Repeating Tasks
Set tasks to repeat on a fixed schedule or after you finish the previous occurrence.
Adding Recurrence
Open a task and tap the Repeat button in the editor's bottom toolbar, or press ⌘; with a hardware keyboard. The task does not need a date first: if it has neither a start nor a due date, 2Do gives it a due date of today as soon as you set a rule.
The summary at the top shows the current rule. Choose a preset below it, or open a custom rule to set your own interval.
For a new task you can type the rule instead, in phrases such as every day, every weekday, every Monday, every 2 weeks, every month on the 15th, or every year on September 5. Put a date in the title too when the rule needs something to count from, as in Take vitamins tomorrow every day. See Natural Language Input.
Presets
A row of one-tap rules covers the common schedules:
| Rule | Repeats |
|---|---|
| Never | Not at all |
| Daily | Every day |
| Work days | On the days selected in Work Week settings |
| Weekly | Every week, on the same weekday as the task's date |
| Biweekly | Every second week |
| Monthly | Every month, on the same date |
| Yearly | Every year, on the same date |
| Last Day of the Month | On the final calendar day of each month |
Tapping one sets the whole rule and closes any custom form you had open.
Work Days
Tap Work days, just after Daily, to repeat a task on the days you work. Choose those days under Settings > General > Work Week. For example, if you work Sunday through Thursday, this shortcut creates a rule for those five days.
The shortcut saves the selected weekdays as an ordinary On some days of the week rule. Changing Work Week later does not change that task's rule. Apply Work days again to use your updated selection, or edit the rule's days yourself.
Custom Rules
Below the presets, choose a custom rule:
- On every given period: every 1 to 99 days, weeks, months, or years.
- On some days of the week: any combination of Monday through Sunday, so a Monday, Wednesday, Friday rule or a weekdays-only rule is a couple of taps away.
- On a day of each month: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or Last of a named weekday, Weekday, or Weekend day.
- On the last day of the month: the final calendar day, every 1 to 99 months.
A checkmark shows which custom rule is selected.
Use On some days of the week for a different combination, such as Saturday and Sunday for a weekend task. Work days uses your selected work week, which need not be Monday through Friday.
Month-End and Monthly Weekdays
Schedule a monthly review on the last Friday, a bill on the last weekday, or a household task on the last weekend day. Choose On a day of each month, select Last, then choose the day or group:
| Choice | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A named weekday, such as Friday | The last occurrence of that day in the month. |
| Weekday | The last Monday through Friday in the month. |
| Weekend day | The last Saturday or Sunday in the month. |
The first through fifth positions also work with these groups. For example, the second weekday is the second Monday-through-Friday date in that month. These are fixed calendar groups; your Work Week setting and public holidays do not change them.
For the final calendar day, choose On the last day of the month. Set the interval to 1 for monthly, 3 for quarterly, or 12 for yearly. A monthly rule can move from January 31 to February 28 and then March 31 without staying on the 28th. Leap years use February 29.
Choosing a rule keeps the current occurrence's dates. Set its first start or due date yourself. On completion, monthly weekday rules advance to the matching day in the following month. A month-end rule advances by its month interval; if you manually moved a date-based occurrence away from month-end, its next date first reaches the end of that same month. With repeat from completion enabled, the month interval starts from the month you finish the task.
Sync Availability
These options require the latest 2Do 4 for iPhone and iPad, 2Do 2026 for Mac, and 2Do 3.1 or later for Android. Update 2Do on every device you sync.
Native iCloud and Dropbox preserve the full rules. CalDAV uses standard calendar recurrence fields. Apple Reminders uses native repeat rules when the task has a due date. See Sync for setup.
With Todoist, due-dated tasks can use monthly Last Day of the Month and monthly Weekday positions. Monthly Weekend day and month-end intervals longer than one month are hidden when creating a rule. If such a rule arrives through an import or account change, Todoist uses an ordinary monthly rule instead, retaining a longer month interval when present. A start-only task can retain the full rule in notes when Sync extra task properties in notes is on; complete that task in 2Do. See Todoist repeats.
With Toodledo, the new month-end and grouped-day choices are hidden. An imported rule uses an ordinary month interval when synced. Named weekday rules, such as the last Friday, remain available.
Every 3 or 4 Weeks
Use On every given period for a task that repeats every few weeks. For example, to review a project budget every three weeks:
- Give the task a due date for the first review.
- Open Repeat and tap On every given period.
- Set the number to 3 and the unit to weeks.
- Leave Repeat from completion date off to keep the review on its schedule, then tap the panel's Done to keep the rule.
Three weeks is 21 days. If the first review is due on October 19, the following dates are November 9 and November 30. To repeat every four weeks, choose 4 weeks instead.
Four weeks is 28 days. Starting on October 19, a four-week rule gives you November 16 next; a monthly rule gives you November 19. Use weeks when the gap must stay the same number of weeks.
