Welcome to TickTick! This quick start guide will help you learn some basics of establishing a task management system in TickTick in just 3 steps. Ready to live a more organized and productive life? Let’s get started!
Step 1: Move tasks from your mind to TickTick
Meet clients, finish new design work, pick up kids at school, do laundry… there are just so many different tasks in work and life that we have to deal with on a daily basis and those tasks can usually change with time. It is quite handleable for our mind if it’s just 2 or 3 tasks, but what if there’s 20 or 30? Our brain will lose focus on what’s important and forget things from time to time. That is why you need a second-brainer app like TickTick to help you free out your mind while still keeping track of everything.
Start from Inbox
Inbox in TickTick is basically a place to collect all your unplanned tasks and random thoughts. Throwing everything into Inbox is the first step to get everything out of your mind.
Add a new task
Once you’ve decided where to start, it’s time to add tasks:
- Mobile: tap the "+" button and start typing in the task name or long press the "+" button to use voice input.
- Desktop: type in the “quick adding box” on the top or use keyboard shortcuts (⇧⌘A) to add a task from anywhere.
Set due date and reminders
To set a due date/time to your task, simply tap the calendar icon showing below when adding a task. You can also go into the task detail page anytime and add time/date to an existing task. Reminders can also be set at the same time. No matter if you wish to get notified on time, 1 day before the due date, or any other duration, you can find the options or simply customize one.
Set a task as recurrent
You can set a task as recurrent if needed, tap time/date of the task > Repeat > choose the repeat cycle that suits you best. If no fit is found, you can also customize how your task will repeat. Select Custom > Repeat Type, choose how the next recurrence will appear, between basing on a fixed time or the completion of last recurrence.
Set priority to your tasks
Based on importance and urgency, all tasks can be categorized into four types: High priority - important and urgent tasks, Medium priority - important but not urgent, Low priority - urgent but not important, None - neither important nor urgent.
TickTick offers you these 4 priority options when adding a task, so that you can focus on what truly matters. The “!!!” icon you find when adding a task or in the task detail page is for Priority.
Step 2: Organize tasks with Lists, Sections and Folders
When you’ve finished creating tasks, it’s time to organize them and keep everything in order. You need different lists to collect tasks, sections to sort out tasks in the lists, and also folders to collect lists.
Create a new list
Access from the left side bar, you’ll find “Add List” at the bottom. Type in the list name (could be an emoticon!) and select a color for your list. A list could be a group project of yours, a lesson you’re taking, a main responsibility of your job, a side business, a house chore list, or a list to share with your loved one, and etc. After creating multiple lists, then is to relocate your tasks from Inbox to where they belong to.
Add sections within a list
Within a list, you can further divide it down to a lower level by Sections. Go to the list > tap “...” > Manage Section. You can then put your tasks under different sections via a simple drag n’ drop, to make your list look nicer and well-sorted.
Create a new folder to collect lists
Once many lists have been created, you may need to organize your lists too and here comes the use of Folders. For example, some lists are work-related, some are family-based, some are for leisure and others are about study. They can be collected separately in different folders. To do that, hold a list > drag it and drop onto another list, this will take you to create a new folder.
Step 3: Arrange tasks with Smart Lists and Calendar
Now, you’ve got to the final step, which is also the most important one -- arrange tasks. Two ways to start the arrangement is: Smart Lists and Calendar.
Plan out from Smart Lists
There are 4 built-in Smart Lists in TickTick: All, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days. Interpreting from their names, these four lists automatically filter tasks from your lists and always stick on top of your left sidebar. This is to help you stay aware of both your current tasks and what’s coming next.
Besides checking schedules, you can also get tasks quickly arranged from there. For example, if you go into Today, there’s a circle-shaped circle called “Plan Your Day”(mobile-only). Tap it and you’ll be taken to quickly complete, delete or reschedule your Today’s and overdue tasks one by one.
Arrange tasks on Calendar
Arranging tasks can also be done on TickTick calendar. TickTick incorporates a built-in calendar, and also supports subscriptions from other calendars. This means you can not only integrate your to-dos in TickTick Calendar, but also events from other calendars as well. Everything is in just one place to save you time and energy when it comes to planning. Let’s see how it works!
Go to Calendar > choose “...” on the top right corner > select “Arrange Tasks” > you’ll see all your undated tasks sorted by List, Tag or Priority. With a simple drag n’ drop, you can put any tasks into any time/date boxes on your Calendar.
You’ll also find the option “Subscribe Calendar” after unfolding “...”. This will allow you to subscribe to your local calendar, Google calendar, or any other tools. Events from these places will then sync and show on your TickTick Calendar.
Final words
Managing everything in one place, TickTick helps you make it happen! Now, it’s time to truly get started. Take this 3-step guide and set off for a more organized and productive life!
Wish to find more about TickTick features? Follow links below to our blogs!