Stars and Priorities
2Do has two ways to mark a task as more important than others: a Star and a Priority. They look similar, but they're for different jobs. Knowing the difference makes a small but real change to how your task system feels.
The Short Version
- Star — I want this task in front of me right now. Personal, ephemeral, easy to flip on and off. The Starred Focus List collects every starred task in one place.
- Priority — This task is intrinsically important. Stable, ordered (None / Low / Medium / High), survives across reviews. Priority drives sort order and is a first-class field in Smart Filters.
You can have both on the same task. You'll usually only need one.
Stars in Detail
A star is a binary flag. A task is either starred or it isn't.
Starring a Task
- Inline — hover a task, click the star indicator on the row.
- Keyboard —
S(star) and⌃S(unstar) when a task is selected. - Right-click — Star / Unstar.
- Drag a task onto the Starred Focus List to star it; drag back out (or unstar inline) to clear.
What Starring Does
- The task appears in the Starred Focus List at the top of the sidebar.
- It optionally appears in Today — there's a Include Starred Tasks toggle in Settings > Appearance that, when on, treats every starred task as a Today task regardless of its dates.
- It can be the basis of Smart Filters via
type: starred.
When to Star
Stars are best for temporary emphasis:
- "Read these articles before tonight's meeting" — star them in the morning, unstar after.
- "These are the tasks I want to attempt today even though their due dates aren't today" — star a handful, work through them, unstar at end of day.
If you find yourself starring the same tasks every week, they probably deserve a different mechanism — a tag, a Smart List, or a different list entirely.
Priorities in Detail
A priority is one of four levels: None, Low, Medium, High. The priority dot is colour-coded and visible on every task row.
Setting a Priority
- In the editor —
0(None),1(Low),2(Medium),3(High) when the editor has focus. ⌘\— Edit Priority menu.=/-— Increase / Decrease Priority when the task list has focus.- Right-click a task → Priority sub-menu.
Quick Priority + Star Without Editing
You don't have to enter edit mode just to change priority or toggle a star. Hover the mouse over the right side of any task row — an inline control appears with the four priority levels and the star toggle. Click directly to set the new priority and / or flip the star, and the task updates in place.
This is the fastest way to triage a long list: hover, set priority, click the star if needed, move on. Combined with Quick Look (Spacebar) for previewing each task as you go, you can rip through a brain-dump in minutes.
What Priority Does
- The priority dot is colour-coded on every row.
- Sorting by Priority (toolbar sort menu) groups tasks by level — High at the top, then Medium, Low, and finally None.
- Smart Filters can match
type: hiprio,type: medprio,type: lowprio,type: prio(any),type: noprio(none). - Focus Filter rules can include priority conditions — Focus on High priority only, Focus on High or starred, etc.
When to Use Priority
Priority is best for stable emphasis:
- "This task is genuinely more important than the others in this project."
- "I want my Today list sorted with the highest-stakes tasks at the top."
- "I need a Smart List of every High priority task across every list."
The High priority level is for things that genuinely belong at the top of the heap. If everything is High, nothing is.
Stars vs. Priorities — When to Use Which
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| You want this task in front of you today only | Star |
| The task is intrinsically more important than its neighbours | Priority |
| You want a sortable hierarchy of importance | Priority (sort by Priority) |
| You want to highlight a small handful for the next 30 minutes | Star |
| You want to filter "show me only the most important" | Priority + type: hiprio |
| You want a quick "what should I do next?" view | Star + the Starred Focus List |
Many people use both: Priority as the long-running label, Star as today's spotlight.
Stars, Priorities, and the Today List
Tasks land in Today primarily through their Due Date (and Duration; see Dates and Durations). But two settings change that:
- Include Starred Tasks in Today (Settings > Appearance) — every starred task appears in Today, regardless of dates.
- Tasks with a duration spilling backward into today also appear there.
If you find tasks "mysteriously" showing up in Today, check whether one of those is on. The dedicated FAQ entry Why are tasks due tomorrow showing in the Today Focus list? walks through the typical causes.
Tips
Use Priority to label what is important and Star to mark what you want to do next. They answer different questions.
A Smart Filter combining both — type: hiprio AND starred — gives you a tight "these are the few high-priority items I'm actively pushing on right now" view.