Most to-do apps give you a list. Some let a task have a checklist. Tatask lets any task have a list of its own, and every item on that list can have a list too, as deep as the work goes.
That one rule changes how a big project feels. "Redo the garden" is a heavy item on a flat list, and it tends to sit there. In Tatask it opens up into the patio, the flower beds and the lighting. The patio opens into choosing tiles and measuring up. Choosing tiles opens into comparing porcelain with slate and ordering a sample pack. At the bottom of the tree is something you could do on your lunch break.
How the tree works
Everything in Tatask is a task. There are no separate projects, areas, folders or sections to set up first. When you add a step under a task, that task becomes a project. When you finish the last step, it's ready to be ticked off.
On the web, opening a task shows its subtasks in a new column to the right. Open one of those and another column appears. The columns form a path from the goal on the left to the step you're on, and the address bar follows along, so you can bookmark a deep part of the tree or use your browser's back button.
On iPhone and Android, opening a task takes you to its own screen, with a back button to the level above. Each list can be dragged into your own order, or sorted by name, date created, last updated or due date.
Progress you can see without opening anything
A parent task on the web shows a small ring that fills as its subtasks are done. You can see that the patio is two-thirds finished without opening it. On mobile, turn on Show progress in Settings to see how many subtasks are left.
Finished tasks move into a Completed section at the bottom of their list, so the open work stays at the top. Everything completed is also gathered in the Archive.
Why break things down this far?
Nesting makes it easier to start. A task you can't picture finishing in one sitting is a task you'll skip past. Break it into parts until each one is concrete and starts with a verb, and the resistance mostly goes. I wrote about this in why our brains like breaking things down and in a longer guide to breaking down a big project.
The other half is focus. In a deep tree, the parts you're not working on stay folded inside their parent. You see the branch you're on and nothing else, which is a calmer place to work than a list of eighty items.
A worked example
Say you're moving house in March.
- Add Move house by March as a task.
- Open it and add the parts: Sort out the removal, Pack, Change addresses, Leave the old place.
- Open Sort out the removal and add: Email three removal firms for quotes, Compare quotes and book one, Confirm the date with the new landlord.
- The first of those is a ten-minute job. Star it, and it shows up in Today.
The same shape works for a dissertation, a product launch or a wedding.
Moving things around
Plans change, and the tree should be easy to reshape. On the web you can drag a task up or down its list, or drop it onto another task to move it there. Hover over a task mid-drag and it opens, so you can carry something several levels deep in one movement. On your phone, drag to reorder within a list.
Deleting a task asks for confirmation and tells you how many subtasks go with it, so nothing disappears by accident.
Where it fits with other features
Nesting is the structure. The other features are ways of looking across it:
- Today gathers the steps you've starred, wherever they live.
- Due dates and repeats put time on any task, at any depth, and the Due view lists them all in date order.
- Tags cut across branches, so #calls shows every call from every project.
- Offline sync keeps the whole tree on each of your devices.