections of a project.
- Reorganize the sidebar — drag projects and collections between areas, drop one inside another project to nest it as a subproject, or reorder areas themselves.
Multi-select first and the whole selection moves together.
Finishing a project#
There's no separate "archive" state — a project is done when its tasks are. Deleting a project moves its tasks (and any subprojects' tasks) to the Trash, where they can be restored within 30 days. So deleting a finished project is a soft delete, not a permanent one — see Recovering deleted items.
How it all nests#
Area
└─ Project
└─ Heading
└─ Task
└─ Subtask
Projects live inside areas. For reference material rather than actionable work, reach for a collection instead.