Skip to content

Getting Started with Todoist

Todoist is one of the best task managers available - fast, available on every platform, and flexible enough to support a full productivity system without being overwhelming. This guide walks you through setting it up from scratch.

Step 1: Create Your Account

  1. Go to todoist.com and sign up for a free account
  2. Download the app on your phone and desktop - Todoist is only useful if it's always within reach
  3. The free tier covers everything in this guide

Step 2: Understand the Basic Structure

Todoist organizes tasks in a hierarchy:

Projects └── Sections └── Tasks └── Sub-tasks

  • Projects - broad areas of your life (Work, Personal, Health, etc.)
  • Sections - optional groupings within a project (e.g. "This Week" and "Backlog")
  • Tasks - individual action items
  • Sub-tasks - smaller steps within a task

Start simple. You can always add complexity later.

Step 3: Create Your Projects

Set up one project per major area of your life. A good starting point:

  • Inbox - already exists by default, use it as a capture bucket
  • Work - professional tasks and projects
  • Personal - errands, life admin, personal goals
  • Health - appointments, habits, wellness tasks
  • Ideas - things you want to explore but aren't committing to yet

To create a project: 1. Click + Add project in the left sidebar 2. Name it and choose a color 3. Repeat for each area

Step 4: Set Up Sections in Each Project

Within your main projects, add sections to separate urgent from non-urgent:

  1. Open a project
  2. Click Add section
  3. Create two sections: This Week and Backlog

This gives you the two-tier system from the brain dump workflow - a committed list and a holding area.

Step 5: Add Your First Tasks

Click the + button or press Q anywhere to add a task quickly.

Write tasks as specific actions:

Instead of... Write...
Emails Reply to Sarah's email about the Q2 report
Doctor Call Dr. Smith's office to book annual checkup
Project Write the first draft of the project proposal intro

Useful shortcuts while adding a task: - Type today or tomorrow to set a due date automatically - Type p1, p2, or p3 to set priority (p1 = highest) - Type #ProjectName to assign it to a project - Type @label to add a label

Step 6: Use the Inbox Correctly

The Inbox is your capture bucket - not a permanent home for tasks.

Workflow: 1. Add anything that comes to mind to the Inbox immediately 2. Once a day (or during your weekly review), process the Inbox: - Move each task to the right project and section - Set a due date if it has one - Set priority - Delete anything that doesn't need to be done

The goal is to keep your Inbox at zero after each processing session.

Step 7: Set Up Your Daily Workflow

Each morning: 1. Open the Today view (left sidebar) 2. Review what's scheduled for today 3. If the list is too long, reschedule lower-priority items 4. Work through your tasks, checking them off as you go

Each evening: 1. Open Today view and clear any completed tasks 2. Reschedule anything unfinished to tomorrow or another date 3. Check if anything needs to be added from the day

Step 8: Use Filters for a Daily Top 3

Todoist's free tier includes basic filters. Set up a "Today's Focus" filter to show only your top priority tasks:

  1. Click Filters & Labels in the sidebar
  2. Click + Add filter
  3. Name it "Top 3" and use the query: today & p1
  4. This shows only high-priority tasks due today

Useful Features Worth Knowing

Recurring tasks Type natural language to set recurrence: - every day - daily recurring - every monday - weekly on Mondays - every 1st - monthly on the 1st

Good for habits, weekly reviews, and regular commitments.

Quick Add from anywhere - Windows: Ctrl + Shift + A - Mac: Cmd + Shift + A

Captures a task instantly without opening the full app.

Comments and attachments Click on any task to open it and add notes, links, or files. Useful for keeping context attached to a task.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Making the Inbox your permanent task list Process it daily. An overflowing Inbox defeats the purpose.

Adding too many tasks to Today If you have 20 things due today, nothing is actually a priority. Limit Today to 5 items max.

Creating too many projects Start with 4-5 projects. Adding a new project for every little thing creates overhead.

Ignoring overdue tasks Don't let overdue tasks pile up. Every few days, do a sweep - reschedule, delegate, or delete.

Todoist Free vs Pro

The free tier covers everything in this guide. Pro ($4/month) adds:

  • Reminders
  • More filters
  • Task comments and file uploads
  • Productivity stats

Start free and upgrade only if you hit a specific limitation.