--- url: /guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar.md description: Give tasks start and due dates and arrange them on a timeline or a calendar. --- # Plan on the timeline and the calendar Plan your week by putting tasks on dates and seeing them laid out in time. Two [views](/concepts/views) do this, and in both you drag a task to change its dates: * a **Timeline** view, a [Gantt-style chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart), shows each task as a bar from its start to its due date, good for how work overlaps across days; * a **Calendar** view shows tasks on days and hours, good for [time blocking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeboxing). ## Before you start You need the four tasks of the sample week below, in a list you can edit. ::: warning Edit access needed To change a task's dates, in the task or by dragging it, you need **Edit** access to its [list](/concepts/hierarchy). See [Share a folder or a list](/guides/share-a-folder-or-list) and [Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access). ::: ## Sample week: four tasks to plan Create these four tasks in one list ([Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks)). The steps below use them as examples: first you give them their dates, then you move them on the timeline and the calendar as plans change. | Task | Start | Due | |---|---|---| | Draft the Q4 budget | Mon | Wed | | Call the accountant | Tue 10:00 | Tue 10:30 | | Renew the car insurance | — | Fri | | Learn Spanish | — | — | ## Task dates: start, due and time Every task has a [start and a due date](/reference/task-fields), and either can carry a time. 1. Open the task (see [Create and edit tasks](/guides/create-and-edit-tasks)). In its **Date** row, click the due date (or the start date), or press `D` ([Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keyboard-shortcuts)) to aim at **Due**. On an undated task the two halves read **Start** and **Due**. The dates panel opens, aimed at the end you clicked. ::: warning Start Date must be on The **Start** half shows only when the list has its **Start Date** field on. It is on in every preset ([Set up a list](/guides/set-up-a-list)). The timeline and calendar set start dates either way. ::: 2. Pick the days in the panel: * "Draft the Q4 budget": click Monday, then Wednesday. * "Call the accountant": click Tuesday twice. * "Renew the car insurance", aimed at **Due**: click Friday once. It gets a due date only. The chosen days fill the **Date** row. ::: info How two clicks make a range The first click fills the end you aimed at, the second closes the range, and the earlier day becomes the start. Clicking the same day twice makes it the start as well as the due date. ::: ::: tip One click for today **Today** next to the dates (**Set due date to today**) sets the due date to today. On an undated task in a list with **Start Date** on, it sets both dates (**Set start and due dates to today**). ::: 3. To give the task a time of day, click **+ Add time**. It shows while the task is all-day. Each date the task has gets a time: the start 09:00, the due 18:00. A task with only a due date gets 18:00. 4. Click the start time and pick another one, or type it. For "Call the accountant", pick 10:00. The start half of the **Date** row shows 10:00. 5. Click the end time. Pick a length in the **Or** row, from 30m to 4h, or a time. Pick 30m, and the call ends at 10:30. ![The dates panel of Call the accountant, Tuesday 10:00 to 10:30, with the end time open: the Or row of lengths from 30m and the × that removes the time](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-1.light.webp){.light-only} ![The dates panel of Call the accountant, Tuesday 10:00 to 10:30, with the end time open: the Or row of lengths from 30m and the × that removes the time](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-1.dark.webp){.dark-only} ::: warning No Or row? It needs a start date: set the start first. ::: 6. To make a timed task all-day again, click the **×** at the end of the Time row (**Remove time — make it all-day**). The times are gone; the dates stay. In a Calendar view (you create one in the next section), the week with these dates looks like this: ![A Calendar view of the week: Draft the Q4 budget all-day Monday to Wednesday, Renew the car insurance all-day Friday, Call the accountant as a half-hour block on Tuesday at 10:00, and Learn Spanish in the Unscheduled panel](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-2.light.webp){.light-only} ![A Calendar view of the week: Draft the Q4 budget all-day Monday to Wednesday, Renew the car insurance all-day Friday, Call the accountant as a half-hour block on Tuesday at 10:00, and Learn Spanish in the Unscheduled panel](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-2.dark.webp){.dark-only} ## Timeline or Calendar view: create one 1. In the sidebar, open the **…** menu of the place the view belongs to, and choose **New view**: * a list, a folder or a [workspace](/concepts/hierarchy); * **User Views**, for a [personal view](/concepts/personal-and-work) only you see. The new view form opens. ::: warning No New view in the menu? On a workspace, **New view** needs a permission set that can create views, such as **List/Folder manager**. On a folder or a list, **New view** shows with **Edit** access there, but **Create** fails unless your permission set can create views. See [Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access). ::: 2. Type a name in **Name**, such as **This week**. The view carries this name in the sidebar. 3. In **Display Mode**, choose **Timeline** or **Calendar** (what each view type shows: [Views compared](/reference/views-compared)). 4. For a view under **User Views**, pick at least one workspace, folder or list in **Source** (where a view's tasks come from: [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views)). 