Todoist makes your to-do list complicated, in a good way. Its focus is on SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Discover a few of its best features with the tips below.
Good to know: if you want to speed up your workflow, try these keyboard shortcuts for Todoist.
1. Change Your Home View
By default, Todoist shows the “Today” tab when you first open the app. You can change this by going to “Settings -> General -> Home view.”
You can replace the Home view with any Project, Label, or Filter. If you’d prefer to know what’s coming up tomorrow, pick the Upcoming tab instead. The point is to have easy access to the tasks you want to track as soon as you open the app.
2. Use Markdown
Did you know that Todoist has Markdown support? You can use it to easily make lists, add emphasis, and insert links on your comments and descriptions.
Typically, the most common markings you’ll use are *bold*, **italics**, ***bold & italics*** and ordered (1, 2 ,3) and unordered (-) lists. But there are also other formatting options you can use, such as links and quotes.
3. Enable Vacation Modek
Sometimes you need a breather from work but can’t just stop or you’ll lose Karma points from missing your deadlines. It’s a good thing Todoist has a vacation mode to give you a break.
You can access the vacation mode by going to “Settings -> Productivity -> Vacation mode.” Just so you know, though, this doesn’t do anything other than preserve your Karma points. If seeing overdue tasks stresses you out, then you may want to reschedule them first.
4. View Your Tasks on a Kanban Board
Turn any project into a Kanban board with the “Board View.” Go to “Edit project -> View -> Board” to enable it.
This view is especially helpful when you are working on projects with other people. It lets you track the progress of each task by looking at which stage it’s already in without having to ask every member about it.
5. Use Todoist Filters
You can run custom searches for your tasks with Todoist filters. We have a whole guide on using Todoist filters, as an introduction to them.
Filters work like tags. Adding tags to your tasks makes it easier to find those tasks later. For example, you can easily find your high priority tasks by looking them up with your “high priority” filter.
6. Optimize Recurring Tasks
Maybe you’ve tried the “do X every Y date” approach. That helps. But did you know that there are two ways to use the “every” feature?
You can use “every” or “every!” on Todoist. The former adjusts the due date if you miss it, while the latter doesn’t. Suppose the first deadline for your task was on December 13, but you missed it and finished it on December 15. The next deadline with “every” will be January 15, but with “every!” it will be January 13.
7. Add Todoist Tasks to Google Calendar
Lay out your day’s schedule neatly on a calendar by integrating Todoist with Google Calendar via “Integrations -> Google Calendar -> Connect calendar.” Once you log in using your Google account, your tasks will show up on Google Calendar and also be visible to the people with whom you share your calendar. This integration is sure to give you a good view of the day’s workload and help you plan ahead.
8. Manage Todoist With Google Assistant
It’s simple. On Google Assistant, say “Let me talk to Todoist” to call the app. If it’s your first time doing this, Google Assistant will ask you to log in using your Todoist credentials. After that, you can say “Add task” to tell Todoist to write down something you want to do later, or ask “What’s due today?” to have a quick rundown on today’s tasks.
You can assign due dates and priorities while adding a task, as long as Google Assistant can understand what you’re saying.
While this voice control feature has its limits, it’s still useful in many cases. Imagine you want to add something to your grocery list while driving – do it hands-free!
9. Try Out the Experimental Features
Maybe you’ve tried everything else on this list and are itching to do even more. Besides looking for obscure apps that work with Todoist, you may want to try the experimental features via “Settings -> Advanced.” Enable the toggle next to “Experimental features,” then press the “Update” button. This will reload Todoist and let you try cool features like a WYSIWYG text editor for your tasks and a sleeker sidebar.
Tip: work smarter with these Chrome extensions for productivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Todoist free?
Todoist is a freemium app. You can use most of the features for free. Paying for the app gives you reminders, themes, and more active projects.
What is the Inbox tab for in Todoist?
The Inbox tab is where all your new tasks with no assigned projects go. It’s like a quick storage folder where you can store your new tasks and ideas before sorting them out later.
Does Todoist Karma do anything?
On a practical note, it doesn’t. It’s not like a currency or anything, but it’s there to motivate you to do your tasks and not procrastinate past the deadline.
Image credit: Unsplash.
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