Tasks in Toggl Focus
This guide covers how to create and manage tasks in Toggl Focus, including setting task details like name, project, priority, estimates, and dates. It explains subtasks, recurring tasks, privacy settings, and file attachments. It also introduces the AI task importer for quickly generating tasks from screenshots or text prompts, and outlines the five views available for organising tasks — Tasks, Board, Timer, Timeline, and Projects
Creating a task
Create a task by clicking on the Calendar view under the Timer page or on the Timeline. In the Tasks and Board view, click on Add task. From here you can:
- Add a task name, project, priority, time estimate, and start/end dates
- Assign the task to yourself or a team member
- Add a color to make the task easier to spot on the Timeline (by default, tasks inherit the project color)
- Pin the task so it appears at the top of your task list
- Set the task as private or shared (if assigned to a project, tasks will inherit the project privacy)
- Attach files directly to the task — drag and drop or click to upload
- Add subtasks, up to 5 levels deep
Subtasks
Subtasks are full tasks in their own right. Each subtask can have its own assignee, priority, estimate, status, and tags — it just has a relationship to its parent task. A few things to keep in mind:
- Statuses don't roll up: marking a parent task as done doesn't change the status of its subtasks, and vice versa.
- Estimates don't roll up: a subtask's time estimate is tracked separately and doesn't affect the parent task's estimate.
- In the Board view, subtasks appear with the parent task name shown above them so you can tell at a glance which task they belong to.
- Subtasks contribute to capacity calculations on the Timeline independently, based on their own estimates and dates.
Recurring tasks
You can set any task to repeat on a schedule — daily, weekly (on specific days), monthly, or annually. You can also set a custom interval and choose when the recurrence ends: after a set number of occurrences, on a specific date, or not at all.
Recurring tasks appear as reminders at the top of your Calendar (in the Timer page) on each scheduled day. Drag one onto the calendar to turn it into a scheduled time block for that day. Completing an individual occurrence only affects that specific instance — future reminders stay in place unless you choose to update all instances.
Private tasks
All new tasks and projects are private by default. Private tasks are visible only to the assignee, project members, and workspace admins. Tasks assigned to a project inherit the project's privacy setting, and subtasks always inherit from their parent task. Private tasks still contribute to capacity calculations on the Timeline, but non-members see only anonymous blocks.
Private projects and tasks are available on all paid plans. For full details, see Private Projects and Tasks in Toggl Focus.
Task attachments
You can attach files to any task directly from the task modal — drag and drop, or click to upload. This keeps all supporting materials in one place alongside the task details.
AI task importer
If you'd like to create a list of tasks quickly, use the AI importer:
- Take a screenshot of your existing to-do list or planner and upload it — the importer will generate tasks from it automatically.
- Or use a text prompt to describe a piece of work and let the importer break it down into tasks for you.
Viewing and organising tasks
Tasks can be viewed and managed across five different surfaces:
- Tasks — your full task list with filtering, sorting, and status management.
- Board — a Kanban view where you move tasks across custom statuses.
- Timer — drag tasks onto the calendar to schedule them as time blocks. Connect your Google or Outlook calendar to see external events alongside your planned work.
- Timeline — see tasks against the broader project schedule, manage capacity, and plan across your team.
- in Projects — open a project to view all tasks that are part of it in different views (Tasks, Board, and Timeline)