For personal use
How to organize daily tasks
Every task typed in one line, the chores that come back on their own, reminders for what can't slip, and a short pick for today.
To organize daily tasks, get each one out of your head as it comes up, give it a day, and put anything that comes back on repeat. Then pick the few that matter each morning. In PrimeTask that's Quick Add for capture, repeating tasks for chores, reminders for what can't slip, and Compass for today's pick.
Updated · Checked with PrimeTask 1.0.5 · PrimeTask Team
PrimeTask
How it fits together
Select a part, in the drawing or here, to see what it does and what it feeds.
What flows
One line, sorted out
Quick Add to Tasks
Overdue, today, started
Tasks to Compass
Soonest first
Tasks to Dashboard
One at a time
Tasks to Focus Mode
Every connection, in words
- Routines is part of Tasks.
- Reminders is part of Tasks.
- Quick Add is linked to Tasks.
- Tasks is linked to Compass.
- Tasks is linked to Dashboard.
- Tasks is linked to Focus Mode.
- One line, sorted out: Quick Add to Tasks.
- Overdue, today, started: Tasks to Compass.
- Soonest first: Tasks to Dashboard.
- One at a time: Tasks to Focus Mode.
How the parts of organizing daily tasks connect, from one typed line to the task you do now
The problem
A to-do list works while it's short. Add every chore, bill and errand and it grows into forty lines you stop reading, with the thing that mattered today somewhere in the middle.
Writing things down is the easy part. What helps is what happens after: routines come back on their own, and the day's list is picked for you.
What it uses
Five parts, one connected system
Each card opens its docs article in a new tab, for the detail behind the steps.
Quick Add
Any task in one typed line, from anywhere in the app
Docs for Quick Add (opens in a new tab)Recurring Tasks
Chores and routines that come back on their own
Docs for Recurring Tasks (opens in a new tab)Step 1
Capture a task in one line
Quick Add (opens in a new tab)Press Cmd + Shift + A (Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows) from anywhere and type the task the way you'd say it: Call the dentist tomorrow 10am !high.
PrimeTask picks out the day, time and priority, shows them before you press Enter, and keeps the rest as the title.
Step 2
Put chores and routines on repeat
Recurring tasks (opens in a new tab)Add every and a pattern to anything that comes back, such as Water the plants every mon,thu or Pay the credit card every month.
Tick it off and the next one appears with its new date and its checklist unticked. Miss a few and you get the next one only, never a backlog.
Step 3
Add a reminder to what can't slip
Task reminders (opens in a new tab)Add remind: to the line. remind:1h fires an hour before it's due, and remind:9am at nine on the day. Add both if one isn't enough.
When it fires, Snooze 15m brings it back a quarter of an hour later.
Step 4
Let Compass pick today's few
Compass (opens in a new tab)Press Cmd + J (Ctrl + J on Windows) in the morning. Compass names a few tasks worth doing: anything overdue first, then what's due today, then what you've already started, each with its reason.
Take the first and close it. The day's list is made.
Step 5
Do the one you're avoiding in a focus session
Task Focus Mode (opens in a new tab)Right-click the task you keep putting off and choose Start Focus Session. The screen clears to that one task and a 25-minute countdown.
Done early? Click Complete Task, and the task is ticked off and the session saved.
The checklist
The whole list
Routines worth putting on repeat, and what to type in Quick Add. Change the days to fit your week.
| Routine | How often | Type this |
|---|---|---|
| Water the plants | Twice a week | Water the plants every mon,thu |
| Take the bins out | Weekly | Bins out every tuesday |
| Change the bed sheets | Every two weeks | Change the sheets every 2 weeks |
| Pay the credit card | Monthly | Pay the credit card every month |
| Clear the inbox | Weekdays | Clear the inbox every weekday |
| Plan the week | Weekly | Plan the week every sunday |
Variations
Make it yours
Four ways to change the setup to fit how you work.
Your phone too (Mac)
Work and home apart
Drop everything for the urgent one
Your Dashboard
Reuse
Save it for next time
Set it up once, and start the next one from it.
A line you type often
save:shop Weekly shop saturday 10am #home, then type /shop whenever you need it.A routine with steps
Morning routine every day, and give it a checklist of the steps. The checklist resets each time you tick the task off.Questions
Common questions
Keep one list for everything, give each task a day, and put routines on repeat so you never rewrite them. Then pick a few for today each morning, instead of working from the whole list.
Capture each task the moment it comes up, in one place and with its date. Let reminders cover what can't slip, and check a short daily pick rather than rereading the whole list.
Nothing piles up. Ticking it off late brings the next one only, never a backlog. To jump straight to today, drag it to today on the calendar and choose whether that applies to this task or all future ones.
On a Mac, yes. Turn on Apple Reminders sync and your tasks show in Reminders on your iPhone and Apple Watch, with their due dates. On Windows, reminders arrive as notifications on your computer.
Yes. PrimeTask runs on your computer, and your tasks stay in your own files.
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