To-dos and Lists

The To-dos tool is where a project's work gets written down, handed out, and checked off. Collect related to-dos in lists, like "Design phase" or "Launch checklist", give each to-do an owner and a due date, and everyone on the project can see what's done and what's left.

Creating a To-do List

1. Open the project and click its To-dos card.
2. Click New list, or press Shift+M.
3. Give the list a Name. Add a Description if it helps, with notes, files, or links.
4. Click Create list.

The To-dos page shows all of the project's lists, each with a small pie beside its name that fills as its to-dos get done. The two buttons at the right end of the row under the title choose how they're laid out:

• List view shows every list in full, one after another, with its groups and open to-dos.
• Cards view shows each list as a card with its first few to-dos. Click a card to open the list.

Your choice applies to you, in every project.

To reorder lists, drag a list by its title in List view. A list whose to-dos are all done moves out of the way: click Show completed lists at the bottom of the page to see it again.

If you have a list you use over and over, make it a template. See Project and To-do List Templates.

Adding To-dos

1. Under a list, click Add a to-do.
2. Describe the to-do.
3. Fill in any of the details:
   • Assigned to: click Assign… and pick one or more people. Picking a group assigns everyone in it. The list offers the people on the project, and clients only when the list is shared with them.
   • When done, notify: click Add people… to choose who hears when it's checked off.
   • Due on: No due date, A specific day, or Runs for multiple days with a start and end date.
   • Repeat: appears once the to-do has a due date. See Repeating To-dos.
   • Notes: extra context, links, images, or files.
4. Click Add this to-do, or press Enter.

To put a new to-do in a particular spot, open the ⋮ menu on the to-do above it and choose Insert a to-do.

You can also add to-dos straight to the top of the To-dos page, outside any list, and sort them into lists later. These to-dos are visible to your team only, never to clients.

Groups Within a List

Long lists read better in sections. To add one, open the list's menu and choose Add a group, give it a Name and an optional Color, and click Add group. Drag to-dos into the group, or add them with the group's own Add a to-do.

A group's menu can Edit it, Change color…, or Turn into a list. Groups go one level deep: a group can't contain another group.

Completing To-dos

Click the checkbox next to a to-do to complete it. Completed to-dos fold away under a line such as "3 completed" at the bottom of their list; click it to see them. To reopen one, clear its checkbox.

When a to-do is completed, Thicket notifies the people following it: the person who added it, the people chosen under When done, notify, the people assigned and whoever assigned them, and anyone who commented. The person who checked it off isn't notified. Reopening a to-do doesn't notify anyone.

The To-do Page

Click a to-do's name to open its page. Everything about it is here:

• Mark as complete checks it off. Press Shift+D to do the same.
• Assigned to shows who owns it. Assign to me (or Shift+K) takes it on yourself.
• When done lists who's notified when it's completed. Notify me adds you.
• Due on sets the date. Click Add a start date for a date range, Clear to remove the date, and Repeats to make it recur.
• Notes and the title can be changed by clicking them or with Edit at the top.
• Subtasks break the to-do into smaller steps.
• Below that, cheer the to-do and discuss it in the comments.

Subtasks

On a to-do's page, click Add a subtask…, type it, and click Add. Each subtask can have its own due date and assignees. The box stays open, so you can add several in a row; press Escape when you're done.

On the list, a to-do with subtasks shows how many are done, such as "✓ 2/5". Completing every subtask doesn't complete the to-do itself: check that off when the whole thing is done. Subtasks go one level deep.

Repeating To-dos

For work that comes around on a schedule, like a weekly report or a monthly invoice run, give the to-do a due date and choose a repeat:

• Every day, Every weekday (Mon–Fri), Every week, or Every other week.
• Every month on the same date or on the same weekday of the month, such as the third Thursday.
• Every year.
• Weekly custom… or Monthly custom… for every few weeks or months.

Then choose whether it repeats Forever or Until a date.

When you complete a repeating to-do, the next one appears right away with the same name, notes, and assignees, and fresh subtasks. If the date of the next one arrives before the current one is done, the next one appears anyway and the unfinished one stays open. To stop a to-do repeating, choose Don’t repeat. Clearing its due date stops it too.

Assignments and Due Dates

A to-do can be assigned to several people. Each person is notified when they're assigned, and again if the due date is added, changed, or removed.

Everyone assigned to a dated to-do gets reminders after 9 AM in their time zone: Due tomorrow the day before, Due today on the day, then Overdue by a day and Overdue by a week if it's still open. The reminders show in your notifications and on your phone, and stop after the week mark. In your notifications, each new reminder takes the place of the one before, so a to-do shows up once. By email, the day-before and due-date reminders are bundled into one message rather than one per to-do, and a to-do still open the day after it was due gets one Overdue by a day email. After that, overdue work stays on My Assignments and in the Monday assignments email. To stop the emails, switch off Assignment due-soon reminder emails in My settings.

To see everything assigned to you across all your projects, click My Assignments in the sidebar. See My Assignments.

Moving, Copying, and Reordering

Drag a to-do to change its place in a list, to move it into or out of a group, or to move it to another list on the same page.

The ⋮ menu beside each to-do also has:

• Edit: open the to-do's page.
• Move to: move it into one of the list's groups (shown when the list has groups).
• Move to another list…: move it to another list in this project or in another project. The Move to another list dialog asks you to pick the project, then the list.
• Copy makes a copy at the bottom of the same list, and Copy to… copies it to another list or project. Copies don't keep the assignees.
• Archive and Put in the trash.

A whole list can move or be copied from its own menu with Move to another project… and Copy to a project…. See Moving and Copying.

Working with Several To-dos at Once

Hold ⌘ (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and click to-dos to select them, or Shift-click to select a range. Press Escape to clear the selection. Open the ⋮ menu on any selected to-do to act on all of them:

• Assign 3 to-dos… (the number matches your selection) replaces their assignees with the people you pick.
• Due on… gives them all one date, or shifts their dates forward by days, weekdays, weeks, or months.
• Move to… and Copy to… send them to another list or project.
• Group them… puts them in a new group in the list.
• Archive them and Delete them act at once, with an Undo button in case you change your mind.

A selection stays within one list or group.

The List Menu

Each list has a menu: the ⋮ beside its title on the To-dos page (in List view), or the ••• at the top right of the list's own page. Besides Edit and Add a group, it has:

• Notify me about new to-dos: get a notification whenever someone adds a to-do to this list.
• Track this on the progress chart: show this list's progress on the project's chart. See Progress Charts.
• Copy link, Remind me…, View change log, and Who was notified…, plus Close comments on the list's own page for the person who made the list and for owners and admins.
• Archive and Put in the trash. Trashing a list trashes the to-dos in it too, and you can restore it within 30 days. See Archiving, Trash, and Restoring.

The ••• menu at the top of the To-dos page has one more: Notify me when to-dos are added outside a list, for the to-dos added straight to the page.

Sharing To-dos with Clients

On a project that works with clients, lists start out visible to your team only. To let clients see one, choose Our team and your client company under Who should see this? when you make it, or click Change in the band under the list page's title bar. The to-dos and groups in it follow the list. Shared lists wear a marigold Client can see pill on the To-dos page. Clients see only the lists shared with them, and they can make lists of their own with New list: a list a client makes is always shared. See What Clients Can See and Do.