# Tasks widget > Keep a desk's to-do list on the desk itself. Add tasks, tick them off, group them by queue or by when, and widen the list to your whole workspace. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks Section: Widgets > Plan and track Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 The Tasks widget is the to-do list for the desk it sits on. It lists the tasks filed under that desk, lets you add new ones in a line, and gives you a box to tick when each one is finished. When you need to see more, one click widens it to your whole workspace. Use it whenever a piece of work has steps: a launch checklist, the jobs for a house move, the actions from a meeting. More about this widget ## Before you start - The Tasks widget is included on every plan. - It shows the tasks filed under the desk it is on. A new widget on a desk with no tasks yet says **Nothing outstanding**. ## Add the Tasks widget 1. Open the desk. 2. Click **Add widget** in the middle of the header. 3. Click **Tasks**. **Tasks** is the first widget in the **Plan & track** column of the **Add widget** menu. You can also type "tasks" in **Search widgets…** and press `Enter`. You can also press `⌘` `K` (`Ctrl` `K` on Windows) and choose **Add Tasks**. ## Add a task 1. Click in **Add a task to this desk** at the bottom of the widget. 2. Type the task. 3. Press `Enter`. The task joins the list, and the box is ready for the next one. The box always adds to the desk the widget is on, even while the widget is showing **Everywhere**. Tasks you create in other ways appear here too. For example, choosing **A task on this desk** in the **New Desk** window files the new task under the desk you are on. See [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create). ## What each row shows From left to right, a row shows only what applies to that task: - **The box.** Tick it when the task is finished. - **The task's name.** Click it to open the task's details (see below). - **Why it matters now,** such as **Past due**, **Due today**, **Due tomorrow** or **Due in 3 days**. Past due and due today are shown in red. - **A moon** if the task is snoozed. Rest the pointer on it to see the date it comes back. - **The queue**, such as **Review** or **Decide**, for any task not in **To Do** (unless the list is grouped by queue). - **Initials** of the person it is assigned to. - **A paper clip and a number** when it has attachments. - **Subtasks done out of the total**, such as **2/5**. - **A coloured dot** when the task is **In progress** or **Parked**. Rest the pointer on it to see which. - **The start date**, followed by an arrow, when the task has one. - **The due date**: **Today**, **Tomorrow**, **Yesterday**, a number of days overdue such as **3d overdue**, the weekday for the coming week, or the date. - **The arrow** at the end, which shows or hides the task's details. ## Finish a task Tick the box at the left of the row. The task is marked done and leaves the **Active** list. The box's tooltip names what finishing means for that task's queue: **Done** for a To Do task, **Reviewed** for Review, **Decided** for Decide, **Responded** for Respond, **Scheduled** for Meet, **Discussed** for Discuss, **Let it go** for Remember and **Got it** for Know. To change a task's queue, see [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning). To bring a finished task back, click **Done** at the top of the widget and untick its box (the tooltip says **Reopen**). ## Choose what the list shows The controls along the top of the widget change what you see. The widget remembers your choices. ### Active, Done and All - **Active** (the default): tasks that are not finished, leaving out snoozed tasks until they come back. - **Done**: finished tasks. - **All**: everything, including snoozed tasks. Finished tasks sit at the bottom. ### This desk or Everywhere The button at the right end of the controls switches between the two. - **This desk**: the tasks filed under this desk, including tasks inside other tasks on it, which show as subtasks of the task they belong to. - **Everywhere**: your whole workspace. Every desk appears as a row of its own, and the tasks filed on a desk count as that row's subtasks, so a desk with five tasks, two of them finished, shows **2/5**. Open a desk's row to see and tick its tasks. This desk's own tasks are listed as rows too. ### Flat, By queue or By when The menu beside the tabs gathers the rows into sections, each with a count: - **Flat**: one list, no sections. - **By queue**: a section for each queue in use, in this order: To Do, Review, Decide, Respond, Meet, Discuss, Remember, Know. - **By when**: **Overdue**, **Today**, **Tomorrow**, **This week** (the next seven days), **Later** and **No date**. ### Sort or Ranked - **Sort** (the default) orders tasks by due date, soonest first. Tasks with no date come last. - **Ranked** puts the most pressing first, using the same ranking as Attention: tasks that are overdue or due soon lead, and tasks nobody has touched for a while move up. Click the button to switch between the two. Finished tasks always sit at the bottom. ### List or Table **List** is the checklist described here. **Table** shows every task's status, assignee, start, due date, duration, what it waits for, lag, subtasks and files in one grid you can edit. See [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning). ## Open a task Click a task's name, or the arrow at the end of its row (**Show details**). The row opens in place, with a row of quick controls and the task's details underneath: - **Queue**: what kind of task this is. It also sets the word on the task's box. - **Snooze** **1d**, **3d** or **1w**: put the task down for a day, three days or a week. It leaves the **Active** list and comes back on its own. **Wake now** brings it back early. - **Give it a desk**: open the task as a desk of its own, so you can put widgets on it. Once it has widgets, this button says **Its desk** and takes you there. - **Status, assignee, dates, waits for, notes, attachments and subtasks.** See [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning) for each one. To close the details, click the arrow again (**Hide details**). ### A task that has its own desk When a task already has a desk with widgets on it, clicking its name asks what you meant. The window says how many widgets the task's desk has, and offers: - **Open the task here**: dates, subtasks and attachments, without leaving this desk. - **Go to its desk**: leave this desk and open that one. Press `Esc` or click outside the window to cancel. The arrow at the end of the row always opens the details here, without asking. ## AI and the Tasks widget The AI button on the widget's title bar opens the Plexii panel with this widget attached, so you can ask Plexii about it. The Tasks widget has no AI of its own. See [Use a widget's AI button](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai). You can also type `@` in a task's notes to mention a desk, a room, a document, a widget or a person. See [Link desks, widgets and people with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-mentions). ## Sharing If you share the desk as a live view that people can watch, the Tasks widget appears there as a placeholder, so the people watching do not see your tasks. See [Publish a live view of a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/share-live-web-view). ## Good uses - **A checklist for one job.** Keep **This desk**, **Flat** and **Sort**, and tick tasks off as you go. - **This week at a glance.** Group **By when** to see what is overdue, due today and due this week. - **Your next move.** Switch to **Ranked** and work from the top. - **Every desk in one place.** Put a Tasks widget set to **Everywhere** on a desk you use for planning. ## Common questions ### I added a task but I can't see it Check the tab at the top. A new task appears under **Active** and **All**, not under **Done**. If the list is grouped **By when**, a task with no due date is under **No date**. ### A task disappeared after I snoozed it That is what snoozing does. The task comes back to **Active** on its own when the snooze ends. To see it now, click **All** (it has a moon beside it), open it and click **Wake now**. ### Where are my subtasks? Subtasks sit inside their task rather than in the main list. The row shows how many are finished, such as **1/3**. Open the task to see, tick and add subtasks. ### Clicking a task opened a window instead of the task That task has its own desk. Choose **Open the task here** to stay where you are, or click the arrow at the end of the row to open the details directly. ## Related tasks - [Plan a task in the Tasks widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks-planning) - [Plan and track widgets](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widgets-plan-and-track) - [Tasks, desks and subtasks](https://plexiidesk.com/help) - [See every task in All Tasks](https://plexiidesk.com/help) - [Attention widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-attention) - [Calendar widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-calendar)