Repeating Tasks
Set tasks to repeat for regular appointments, chores, and other work you need to do again.
Adding Recurrence
In the task editor, click the Repeat button, or press ⌘; (Task > Edit Recurrence), then pick a preset or build a custom rule from the Repeat menu. The task doesn't need a date first: if it has no start or due date, 2Do gives it a due date automatically as soon as you set a rule.
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
The presets cover the common schedules. They're listed under a Presets heading in the Repeat menu, and while the rule is still Never they also appear as chips you can trigger with ⌥1–⌥8:
| Preset | Shortcut | Repeats |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | ⌥1 | Every day |
| Work days | ⌥2 | On the days selected in Work Week settings |
| Weekly | ⌥3 | Every week, on the same weekday as the task's date |
| Every 2 weeks | ⌥4 | Every second week |
| Monthly | ⌥5 | Every month, on the same date |
| Quarterly | ⌥6 | Every three months |
| Yearly | ⌥7 | Every year, on the same date |
| Last Day of the Month | ⌥8 | On the final calendar day of each month |
Once a rule is set the chips step out of the way; reach the presets from the Repeat menu instead.
Work Days
Choose Work days, just after Daily, to repeat a task on the days you work. Choose those days under 2Do > 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
Above the presets, the same Repeat menu offers these rule shapes. Picking one swaps in its own set of controls:
- On every given period: every N days, weeks, months, or years (N from 1 to 999).
- On some days of the week: tick any combination of Mon through Sun, so Monday, Wednesday, Friday or a weekdays-only or weekends-only rule is a few clicks 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.
An Ends row finishes the rule: Never, After a number of occurrences (up to 99), or On date. A separate after completion checkbox switches the rule to count from completion rather than the task's date. See below.
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.
- Click Repeat in the task editor, or press
⌘;. - Choose On every given period from the Repeat menu.
- Enter 3 and choose weeks from the unit menu. Leave after completion unchecked to keep the review on its schedule.
- Click outside the popup to return to the task.
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 tick after completion. If you finish on October 21, the next replacement is due on November 18, even if the previous one was due earlier.
Repeat From Due Date vs. Completion
This trip-up is worth understanding clearly.
- Repeat from Due Date: the next occurrence is calculated from the previous due date, regardless of when you completed the task. Best for fixed schedules: paying rent on the 1st, weekly status reports.
- Repeat from Completion: the next occurrence is calculated from the date you marked the task complete. Best for chores and maintenance where the cycle restarts when you actually finish: changing your car's oil every 3 months, watering the plants every few days, or going to the gym every other day, whenever you actually got around to it.
Examples:
- A task due on the 1st of every month and completed on the 3rd still repeats from the 1st when set to Repeat from Due Date.
- A task to change your car's oil every 3 months repeats 3 months from the day you complete it when set to Repeat from Completion, so if you finish it a couple of weeks late, the next one shifts with you instead of stacking up.
Switch modes with the after completion checkbox in the Repeat popup, where ticking it means the rule counts from completion.
Use Repeat from 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 actually 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. This means your Done list still shows the completed occurrence, while the task you continue working with becomes the next one.
If the task has reached its End after count or End 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 + 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 continue to work. |
For projects and checklists, the next occurrence starts fresh so you can work through the sub-tasks again. The completed occurrence remains in your history with the work you already checked off.
If a repeating task uses End after, each completion uses up one occurrence. If it uses End on, 2Do stops creating new occurrences once the next one would be beyond that end date.
What Carries Over
When the next occurrence is generated, the new task inherits:
- The title, notes (without timestamps), tags, location, action, alarms, recurrence rule, priority, and duration.
- A fresh completion state, alarm fire history, and (if applicable) sub-task progress. Your notes timestamps and any per-occurrence completed sub-tasks do not carry over.
Editing a Repeating Task
A repeating task is one task that moves forward each time you complete it. There is no separate series to edit: whatever you change on the task, such as its list, tags, alarms, or dates, is what the next occurrence inherits.
Dates deserve a closer look, because the next occurrence is counted from the task's current date. This applies whether you change a date in the editor, use Task > Defer... or Task > Schedule..., or nudge it from the Task > Due Date and Task > Start Date submenus and their keyboard shortcuts.
With Repeat from Due Date:
- 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, 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, snooze the notification instead of moving the task.
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 Editing 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 like on-hold and pause that tag from the Tags panel. The active occurrence steps out of view; resume the tag to bring it back. See Tags.
Examples
- Weekly review: Repeat: Weekly on Friday at 4pm. Repeat from Due Date.
- Change car oil: Repeat: Every 3 months. Repeat from Completion.
- Pay insurance premium: Repeat: Quarterly. Ends: Never.
- Stand-up: Repeat: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri at 9:30am.
For chores like Weekly review, set a relative alert and keep sound alerts repeating in 2Do > Settings > Alerts if you need a stronger reminder.