Dates and Durations — Start, Due, and Duration

A task in 2Do can carry up to three time-shaped properties: a Start Date, a Due Date, and a Duration. Each one is optional. Used together, they decide when a task is visible in your Today list, when it is hidden as Scheduled, and how far in advance 2Do should start nudging you about it.

This page explains exactly how each property is interpreted on its own, and what happens when you combine them. Same rules apply on iPhone and iPad.

Think of them this way:

• Start Date means “do not show this until it is time to begin.”
• Due Date means “this is the deadline.”
• Due Time makes the deadline precise.
• Duration means “this task needs this much working time before the deadline.”

A Plain, Undated Task

A task with no dates stays in the list it was created in. It does not appear in Today. It is never "overdue" because nothing was promised.

Use this for the long tail of intentions — rough notes, someday/maybe items, anything that genuinely doesn't have a deadline.

Just a Due Date

A task with a Due Date appears in Today on the due date — for the whole day — and then becomes overdue until you complete it.

• If the task also has a Due Time, Alerts can be anchored to that time. Without a due time, the task is simply due on that day.
• Overdue tasks can continue to appear in Today with an overdue indicator, depending on your Today list settings. They stay overdue until checked off.

This is the simplest pattern, and the right one for genuine deadlines: Submit invoice on Friday — appears in Today on Friday, then stays overdue until you submit it.

note

A due date without a due time has no specific clock time attached. If you use automatic due-date Alerts, 2Do treats the beginning of the due day as the reference point for that Alert. To anchor to a specific time of day, add a Due Time.

Just a Start Date

A task with only a Start Date is scheduled to appear at that start date. Until the start date arrives, the task is hidden from the regular list and from Today — by design.

This is how 2Do quietly keeps your active list focused on the now.

To see what's scheduled before its start arrives:

• Tap the Scheduled focus list at the top of the sidebar.
• Or, in the top-right of the sort bar, tap the clock icon to toggle display of scheduled tasks alongside your normal view.

A scheduled task with no due date shows up on its start date and stays in the list until you complete it.

Start Date + Due Date

The most expressive pairing.

• Hidden from the list until the start date arrives.
• Visible between start date and due date.
• On the due date, appears in Today.
• After the due date, overdue.

Use this for tasks with a real working window — Prep talk for Thursday's meeting with a start date of Tuesday and a due date of Wednesday gives you Tuesday and Wednesday to work on it; on Wednesday it appears in Today as a deadline.

Just a Duration

Without dates, a duration is just an estimate of how long the task will take. It doesn't drive visibility.

But combine it with a due date and it becomes one of 2Do's most useful tricks.

Due Date + Due Time + Duration — Effective Start

When a task has a due date, a due time, and a duration, 2Do counts the duration backward from the deadline. That creates an effective start time without you having to set a separate Start Date.

Example: a meeting deadline is tomorrow at 3:00 PM and the task has a 30-minute duration. 2Do treats 2:30 PM as the point where the task starts needing your attention. The task still has a 3:00 PM deadline, but the duration gives it a useful “start working now” window.

Use this for time-boxed work:

• Join Zoom meeting due 3:00 PM, duration 30 minutes — start preparing at 2:30 PM.
• Submit proposal due 5:00 PM, duration 2 hours — begin treating it as active at 3:00 PM.

note

If you set a Due Date and Duration without a Due Time, 2Do treats it as a date-only lead-up window. For precise meetings and deadlines, set a Due Time too.

Due Date + Duration — Lead-Up Window

When a task has a due date and a duration, 2Do uses the duration as a lead-up window before the due date. This can surface the task before the due date when the duration reaches back into today or an earlier day.

Example: a task due Friday with a duration of 2 days can start surfacing before Friday because the work needs time before the deadline. This is useful for tasks like prepare slides, review contract, or pack for a trip where the due date is not the first moment you should think about it.

A small consequence to be aware of: a task that's due tomorrow but has a duration assigned can already be showing in Today — that's normal and intended. (See the matching FAQ.)

Duration + Start Date

A duration on a task that has a start date but no due date has no special visibility behavior. The task appears on its start date and the duration is purely informational.

If you want the lead-time-reminder pattern, attach the duration to a due date, not a start date.

