Introduction to sub-tasks

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Plan big, then execute on the details. Break big, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable sub-tasks.

In Todoist, you can even break down those sub-tasks into smaller ones. Learn how to create a sub-task, convert a parent task into a sub-task, and more. 

Create a sub-task

subtasks-help-center-2.png

  1. Click the task you want to add a sub-task to. This will open task view.
  2. Select Add sub-task.
  3. Enter the task's name and any details you want to add.
  4. Click Add task or press Enter to save the task.

Turn an existing task into a sub-task

  1. Hover over a task.
  2. Click and hold the drag handle beside the task.
  3. Drag it from left to right to adjust its sub-task level.

Warning

Currently, it's not possible to turn an existing task into a sub-task when sorting is applied to the view.

Turn a sub-task into a parent task

  1. Hover over a task.
  2. Click and hold the drag handle beside the task.
  3. Drag the sub-task above or below its parent task, and to the left of the task list.

Quick tip

Use task hierarchies to organize your task lists into sections with headers.

Noteworthy

  • You can only create sub-tasks in a project. If you're viewing tasks in the Today view, Upcoming view, filters, or labels, open the parent task in the task view and create the sub-task.
  • Todoist supports four indent levels. For example, a sub-task is using indent level 1 and a sub-sub-sub-sub-task is using indent level 4.
  • The indent of a task can't be changed when working in the task view.

FAQ

If you set the date for the parent task and the sub-task to today, they will both show up in your Today view – meaning your sub-task will show up in your Today view twice. This is something we're evaluating for usability.

Absolutely. You can easily see a task's completed sub-tasks using the task view.

No, unfortunately not. You will have to be in list layout if you want to use drag and drop to turn a task into a sub-task.

No, this is expected behaviour. However, please note that you can use drag and drop to manually sort your sub-tasks while in task view.