Elevate your planning game with task durations in Todoist. Estimate how much time a task will take to complete, set it as the task’s duration, and get an overview of your commitments for the day. It’s an easy way to manage your time effectively.
Set a task duration
Before jumping in, check if the task has a date, or both a date and time. Then, use either natural language, the scheduler, or the calendar layout (for Pro or Business customers) to set the task duration. The maximum duration time you can set for a task is 24 hours.
Galina · Customer Success Lead
Setting a max duration of 24 hours is rooted in our philosophy of promoting productivity by breaking tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. We believe that dividing a large, potentially overwhelming project into bite-sized pieces can help maintain motivation and focus, which ultimately boosts efficiency.
Use natural language
In the task name field, enter the date and due time, followed by the word for and the duration. Use h for hours and m for minutes.
For example:
| Type this | To get this |
|---|---|
| Today 21:00 for 2h | Task is scheduled for today at 21:00 with a duration of two hours. |
| Tomorrow 13:00 for 10m | Task is scheduled for tomorrow at 13:00 with a duration of 10 minutes. |
| Every Monday at 16:00 for 1h15m | Task is scheduled for every Monday at 16:00 with a duration of one hour and 15 minutes. |
Use the scheduler
When adding a task, use the scheduler to set its duration:
- Add a task or open an existing task.
- Click the Date chip to open the scheduler.
- At the bottom, click Time.
- Select or type the Time.
- Select or type the Duration.
- Click Save.
Use the calendar layout
If you're a Todoist Pro or Business customer, apply the calendar layout to your project. Then, drag the bottom edge of a task across the calendar to set the task duration.
If you have a task in the All day section of the calendar, click and drag the task to specific time slot. This sets a 15-minute duration by default, and you can drag the bottom edge of the task to adjust it.
Need to add and schedule a new task? Click your preferred time slot in the calendar, and Todoist automatically opens Quick Add with a 30-minute duration.
Remove a task duration
There are several ways to remove a task's duration.
- Type
no datein the task name field and save the task. - Remove the task duration while using the task view.
Follow these steps to remove the duration in the task view:
- Click a task to open the task view.
- To the right of the due time, click on the X.
Limitations
Task duration will sync from your Google Calendar if the event is updated in any way (for example: the title changed or the event is rescheduled). This is even for tasks created without a duration.
However, Google Calendar events longer than 24 hours will sync to Todoist, but the task won't have a duration.
Todoist doesn’t support start dates or time, so there's no option to hide tasks until their start date or time is due. This would prevent you from easily accessing important task information like comments. By keeping your tasks visible in your projects, you are able to access and manage all their details at any given time.
Instead, use the Today view or create a custom filter where you'll only see the task that you actively need to work on.
Get in touch
If you've any trouble setting or removing task duration in Todoist, get in touch with us. We—Stacey, Galina, Omar, or any of our other teammates—are happy to help!