Start + Due + Duration

When all three are set:

• Usually hidden before the start date.
• Visible once the start date arrives.
• Can surface earlier if the duration window before the due date starts before the start date.
• Overdue after the due date.

Use this when you want both a “do not show before this date” boundary and a realistic amount of working time:

• Prepare conference talk starts 1 June, is due 10 June at 5:00 PM, duration 4 hours — kept out of the way before June, then available while you plan, and treated as active as the deadline approaches.
• Renew passport starts Monday, due Friday, duration 1 hour — hidden before Monday, visible during the week, and due Friday.

Repeating Tasks and Dates

The mental model gets one extra wrinkle when a task repeats. See Repeating Tasks for the full reference; the relevant points for dates:

• When another occurrence remains, 2Do keeps a completed copy for your history, then moves the active task to the next occurrence.
• The next occurrence carries the same date shape forward — start date, due date, due time, and duration are kept where they were used.
• Only a due date — the next occurrence gets the next due date.
• Only a start date — the next occurrence gets the next start date and stays hidden as Scheduled until that date arrives.
• Start date + due date — 2Do keeps the same gap between them. If a task starts 2 days before it is due, the next occurrence also starts 2 days before it is due.
• Duration carries forward intact — a recurring "Quarterly review" with a 1-week duration starts surfacing in Today one week before each quarterly due date.
• Repeat from Due Date keeps fixed schedules fixed. If rent is due on the 1st and you complete it on the 3rd, the next occurrence is still based on the 1st.
• Repeat from Completion restarts the cycle from the day you actually completed the task. If you change your car's oil roughly every 3 months and complete the task today, the next one is scheduled 3 months from today — not from when it was originally due.

If the task has reached its End after count or End on date, it simply completes instead of creating another occurrence.

tip

For chores that drift in real life, use Repeat from Completion. For dates that must stay anchored to the calendar, use Repeat from Due Date.

Showing Scheduled Tasks

2Do hides scheduled tasks (start date in the future) from normal lists by default. You can always peek at them via the Scheduled focus list, the clock icon on the sort bar, or the Show Scheduled Tasks footer when it appears.

Practical Examples

Task	Start	Due	Duration	What you'll see
Buy milk	—	—	—	Lives in its list. Never appears in Today.
Submit invoice	—	Fri	—	Appears in Today on Friday. Overdue Saturday onwards.
Take out the bins	—	Wed 8 PM	—	Appears in Today all of Wednesday. Alarm at 8 PM if set.
Take out the bins	Wed 8 PM	—	—	Hidden until Wednesday 8 PM, then appears in the list.
Prep quarterly review	Mon	Fri	—	Visible in its list Mon–Thu, appears in Today Friday.
Join meeting	—	Tomorrow 3 PM	30 minutes	Deadline is 3 PM; duration creates a 2:30 PM effective start.
Submit proposal	—	Fri 5 PM	2 hours	Deadline is 5 PM; duration creates a 3 PM effective start.
Prep quarterly review	—	Fri	2 days	Starts surfacing before Friday when the lead-up window reaches the current day.
Prepare conference talk	Mon	Fri 5 PM	4 hours	Hidden before Monday, visible during the week, and treated as active before the Friday deadline.
Renew domain	Jan 1 (next yr)	—	—	Hidden until Jan 1 next year. Appears in Today then.

Where to Set Each Field

In the task editor:

• Start Date — toggle on, pick a date and (optionally) time.
• Due Date — toggle on, pick a date.
• Due Time — appears under the due date once a date is set.
• Duration — under the date fields. Pick from preset durations (15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 1 day, etc.) or enter a custom duration.

Defaults for Default Due Date and Default Due Time can be set under Settings > Advanced, so new tasks pick up your preferred deadline pattern automatically.

Tips

tip

Use Start Date for anything that shouldn't bother you yet — appointments, scheduled work, recurring chores you don't want cluttering Today. Use Due Date for actual deadlines. Use Duration to surface a lead-up window for tasks that need preparation.

tip

For appointments and meetings, combine Due Date + Due Time + Duration. It keeps the actual deadline clear while also telling 2Do when preparation should begin.

tip

A task with start = today and no due date is just a "today task" — it appears in Today without overdue behavior. Useful for soft daily intentions.