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Focus Lists — All, Today, Starred, Scheduled, Done

Near the top of the Lists Panel sit the Focus Lists — All, Today, Starred, Scheduled, and Done. They are not containers: they're built-in saved perspectives that pull tasks from across your real lists according to specific rules. Above them, in its own group, sits the optional Inbox, which is a real list — tasks live in it until you file them somewhere else. This page explains exactly what each one shows, how to tune it, and how to keep specific real lists out of it.

Inbox​

The Inbox is your GTD inbox — the place where new, un-triaged tasks land while you're capturing fast and thinking later. It appears only once you turn on Getting Things Done® Inbox under 2Do > Settings > Tasks.

  • New tasks created via Quick Entry land in Inbox by default (configurable in Settings > Tasks).
  • Tasks captured from the macOS Share Extension land in Inbox by default.
  • Tasks pushed in via the iOS Email-to-2Do add-on flow through Inbox by default when synced, unless the email subject sends them to another existing list.

The intent is to keep Inbox empty at the end of each review session: triage every task into a real list, give it tags / dates / actions, and you're done.

All​

All shows every active task across every list, in one place — useful when you want to scan everything at once or apply a Smart Filter across the whole system.

What's In and What's Out​

By default All shows everything. But it respects two important exclusions:

  • Tasks belonging to a list that you've excluded from 'All' (see below).
  • Tasks hidden by a paused tag (see Tags — Pausing a Tag).
  • Tasks hidden by Smart Scheduling because they have a future start date.

Smart Scheduling — Scheduled Visibility​

Smart Scheduling keeps future work out of your active views. A task with a future start date is hidden from regular lists until that start date arrives, so All, Today, and your real lists stay focused on work you can act on now.

There are two ways to peek ahead without changing the task:

  • Open the Scheduled Focus List.
  • Turn on Show Scheduled (⌘K) to reveal scheduled tasks inside the list you're already in. It's on the Task menu, and it's the same visibility toggle you'll find on the Sort Bar.

Under 2Do > Settings > Today & Lists, you can also decide what happens after a task's start date has arrived: keep started tasks visible, or keep them hidden unless they are due today.

Excluding a List from All​

Some lists shouldn't contribute to All — typically Someday/Maybe lists, recurring chores you only want surfaced by their alarms, or staging lists. To exclude a list:

  1. Right-click the list in the Lists Panel.
  2. Choose Exclude from 'All'.

A small hidden-from-focus icon now appears on the list's leading color band, marking its tasks as held back from All. The list and its tasks remain visible when you click into the list directly — they just don't pollute the All view.

Right-clicking a list to exclude it from All

Today​

Today is the daily working list. A task lands here if any of these are true:

  • It is due today (with or without a due time).
  • Include overdue tasks is enabled in Settings > Today & Lists — past-due tasks carry forward to Today until completed.
  • Include "Still Working On" tasks is enabled in Settings > Today & Lists — tasks with a start date in the past or today can remain in Today while they are still active.
  • It has a duration whose lead-up window or effective start time covers today.
  • Include starred tasks is enabled in Settings > Today & Lists — every starred task appears in Today, including starred tasks from lists you've otherwise excluded from Today.

Learn more in Dates and Durations.

Adding a task while Today is open presets its due date to today, so the task stays in the view (its home list still follows your default list rules). This is on by default — turn off Use today's date in the Today list under Settings > Tasks to use your default due date there instead. That row is only active while Default due date for new tasks is on.

Excluding a List from Today​

Right-click the list → Exclude from 'Today'. The list's tasks no longer appear in Today — useful for chores you only want triggered by their alarms (you'll still get the alarm; the task just won't sit in Today all day).

Why Tasks "Show Up Mysteriously" in Today​

A task showing in Today before its due date is almost always one of:

  1. The task has a duration creating an earlier working window before the due date.
  2. Include "Still Working On" tasks is enabled and the task has a start date of today or earlier.
  3. The task is starred and Include starred tasks is on.

See the FAQ entry Why are tasks due tomorrow showing in the Today Focus list?.

Starred​

Starred collects every starred task across every list. It's a quick "what am I focusing on right now?" view.

  • Star — S on a selected task; or click the star indicator on the row.
  • Unstar — ⌃S, or click the star again.
  • Task > Toggle Starred (⌥⌘S) — flips the star on the selected task either way.
  • Drag a task onto the Starred Focus List to star it.

Adding a task while Starred is open stars it automatically, so it stays in the view.

For the full distinction between Stars and Priorities — and when to use which — see Stars and Priorities.

Scheduled​

Scheduled shows tasks with a future start date that are currently hidden from the regular list by Smart Scheduling.

It's the place to peek at what's coming up without abandoning the focus of your active workspace. The same view is reachable from the Sort Bar's scheduled-visibility toggle without leaving your current list.

Done​

Done shows everything you've recently completed. Use it to:

  • Review what you got done today / this week.
  • Restore a task you marked complete by mistake (uncheck it from here).

Excluding a List from Done​

Right-click the list → Exclude from 'Done'. Useful for shopping lists or scratch lists where the long history of completed items is just noise.

Sync Exclusion​

Beyond Focus List visibility, you can also stop a list from syncing entirely. Open 2Do > Settings > Sync > Exclusions and tick the lists that should stay local to this Mac. This is useful for sensitive content you specifically don't want in the cloud, or for staging lists you don't want propagated.

Indicators on List Names​

Excluding a list from All or from Today marks its leading color band in the Lists Panel with a small hidden-from-focus icon — a permanent reminder that the list's contribution to a Focus List has been customised. Excluding a list from Done carries no indicator. To change those visibility options, right-click the list and choose the matching command — Exclude from 'All', Include in 'Today', and so on. To change sync exclusion, use 2Do > Settings > Sync > Exclusions.

Counters Next to List Names​

Each list has one counter area next to its name, with room for two numbers:

  • Overdue (left, red) — tasks, projects, and checklists with a due date in the past.
  • Not done — dated or undated tasks, projects, and checklists that have not yet been completed. Sub-tasks are not counted here — sub-task counts appear on the project indicator instead.

What actually shows is set by the Counts on lists picker in 2Do > Settings > Today & Lists: None, Overdue items, or Overdue + Undone (the default).

Tips​

tip

Treat Inbox as a true GTD inbox: drain it during your daily review. Anything that's been in Inbox for a week is something you've avoided deciding on.

tip

Combine the Focus Lists with Smart Filters for sharp views — All + type: (hiprio AND duethisweek) answers "what high-priority work is due this week, across everything?"

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