Dates in Todoist can sometimes be a bit confusing. Here you will find a complete overview of the date formats and the ways of using dates in Todoist.

Note: I recommend to bookmark this post so that you can easily find it when you are struggling with dates in Todoist.

How to set dates in Todoist

You can set dates in Todoist using the calendar/date selector, or by using natural language.

Todoist will automatically recognize and add due dates as you type them into a task name. This feature is called Smart date recognition. You can turn this feature on or off by going to Settings / General / Smart date recognition.

Disabling Smart date recognition for a single task

Sometimes, Todoist’s Smart date recognition can be a source of irritation. Let’s say the task is “Finish monthly expense report” By the time you type “Finish mon” Todoist will have interpreted this as a task named “Finish” that is due on Monday. To avoid this, press backspace or delete on your keyboard, or tap the highlighted word on your phone or tablet.

1. The productivity system where you add just about everything is bound to accumulate some digital cobwebs. Over time your Todoist lists will include outdated tasks, long-forgotten projects, and priorities you’re no longer prioritizing. Use Todoist filters to surface your old tasks so you can get rid of them.
2. Todoist time tracking made simple. With our Todoist Chrome extension for time tracking, you can bring your productivity on a higher level. Track time on tasks with 1 click without leaving Todoist. Press the TimeCamp button on your task to start tracking time.

If you need Todoist time tracking tool, Timenotes is the best option. It synchronises perfectly with other apps, enables generating Todoist time report and accessing Todoist timesheet. Check it out with our free 1 month trial! Smooth integration process. Use Time Doctor with Todoist Time Doctor is a time tracking app that lets you keep track of how much time is spent on projects and tasks. By integrating Time Doctor with Todoist, you'll be able to track how much time is spent on Todoist projects and tasks. Setting up the integration. This week, I show you how I combine Todoist with time blocking. This trick helps to reduce the fear of not having enough time to get your most important work.

Natural language formats

Relative dates

Specific dates

Specific days

Recurring due dates in Todoist

The only way to set recurring due dates in Todoist is by using natural language. I’m tempted to say that your imagination is the limit but to make it easy to get started, I have made some tables below.

Relative numbers

The use of ! (exclamation mark)

Thanks to the tip from Keith in the comment section, I can list a very useful function that was unknown to me: The format Every! will calculate the next occurrence from when you complete the task. Meaning that if you complete the task later than on the first due date, the next occurrence will be calculated from when you completed the previous task.

Specific dates and days

Setting start dates for non-recurring tasks in Todoist

Start dates for non-recurring tasks are actually not supported in Todoist. The dates above are all due dates. You have three options to get around this:

1. Register the start date as the due date. When the task shows up, use the every day until <due date> to make the task repeat until the desired due date.
2. Register the task with due date every day from <start date> to <due date> .
3. Register the task with a due date and set a reminder for the start date.

Start and end dates for recurring tasks in Todoist

Set due dates in Todoist with Smart Schedule

The Smart Schedule function in Todoist is an AI-based function that helps you schedule or re-schedule your tasks. It learns over time, making better and better predictions. To learn more about the Todoist Smart Schedule function, visit this help article from Todoist.

Dates in Todoist filters

For a complete overview of how to make filters in Todoist, please visit the below blog post.

The ultimate guide to Todoist filters

Date formats

• Given date: 15.01.2017
• Given date US format: 01/15/2017, Jan 15th
• Given date and time: 15.01.2017 16:00
• Given date and time US format: 01/15/2017 4 pm, Jan 15th 4 pm
• Relative date: yesterday, today, tomorrow
• Due Date: 2 days (due in the next two days), -2 days, (due in the past two days)
• Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Creation dates

• created:
• created before:
• created after:

Due dates

• due:
• due before:
• due after:
• next X days
• overdue
• recurring
• no date

Filtering on Creation dates

Filtering on Due dates

With Time Doctor, you can easily keep track of how much time you and/or each person in your company spends on their Todoist projects and tasks.

Although this page explains how to use Time Doctor to track time spent on Todoist tasks for teams, everything explained here applies equally to you if you're using Todoist for your own personal use.

With Time Doctor, you'll be able to see:

• Total time spent on each Todoist project and task across your company
• How much time each employee worked on Todoist tasks.
  
• Which task each of your employees is working on right now
  

How does it work?

To get started with Time Doctor, your employees will install Time Doctor's desktop application software onto their computers. In the software each employee will see an up-to-date list of the Todoist tasks assigned to him/her. The employee simply clicks a task to start tracking the amount of time they spend working on it.
The time tracked is then displayed on the Time Doctor website, in reports that you can slice & dice in various ways. Time Doctor has native desktop apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Track what your users do at work

Time Doctor can track other types of data in addition to time worked on Todoist tasks such as the websites & applications that each employee uses while working.

Time Doctor can also take screenshots of your employees computers while they're working. This can be particularly useful when you have people working remotely and you can't stop by their desks to see what they're working on.

Features like website & application tracking and screenshots are optional and you have the option of turning them on or off.

Supported on both Time Doctor 2 and Time Doctor Classic

Time Doctor’s chrome extension supporting Todoist integration is available on both Time Doctor Classic and Time Doctor 2.

To know the differences between Time Doctor Classic and Time Doctor 2, click here.

But wait, there's more!

Todoist Timeline

Todoist Time Blocking

Read more about the full range of optional features that Time Doctor provides.