For a task such as replacing a water filter, you may want to wait four weeks after you finish each replacement. Set 4 weeks and turn on Repeat from completion date. If you finish on October 21, the next replacement is due on November 18, even if the previous one was due earlier.
Ends
The Ends control finishes the rule:
- Never: the task keeps repeating.
- On date: pick the last date the rule may reach.
- After: pick a number of repetitions, from 1 to 99.
Repeat From Due Date vs. Completion
This one is worth understanding clearly. The Repeat from completion date switch at the bottom of the panel decides which it is.
- Off (repeat from the due date): the next occurrence is counted from the previous due date, whenever you actually completed the task. Best for fixed schedules such as paying rent on the 1st, or a weekly status report.
- On (repeat from completion): the next occurrence is counted from the day you marked the task complete. Best for chores and maintenance where the cycle restarts when you finish: changing the car's oil every 3 months, watering the plants every few days, or going to the gym every other day.
The switch is unavailable until the task actually repeats, since there is nothing to count from yet.
Examples:
- A task due on the 1st of every month and completed on the 3rd still repeats from the 1st when the switch is off.
- A task to change the car's oil every 3 months repeats 3 months from the day you complete it when the switch is on, so finishing a couple of weeks late shifts the next one with you instead of stacking them up.
Use repeat from the due date for promises tied to the calendar. Use repeat from completion for maintenance, chores, exercise, reviews, and anything where the next cycle should begin when you finished the last one.
What Happens When You Complete One
When you complete a repeating task and another occurrence remains, 2Do keeps a completed copy for your history and moves the active task to the next occurrence. Your Done list still shows the completed occurrence, while the task you carry on with becomes the next one.
If the task has reached its After count or its On date, the final occurrence simply completes.
The dates move forward using the same shape you gave the task:
| Original task | Next occurrence |
|---|---|
| Only a due date | The due date moves to the next due date. |
| Only a start date | The start date moves to the next start date, and the task stays Scheduled until then. |
| Start date and due date | The due date moves forward, and 2Do keeps the same gap between start and due. A task that starts 2 days before it is due keeps that 2-day planning window next time. |
| Due time | The same due time is kept on the next occurrence. A task with no due time stays without one, so set it once and every occurrence keeps it. |
| Duration | The same duration is kept, so lead-time reminders keep working. |
For projects and checklists, the next occurrence starts fresh so you can work through the sub-tasks again. The completed occurrence stays in your history with the work you already checked off.
Changing the Dates of a Repeating Task
A repeating task is one task that moves forward each time you complete it. There is no separate series to edit: a date change applies to the task, and the next occurrence is counted from the new date. This is true whether you change the date in the editor or with Today, Tomorrow, Pick, Defer, or Schedule in the touch-and-hold menu.
With Repeat from completion date off:
- Due date changed: the next occurrence is counted from the new due date. Move a monthly task from September 21 to September 22, and its next occurrence is due October 22.
- Start date changed, and the task also has a due date: the due dates keep their schedule, but the new gap between start and due carries into future occurrences.
- Start date changed, and there is no due date: the start date is what the task repeats from, so the next occurrence moves with it.
With Repeat from completion date on, the next occurrence is counted from the day you complete the task, so a date change affects only the current occurrence. The gap between start and due date still carries forward.
To put off an alert without touching the task's dates, use Snooze on the notification. See Alerts and Nagging.
What Carries Over
Each new occurrence inherits the details that make the recurrence useful: title, notes, tags, location, action, alerts, the recurrence rule, priority, and duration. Completion state, alert fire history, and per-occurrence sub-task progress are reset.
Add an alert to a repeating task once and every occurrence keeps it. See Alerts and Nagging.
Unfinished or Skipped Occurrences
If you still need to do a repeating task, leave it incomplete. It stays overdue after its due date passes; 2Do does not automatically complete it or advance its dates.
For an accurate completion history, mark the task complete only when you have done the work. Completing it records a finished occurrence and advances to the next one if the repeat rule allows. It does not record a skipped occurrence.
To move the task to a later date without adding a completion to your history, edit its due date (or its start date if it has no due date). This changes the task's schedule; see Changing the Dates of a Repeating Task for how it affects future occurrences.
To put a recurring task on hold without breaking the cycle, give it a status tag such as @on-hold and pause that tag in the Tags panel. The active occurrence steps out of view; resume the tag to bring it back. See Tags.
Examples
- Weekly review: Weekly, due Friday at 4:00 PM, repeating from the due date.
- Change car oil: every 3 months, repeating from completion.
- Pay insurance premium: every 3 months, ends Never.
- Stand-up: on some days of the week, Monday through Friday, due at 9:30 AM.
- Board meeting: on a day of each month, the 1st Thursday.
- Passport renewal: Yearly, ends after 1 repetition.