To-Dos

Your team knows what to do, but they need to see the way forward. Break down your team's work into manageable tasks and subtasks with to-do lists. They're great for work that can be planned, assigned, and completed step by step. They’re built for checklist-style work - clear tasks, clear owners, and clear progress from start to finish.

For more visual, status-based workflows, use the Card Table.

Jump to:

To access To-dos, open a project and click To-dos.

Creating to-dos

Click Add a to-do to create a new item. Give it a title, then add notes, assign it, add subtasks, and set a due date.

a screenshot showing a box around the add a to-do button on the to-do tool

You can leave to-dos ungrouped for now, or organize them into lists later.

📝NOTE: Clients cannot see loose to-dos.

Creating a to-do list

To organize your work, create a to-do list.

Click + Make a list to create a new list. Give it a title, and add a description if needed.

a screenshot showing a box around the +new list button on a to-do tool

Add notes, files, or links to the description.

A progress pie chart at the top of each list shows how many to-dos have been completed.

a screenshot showing a box around the pie chart next to do a to-do list

When a project has completed to-do lists, use the Show completed lists toggle to show or hide them from the page.

a screenshot with a box around the show completed lists toggle on the to-do tool

You can also use a template to create a new list, or track the list on a Hill Chart.

💡 TIP: If you create the same list often, save it as a template to reuse later.

Adding and managing to-dos

Once you’ve created a list, start adding to-dos. Click Add a to-do to create a new item.

Give your to-do a title, then add notes, assign it, add subtasks, and set a due date.

a screenshot showing the options you have when adding a new to-do

Click a to-do or list title to edit it.

You can drag and drop to-dos within a list or move them between lists. Entire lists can be reordered the same way.

Assigning and scheduling

Assign to-dos to clarify responsibilities and keep work moving.

Start typing a name in the Assigned to field and select from the list.

a screnshot showing what happens when you type a name into the assigned box on a to-do

When assigned, the person will be notified and can mark the to-do complete when finished.

Set a due date or date range to keep work on track.

Assigned to-dos appear on a person’s Assignments page. To-dos with due dates appear on your Calendar, as well as in your My Tasks, and can send “Due soon” reminders.

Subtasks

Use subtasks to break a to-do into smaller pieces.

Subtasks can be assigned to a person and given a due date.

Each subtask can be completed independently without affecting the overall to-do, so work can move forward as needed.

a screenshot showing the subtask section of a to-do and the options you have

Recurring to-dos

Set a to-do to repeat automatically on a schedule.

When creating a dated to-do, choose how often it should repeat - daily, weekly, monthly, or custom intervals.

a screenshot showing the options you have when setting a to-do to repeat

Recurring to-dos create a series:

  • The primary to-do (🔄) controls the schedule
  • Individual instances (🗓️) are created automatically

If a to-do isn’t completed before the next one is created, it becomes overdue.

To update all future to-dos, edit the primary to-do. To change just one occurrence, edit an individual instance.

Deleting or archiving the primary to-do stops future to-dos from being created.

Working with multiple to-dos

Select multiple to-dos in the same list to make changes in bulk.

Click the menu next to a to-do, then hold Command (Mac) or Control (Windows/Linux) and click additional to-dos to select more.

To select a range of to-dos, hold Shift.

a screenshot showing the options when you have multiple to-dos selected

From there, you can:

  • Assign multiple to-dos
  • Change due dates
  • Shift dates forward
  • Move or copy to another location
  • Archive or delete to-dos
  • Group to-dos

Grouping to-dos

Use groups to organize to-dos within a list.

Groups help organize work by phase, team, category, or any other structure you need.

To create a group, select multiple to-dos, click the menu, then choose Group them...

a screenshot with a box around the menu option to group to-dos together

You can drag to-dos between groups and reorder groups as needed.

If a group grows into something larger, turn it into its own list using New list from group from the group’s menu.

a screenshot with a box around the new list from group option when you select the menu for a group

Notifications

Stay updated when new to-dos are added to a list.

Open a to-do list, click the ••• menu, then select Notify me when new to-dos are added to this list.

a screenshot with a box around the menu option on a to-do list to notify me when new to-dos are added to this list

You’ll receive notifications when new to-dos are added to that list. These are personal settings - others need to opt in separately.

Turn notifications off the same way.

To follow activity on a specific to-do, open it and click Notify me at the bottom. Once subscribed, you’ll receive updates when someone comments on or completes that to-do.

a screenshot with a box around the notify me option at the bottom of an individual to-do

Viewing your tasks

See your assigned work and what’s due today from anywhere in Basecamp.

To open your tasks Press Shift + T, or select My Tasks from the bottom bar

My Tasks shows assignments you’ve manually moved to Up Next from See all assignments, helping you focus on the work that matters most right now.

To move a task to Up Next from your See all assignments page, hover over a task and click the to move it. To remove a task from Up Next, click the to put it back in the original list.  

a screenshot with a box around the up arrow on your assignments page to move a to-do to up next

Tasks due today appear in the Do Today section of My bar - press Shift + I to open it and see everything that needs attention across your projects.

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