5. Click **Create**. A timeline opens around today, or on your nearest task if none falls within about two weeks of today. A calendar opens on today. Click **Today** in either one to jump back. ::: info Due date required The timeline shows only tasks with a due date; undated ones wait in the [Unscheduled panel](#undated-tasks-the-unscheduled-panel). ::: ## Timeline: move, resize and add tasks The steps below plan the sample week. To show only some tasks on the timeline, [filter the view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view). 1. In the header, pick **1W**. One week fills the width. The scale runs from **1D** (one day) to **1M** (one month). 2. The insurance must be renewed a day earlier: drag the bar of "Renew the car insurance" from Friday to Thursday. The bar snaps to whole days and the task is due on Thursday. A task with only a due date gets a start date on the same day. ::: warning Times are dropped The timeline works in whole days: dragging a bar removes the task's time of day. Set times on the [calendar](#calendar-block-time-by-the-hour) or [in the task](#task-dates-start-due-and-time). ::: 3. Drag the right end of the "Draft the Q4 budget" bar from Wednesday to Thursday. While you drag, the other bars stay where they are: "Renew the car insurance" shows through the bar on Thursday. When you let go, the due date moves to Thursday, the start stays on Monday, and "Renew the car insurance" drops to the line below to make room. ![A Timeline view on 1W with the right end of the Draft the Q4 budget bar dragged from Wednesday to Thursday, over the Renew the car insurance bar on Thursday](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-3.light.webp){.light-only} ![A Timeline view on 1W with the right end of the Draft the Q4 budget bar dragged from Wednesday to Thursday, over the Renew the car insurance bar on Thursday](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-3.dark.webp){.dark-only} 4. Double-click empty space in a row on Friday. In the popover, type a title on the **Create task** tab and press `Enter`; on a view over several lists, pick the list in **Select a list** first. A new task appears with Friday as its start and due date. To put an existing task there instead, switch to **Find task** and pick it. ## Calendar: block time by the hour 1. At the top, pick **1W**. The week shows by the hour, and it scrolls without arrows. The range runs from **1D** (a day) to **1Y** (a year). 2. Drag "Call the accountant" from 10:00 to 11:00 on Tuesday. Its start and due times move with it. Dropped in the **all-day** row instead, a task becomes an all-day task. 3. Drag the block's bottom edge down by half an hour. The call now ends at 12:00. ![A Calendar view on 1W with Call the accountant moved to Tuesday 11:00 and its bottom edge dragged down to 12:00](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-4.light.webp){.light-only} ![A Calendar view on 1W with Call the accountant moved to Tuesday 11:00 and its bottom edge dragged down to 12:00](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-4.dark.webp){.dark-only} 4. Double-click an hour. In the popover, type a title on the **Create task** tab and press `Enter`; on a view over several lists, pick the list in **Select a list** first. A new timed block appears, one hour long by default (**Calendar settings** → **New task duration** changes it). **Find task** puts an existing task there instead. ## Undated tasks: the Unscheduled panel 1. Click the panel icon (tooltip **Show unscheduled**) at the right of the view's header, before the settings icon. The **Unscheduled** panel lists tasks with no start and no due date, such as "Learn Spanish". 2. Drag "Learn Spanish" from the panel onto Thursday (or, on the calendar, onto an hour). It gets that date and leaves the panel. Dropped on an hour, it becomes a block as long as **New task duration** in **Calendar settings**, one hour by default. ![A Timeline view with the Unscheduled panel open and Learn Spanish dragged from it onto Thursday, June 17](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-5.light.webp){.light-only} ![A Timeline view with the Unscheduled panel open and Learn Spanish dragged from it onto Thursday, June 17](/shots/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar-5.dark.webp){.dark-only} ::: warning Dates are cleared On the calendar, dragging a task back into the panel removes its start, its due date and any time of day. ::: ## If it doesn't work * **A task is missing from the timeline.** It has no due date. Give it one in the [task's dates panel](#task-dates-start-due-and-time), or drag it from the [Unscheduled panel](#undated-tasks-the-unscheduled-panel). * **A task with only a start date is on neither the timeline nor the Unscheduled panel.** Give it a due date too, in the [task's dates panel](#task-dates-start-due-and-time). * **You can't drag a bar.** You can only read that list. Ask whoever shares it with you for **Edit** access ([Share a folder or a list](/guides/share-a-folder-or-list), [Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)). * **Dragging a timeline bar removed the task's time of day.** The timeline works in whole days. Set times [on the calendar](#calendar-block-time-by-the-hour) or [in the task](#task-dates-start-due-and-time). * **There is no Or row for the end time.** The task has no start date. Set a start first, or pick the end time itself ([Task dates](#task-dates-start-due-and-time)). * **The Date row shows only a due date.** The list has its **Start Date** field off. Turn it on in [Set up a list](/guides/set-up-a-list), or set the start on the timeline. ## Related * [Views as lenses on tasks](/concepts/views): why the same tasks can look like a timeline and a calendar at once. * [Views compared](/reference/views-compared): what each view type shows. * [Today view](/guides/build-a-today-view): build one that shows only what is due today. * [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view): narrow a timeline or a calendar to the tasks that matter. * [Task fields](/reference/task-fields): every date field and what it holds. * [Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keyboard-shortcuts): `D` and the other task keys.