You can get really specific about when you want a task to repeat, and how often, when you set up custom recurrences for your repeating tasks.
Set complex repeat patterns
Let’s say you need to complete your annual budget review by the first Monday in September. To set a repeating task for this, use a custom recurrence pattern.
First, set the due date for your task. In this case, Monday, September 6th.
Then, open the repeat dropdown menu and choose Custom.
This window lets you set the rules for your recurring pattern. If you want to complete your budget on the first Monday of September, instead of setting the task to repeat annually, set it to repeat every 12 months.
Then, you can select whether you want the task to repeat on the exact day (the 6th of September) or on every instance of that day (every first Monday).
You’ll see a brief summary of the repeat pattern at the bottom of the window. Click Set custom repeat when you’re finished.
Set tasks to repeat from date completed
You can also choose whether the repetition pattern is determined by the due date on the task, or when the task is actually completed.
For example, let's say you have a task due June 1st and set it to repeat monthly. If you open the custom repeat menu, you can choose to have the next instance generated based on the task's due date, or the date you mark it complete.
If you choose Due date, even if you check it off on June 5th, the next instance generated will be dated for July 1st. This is ideal for things like paying bills. Even if you're late one month, it doesn't change the rest of the schedule moving forward.
If you choose Date completed, the next instance will be dated for a month from the date you checked it off. This is ideal for things like changing the air filter for your furnace. It keeps the amount of time in between each task the same.
Set subtasks to repeat
When a repeating task is marked complete, any subtasks you've added will NOT generate with the next instance of the task.
You can still use subtasks to break up the work, just set the subtasks to repeat instead of their parent task. This ensures the list of tasks to complete for your monthly newsletter will automatically regenerate for the next month.
Start by setting your top level task and create subtasks for each item that needs to be completed.
Set the due dates for each subtask and set each of them to repeat monthly.
As you complete your work, mark the subtasks complete, but leave the top-level task alone so it can act as a placeholder.
When you mark each repeating subtask complete, a new one will be automatically generated for the next month under the top level task.
👉Pro Tip: If you’re working on the same project in multiple different queues, use templates to save yourself precious time and clicks.