Todoist recurring tasks: how to create, manage, and fix them

To add a recurring task in Todoist, type a natural language phrase like "every Monday at 9am" in the task title or due date field. Todoist recognizes the pattern and schedules the task to repeat automatically. You can also use the visual recurring scheduler to build complex patterns without typing a single word.

This guide covers every method for creating recurring tasks, a complete syntax cheat sheet, tips for managing them, and fixes for common problems.

What are recurring tasks in Todoist?

A recurring task is a task that repeats on a set schedule. Paying rent on the first of each month, running every morning, sending a weekly report: these are recurring tasks.

In Todoist, a recurring task behaves as a single task with a shifting due date. When you complete it, the same task reappears at the next scheduled occurrence. You will not see all future occurrences in your task list by default.

How to add a recurring task on Todoist

There are two ways to create a recurring task. Both work on desktop, Android, and iOS.

Option 1: type natural language in the task title

The fastest method. Todoist detects recurring patterns typed directly into the task name.

1. Open Todoist.
2. Open your Inbox or select a Project.
3. Click + Add task.
4. Type your task name followed by the recurring interval. Todoist highlights the detected date in red.

Examples:

• Morning run every Monday at 8am
• Send invoice every two Fridays at 5:30pm
• Clean the main room weekly

Option 2: type natural language in the due date field

You can type the recurring pattern inside the due date picker instead of the title.

1. Add a task or open an existing task.
2. Click Due date.
3. Type the recurring interval at the top of the date picker.
4. Save the task.

Examples:

• Every Thursday at 10am
• Every 12 hours starting Nov 10
• Every other week ending January 20

Tasks created through either method sync to Notion automatically with 2sync, so you can view your full recurring schedule in a Notion calendar alongside deadlines, meetings, and notes.

Todoist recurring task syntax cheat sheet

This reference table covers every recurring pattern Todoist supports through natural language.

Basic intervals

Specific days and dates

Start and end dates

Time and duration

Completion-based recurrence

Holidays

Tips for managing Todoist recurring tasks

How do I shorten recurring task commands?

Todoist accepts abbreviations for faster input:

Full example: Review finances ev mon 8p creates "Review finances every Monday at 8pm."

How do I set tasks for specific days of the month?

Use commas to list specific dates. Todoist treats numbers separated by commas as days of the month.

• Contact Paolo every 2, 4, 10, 20 repeats on the 2nd, 4th, 10th, and 20th
• Organize inbox ev 1, 15 repeats on the 1st and 15th
• Go to the gym ev weekend, thursday repeats every weekend and Thursday

Todoist supports up to 8 comma-separated dates per task (7 if you include a time).

How do I add start and end dates to recurring tasks?

Append starting and ending to bound a recurrence to a specific window.

• Go running weekly starting on December starts recurring from December 1st
• Update blog post every other week end mar 10 stops after March 10th
• Upload video every first workday @ 8pm ending december runs until December

What is the difference between "every," "every!," and fixed-day recurrence?

Todoist handles recurrence in three distinct ways. Understanding the difference prevents unexpected behavior.

Fixed-day recurrence uses a specific day name. Every Saturday always reschedules to the next Saturday, regardless of when you complete the task. If you finish it on Thursday, the next occurrence is still Saturday.

Dynamic recurrence uses a generic interval without a day name. Every week reschedules relative to when the task was due. If the task was due Monday and you complete it Wednesday, the next occurrence moves to the following Monday (Todoist always schedules future dates).

Completion-based recurrence uses the every! command or the after syntax. Every! 3 days reschedules exactly 3 days from the moment you mark it complete. Use this for habits where consistency matters more than hitting specific calendar days.

What time and date formats does Todoist recognize?

Todoist's natural language parser accepts multiple formats for the same input:

• Dates: 01/01/2024, 1/1/24, September 30, September 30th
• Times: at 20:00, at 8pm, 8 p.m., @ 8pm
• Special days: first workday, last workday, first day of the month, last day of the month

How do I add a duration to a recurring task?

Add for followed by a time period after your recurring pattern.

• Team standup every weekday at 9am for 30min
• Deep work every afternoon for 2 hours

The maximum duration per occurrence is 24 hours.

How do I stop a recurring task permanently?

Regular completion only advances the task to its next occurrence. To stop a recurring task for good:

1. Open the task.
2. Click the three-dot menu.
3. Select Complete Forever.

The task is marked done and no future occurrences are created.

How to filter recurring tasks in Todoist

Type recurring into the search bar or a custom filter view to see every repeating task across all projects. Use !recurring to exclude them.

You can combine the query with other filters using the & operator:

• recurring & today shows recurring tasks due today
• recurring & #Work shows recurring tasks in your Work project
• (today | overdue) & !recurring shows today's focus without recurring noise

Filters are available on all Todoist plans. Free users can save up to 3 custom filter views; Pro and Business users get up to 150. If you need more visual options, 2sync lets you view Todoist recurring tasks inside Notion database views like calendar, board, and gallery layouts.

Common issues with Todoist recurring tasks

Why does my recurring task repeat on the wrong day?

This happens when you use every week instead of a specific day like every Monday. Without a day name, Todoist uses dynamic scheduling and the due date shifts based on when the task was originally scheduled or completed. Switch to a named day (every Monday, every Friday) for fixed-day recurrence.

Why can't I see future occurrences of a recurring task?

By default, Todoist shows only the next occurrence. To see all future occurrences, you need a Todoist Pro or Business plan. Open the Upcoming view on desktop and switch to the calendar layout. Future occurrences appear on their scheduled dates.

If you sync Todoist to a Notion database with 2sync, you get a calendar view of your recurring tasks on any Todoist plan, no Pro upgrade required.

Why do subtasks not reset when a recurring task repeats?

Enable subtask reset in Settings > General > Reset sub-tasks. Note two limitations: Todoist resets a maximum of 30 subtasks per recurring parent, and sub-subtasks (nested deeper than one level) are not reset.

What recurring patterns does Todoist not support?

Some patterns require workarounds:

• Different times on different days (every mon at 9am, fri at 3pm): not supported. Create separate tasks for each day-time combination.
• "Every X months on the first Friday": use every 1st friday instead, which repeats monthly.
• Rescheduling preserves the chain: if you manually change a recurring task's date and then complete it, Todoist advances to the next occurrence after the rescheduled date, skipping any occurrences in between.

FAQ

Turn Todoist recurring tasks into a system you can actually see

Todoist handles the doing. Fast capture, natural language, two taps to complete. For execution, it is hard to beat.

But a flat task list tells you nothing about patterns. How many recurring commitments do you carry? Which days are overloaded? What slipped last month? Todoist's filter syntax can surface individual answers, one query at a time. It cannot give you the full picture at a glance.

That changes when you sync Todoist to a Notion database with 2sync. Every recurring task, its due date, priority, labels, project, and completion status flows into Notion automatically, in both directions. From there, Notion's views do what Todoist's list cannot:

• Calendar view shows recurring tasks on their scheduled dates alongside meetings and deadlines
• Board view grouped by frequency separates daily habits from weekly reviews and monthly reports
• Table view filtered by priority or project reveals where your recurring load concentrates
• To-do list templates give you a ready-made structure for managing tasks in Notion without building a database from scratch

The recurring task stays in Todoist for execution. Notion holds the structure.

2sync also connects Notion with Google Calendar for a complete view of your schedule. If your workflow spans multiple task apps, these comparisons can help you decide where recurring tasks belong: Todoist vs. Google Tasks, Notion vs. Todoist, and TickTick vs. Todoist. For a broader view, see our best to-do list apps roundup.