Tick Done guide
How to make a to-do list that works: dates, priorities and repeats
Write down everything that's on your mind in one place, then sort it. Give a date only to tasks with a real deadline or a planned day, mark the few that matter most as top priority, and turn anything regular into a repeating task. Each morning, pick a short Today list of three to five important tasks, and once a week, review the rest.
1. Capture everything
The first job of a to-do list is to get things out of your head. Set aside ten minutes and write down every task you can think of: work, home, errands, calls, "one day" ideas. Don't sort yet, just list.
- Start each task with a verb. "Call the dentist" is clearer than "dentist".
- Break big jobs into a first step. "Plan holiday" becomes "Pick three dates for the holiday".
- Keep one inbox. Whenever something new comes up, add it straight away and sort it later.
2. Sort into a few lists
A handful of lists is plenty: say Work, Home and Errands. Too many lists and you stop checking them. Tags cut across lists for context, such as #calls or #computer, so you can batch similar jobs together.
3. Dates, times and priorities
Dates are for deadlines and for the day you plan to do something. If you date every task, Today fills with things that aren't really for today, and the list stops meaning anything.
Priority is for the few tasks that matter most. A simple four-level scale works well:
| Priority | Use it for |
|---|---|
| 1 (top) | Must happen; do these first |
| 2 | Important but can wait a little |
| 3 | Nice to get done |
| 4 (none) | Everything else |
If you'd rather sort by urgency and importance, try the Eisenhower matrix: do the urgent and important, schedule the important but not urgent, delegate the urgent but unimportant, and drop the rest.
4. Turn routines into repeating tasks
Bins, bills, watering the plants, a weekly report: anything that comes round again should be a repeating task. Tick it off and the next one appears on the right day, so you never have to remember to re-add it. Use repeats for routines with a set rhythm, and leave one-off jobs as single tasks.
5. Plan a short Today list
- Look at what's due or overdue. Move anything that won't happen today to a realistic day, rather than letting it pile up.
- Pick three to five important tasks. Put the hardest one first, when you have the most energy.
- Add a few quick ones to fill gaps between bigger jobs.
- Work in focused blocks. A 25-minute focus timer with a short break is a good rhythm for tasks you've been putting off.
6. The weekly review
Once a week, spend 15 minutes going through your lists: tick off what's done, delete what no longer matters, date what's coming up and pick next week's priorities. This is what keeps a to-do list trustworthy. Skip it for a month and the list fills with stale tasks you've learnt to ignore.
Doing it on a phone
Tick Done is built around quick capture. Type a task the way you'd say it and it picks out the details:
| Type | You get |
|---|---|
| tomorrow, fri, next week, 12 march, in 3 days | A due date |
| 3pm, at 9:30, tonight, morning, noon | A time |
| !1 to !4, or p1 to p4 | A priority |
| #work | A tag, or that list if one is called Work |
| ~garden | Files it in the Garden list (and makes it if needed) |
| every day, every weekday, every other week | A repeating task |
| every month on the 1st, every last friday | A monthly repeat |
Worked example
Type pay rent every month on the 1st !1 ~home. Tick Done saves "pay rent" in your Home list (making the list if you don't have one), at top priority, due on the next 1st of the month and repeating monthly. Tick it off and next month's appears.
Free, with no ads and no account: lists with sections, Today and Upcoming, a kanban board, the focus timer, karma points and streaks, a weekly review, list sharing by link and backup to a file. Your tasks stay in your browser and work offline. Tick Done Pro ($2.99 once) adds a calendar view, the Eisenhower matrix, habits with heatmaps and focus stats.
Common mistakes
- Dating everything "today". Overdue piles make the list feel hopeless.
- Vague tasks such as "taxes". Write the next action: "Find last year's tax form".
- Too many lists and tags that you never look at.
- Making every task top priority. If everything is urgent, nothing is.
- Skipping the weekly review, so the list goes stale.
Questions
How many tasks should be on a daily to-do list?
Fewer than you think: three to five things that really matter, plus a handful of small ones. A short list you finish beats a long one you carry over every day.
Should every task have a due date?
No. Give a date only to tasks that have a real deadline or a day you plan to do them. Everything else can wait in a list until your weekly review.
How do I prioritise my to-do list?
Mark the few tasks that matter most as priority 1, do those first, and leave the rest at a lower priority. The Eisenhower matrix, which sorts tasks by urgent and important, is another popular way.
What is natural language quick add?
You type a task the way you'd say it, such as "call Ana tomorrow 3pm #work !1", and the app picks out the date, time, tag and priority for you, leaving "call Ana" as the task.
How do I set up a repeating task?
In Tick Done, add a phrase such as "every day", "every weekday", "every other week", "every month on the 1st" or "every last Friday". When you tick it off, the next one appears.
Is Tick Done free?
Yes. Lists, natural-language dates, repeats, kanban, the focus timer, sharing and backup are free with no ads or account. Tick Done Pro, a one-time $2.99 upgrade, adds calendar and matrix views, habits and focus stats.