# Tasks, desks and subtasks > How tasks, desks and subtasks fit together in PlexiDesk, where each one shows up, and the ways to add them, including asking Plexii. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/tasks-overview Section: Focus and flow > Tasks and plans Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-15 In PlexiDesk, tasks and desks are the same kind of thing at different sizes. A desk is a task with a canvas of its own, where you lay out the widgets for that piece of work. The smaller jobs you add on a desk are tasks filed under it, and a task can hold subtasks of its own. Because they are all tasks, each one has a status, can have a due date and an assignee, and shows up in All Tasks and in any plan it belongs to. Use this article to get the picture straight before you start organising work. The articles linked from each section go into the detail. ## How the pieces fit together | What | What it is | Where it lives | | --- | --- | --- | | **Room** | A container that keeps related desks together. | In **All rooms**. | | **Desk** | A task with its own canvas for widgets. | In a room, or at the top level. | | **Task on a desk** | A job filed under a desk, such as one step of the work. | In the desk's **Tasks** widget. | | **Subtask** | A smaller step inside a task. | Inside its task, in the task's details. | | **Plan** | A room that also has a timeline, a board and other planning views. | In **Plans**, and still in **All rooms**. | A few things follow from this: - **Any task can become a desk.** Open a task in the Tasks widget and click **Give it a desk** to give it a canvas of its own. See [Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks). - **Every task appears in All Tasks.** Desks, the tasks on them and their subtasks all appear in one list there, with the rooms and desks they sit in shown above each name. See [See every task in All Tasks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/tasks-all-tasks). - **A plan schedules everything inside its room.** The desks in a plan's room, and the tasks filed on those desks, become the plan's tasks. See [Plans: timelines for your rooms](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plans-overview). ## Before you start - Tasks, desks and subtasks are included on every plan. - To add a task on a desk, open the desk first. Tasks on a desk live in its **Tasks** widget, so add one if the desk does not have it yet. See [Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks). ## Add tasks ### Add a task on a desk 1. Open the desk. 2. In the desk's **Tasks** widget, click in **Add a task to this desk**. 3. Type the task and press `Enter`. You can also click **New desk** at the top of the side menu while a desk is open, and choose **A task on this desk** in the **New Desk** window. The new item is filed under the desk you are on instead of becoming a separate desk. See [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create). ### Add a subtask 1. In the Tasks widget, open the task by clicking its name. 2. Click in **Add a subtask**, type the step and press `Enter`. The task's row then shows how many of its subtasks are finished, such as **1/3**. See [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning). ### Add a task to a plan Open the plan in **Plans**, click **Add task**, type a title and press `Enter`. The task is created as a desk in the plan's room. See [Use the plan timeline](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plans-timeline). ### Ask Plexii You can ask Plexii to add work for you, in your own words. Plexii proposes each change as a card, and nothing happens until you apply it. The cards that deal with tasks are: - **New task**: adds a task on the desk you have open. Plexii can include a due date and the person it is assigned to. - **New desk**: creates a whole new desk. - **Update task**: renames a task, changes its status or notes, or sets or clears its due date. - **Start**, followed by a length such as **25-minute focus session**: starts a focus session of that length on the desk you have open. A new task and a focus session both need a desk to belong to. If no desk is open, applying the card tells you to open a desk first. See [Meet Plexii, your assistant](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-assistant). ## Status, dates and people Every task has one of four statuses: **To do**, **In progress**, **Parked** or **Done**. The Tasks widget calls the first one **Open**. See [Track a desk's status and time](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time). Some details are shared by every view of a task, so a change in one place shows everywhere: - **Status.** Ticking a task in the Tasks widget, clicking **Mark done** in All Tasks or dragging a card to **Done** on a plan's board all change the same status. - **Due date.** The due date in the Tasks widget is the date All Tasks uses, and it is the **Planned finish** in a plan. - **Assignee.** The person a task is assigned to in the Tasks widget is the one a plan shows as its owner. Two planning details are kept separately: - **Start dates.** The **Start** date in the Tasks widget and the **Planned start** in a plan are separate dates. - **Links between tasks.** **Waits for** in the Tasks widget and the dependencies in a plan are separate links. A plan schedules only from its own links. See [Edit a plan task and its dependencies](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plans-task-details). ## Common questions ### Is a desk a task? Yes. A desk is a task with a canvas. That is why desks appear in All Tasks, and why a task can be given a desk of its own. ### Why does All Tasks show my desks as well as my tasks? All Tasks lists every task in your workspace, and desks are tasks. The rooms and desks above each name tell you where it lives. ### Plexii made a new desk when I wanted a task Open the desk first and ask Plexii to add the task to this desk. A **New task** card adds it to the desk you are on, while a **New desk** card makes a separate desk. If a card is not what you wanted, do not apply it. ### Where do subtasks show up? Inside their task in the Tasks widget, and in All Tasks, where the task they belong to appears above their name. ## Related tasks - [See every task in All Tasks](https://plexiidesk.com/help/tasks-all-tasks) - [Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks) - [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning) - [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create) - [Plans: timelines for your rooms](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plans-overview) - [Track a desk's status and time](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-status-time)