← Back to dashboard

Field guide

How the dashboard thinks

Every rule, timer and small courtesy behind the dashboard — what each button does, when a task shows up, and why it sometimes waits.

8 chapters Updated September 2026

Anatomy

The six modules on the page, top to bottom, and what each one is for.

To write

Hero

Greeting, the week's closed count, smart insights and today's repeating tasks — each deferrable to tomorrow.

To write

Done

How many to-dos you closed this week, and which days they landed on.

To write

Tasks

Everything open in Todoist, grouped into curated sections with the rest tucked away.

To write

Schedule

Today's calendar, read-only, with yesterday for context and the week ahead on demand.

To write

Birthdays

Who's next, how soon, and a nudge in the hero when one is imminent.

To write

Daily log

Steps, sleep, mood and a line about the day, written straight to the sheet.

Daily tasks

Repeating habits live in the hero with a progress ring. Some of them wait for their content to be released before they'll show — that's a gate.

When gated tasks unlock · Sydney time
Pending Locked — not out yet Done today Overdue In progress

A task row

Every control on a row, most of them hidden until you hover. Numbered here, explained below.

Hover state, all controls showing
  1. 1Complete. To write.
  2. 2Title. To write.
  3. 3Delete. To write.
  4. 4Due date. To write.
  5. 5Rename. To write.
  6. 6Shelve. To write.
  7. 7Priority. To write.

The board

How open tasks are sorted into sections, and where the ones you don't want to see right now go.

To write

General

The curated columns: Inbox, Website, Cognito, Shopping list.

To write

More

Everything else, grouped by its Todoist home so nothing is ever hidden.

To write

Upcoming

Dated after today. Collapsed, so the board stays about now.

To write

Backlog

Deliberately put down. Out of the count, out of Upcoming, one click to lift back.

Repeats & timing

Todoist's recurrence gets you most of the way. These are the rules layered on top.

To write

Counted from completion

every! 4 days — the clock restarts when you tick it, and a missed one waits on today rather than going overdue.

To write

Market hours

Tasks with the market-hours label only land on trading days and only unlock between the bells.

To write

Follow-ups

Claim Bupa lands five days after Buy Medications is ticked — wherever you ticked it.

To write

After the day's last event

Charge Portable Charger waits until the calendar is clear for the day, and re-hides if a later event appears.

Schedule

Reading the calendar module: spines, tentative events, and the week ahead.

To write

Today & yesterday

—

To write

Tentative events

A title ending in ? gets a red spine.

To write

Prepare for…

—

Muse view

What changes when the dashboard is Keyi's.

To write

Her list first

The Keyi ♡ project takes the hero, with Daily tasks a switch away.

To write

Quieter rows

No in-progress marker on her tasks.

To write

Previewing it

The eye beside Refresh, admin only.

Under the hood

Why it feels instant, and how it keeps itself honest.

To write

Instant paint

Last session's data draws first; the fresh fetch replaces it.

To write

Wake timer

The board reloads itself at the next unlock, closing bell or midnight.

To write

Optimistic edits

Clicks paint immediately and reconcile with Todoist afterwards.