In the past six months, our team has been working hard on how to take another step forward. Finally, after numerous reflections, self-confrontations and breakthroughs, it is time to welcome Tick 6.0. Ever since the version of 4.7.0, we began to discover the magic of customization. We launched the “Make Your Own Tab Bar” function and encourage you to customize TickTick according to your own need. This time, we not only go further in the necessary efficiency and practicality as a tool app, but also pay more attention to the personalized experience of users.

Custom Appearance

Don't like the default tone? Not satisfied with the default theme? Custom appearance can further meet your individual needs! You can upload any beautiful picture you like and set it as background. It will not only be displayed in the side bar, but also be used as the background for list, calendar view, pomo timer, etc., which makes the page style more harmonious. Also, we offer more icons of different styles for you to choose from.

Brand-new UI

Following the GTD concept, TickTick 6.0 is designed to help you get more things done and take your productivity to the next level. Different from the previous list layout, in the new version, we use block layout to display different types of tasks. Such a logical way can help you find what you need in a shorter time, with lower energy consumption and higher efficiency.

Pin Tasks

Have you ever been bothered by list sort? Is your most important task at the end of the list in chronological order or among a group of tasks of the same priority? Now, the 'Pin Tasks' feature can make it easy for you to carry the task to the top of the list.

Rich Text

The much anticipated feature, Rich Text, is finally released in TickTick 6.0! When taking notes, diaries and memos, we often need pictures or other attachments to improve the aesthetics and readability of the content. And TickTick 6.0 really did that. Pictures, videos, recordings, files, all kinds of attachments can be inserted into text, which makes it more convenient to edit and comfortable to read.

Last but not least, we want to thank all of our beta testers for giving their feedback regarding the new UI and features. 6.0 is a fresh beginning for TickTick. We will note down all your feedback, carefully evaluate them and continue improving the functionality in the future. If you like the new release or have any feedback to give, let us know! Have fun with TickTick 6.0. Cheers.

As 2020 has officially come to the end, some may have already engaged themselves in re-evaluation on things completed and changes made throughout the year. Looking back to last year’s resolution and seeing what has been ticked off is always a good way to do that, so is listing what you did well and what you didn’t. To help you do that, 2020 TickTick Memory is ready! You’re not only able to quickly generate your TickTick 2020 year-in-review but can also write down your 2021 new year's resolutions at the same time in the list we create for you! 

Your 2020 TickTick Memory

Generally, there are 3 parts in the review, regarding Task completion, Focus, and Habit tracking data respectively. Some of the most curious questions will be covered, such as:

• How many tasks have I completed this year?
• How long have I been focused on my tasks?
• What time in a day is my most productive hour?
• What is the habit that I insisted on for the longest time?

More surprisingly, apart from the review itself, another handy feature we’ve added in the review is a 2021 resolution list! You can write down your 2021 new year's resolutions immediately after reading the review and this list will then automatically be added and kept in your TickTick.

Ideas and tips for your 2021 new year's resolutions 

Based on your 2020 Memory TickTick has generated for you, it becomes much easier to nail out your 2021 goals because you're now in the know of your productivity flow and task completion capacity. Here in the following are 8 common resolution ideas we’ve prepared for you, together with some tips on how to reach them.

1. Beat procrastination

Procrastination is perhaps one of the biggest struggles of people living in this modern society, either at study or the workplace. It is not just a bad habit, but a psychological syndrome concerning people’s inner fear, expectations, doubts, and pressures. Procrastination usually comes in the form of feeling unmotivated to start doing any tasks despite knowing there’s a deadline or putting things off and off again till the last minute. We all know this is unhealthy because of the mental suffering it causes. Therefore, finding the roots of why we procrastinate and ways to tackle it is an important goal that should be on the resolution! This article will prepare you with everything you need to know about procrastination. 

2. Increase focus and productivity

Being focused is a way to become more productive, and being productive speeds one’s way of reaching their goals. Therefore, this should be a fundamental skill required for achieving other resolutions. It is also something that can be practiced through time. You might have been familiar with some tricks already, but here I’d like to mention the 3 most essential things that you should at least know:

• Pomodoro technique -- Best way to help you stay focused.
• White Noises -- Soothing your mind and avoiding distractions.
• A Flow state -- Being “in the zone” with full immersion.

3. Manage your time well

24-hour a day remains the same for everyone, but the meaning of life relies on how we spend our time. However, the truth is most people still lack the awareness and skills of managing their time well and getting things done. Complying to GTD methodology, TickTick is such a tool that intends to help you gain more control over your time and life in many different ways, and one of the many is “Time Blocking”. By cutting your day into different blocks and putting your tasks and events into these blocks with a built-in Calendar in TickTick, your time is boxed and everything could be well planned out.

“Eat That Frog” is another useful method to help manage time. “Frog” means the most important task, and “Eat That Frog” means doing that task first thing at the start of your workday. Successfully eating that frog will carry you into the momentum for the rest of your day, which will not only make sure you’ve spent your most focused hours on the high-value task, but also increase the efficiency when working on those less-important ones.

4. Be more mindful of life

Being mindful simply means living in the present. It focuses your attention on what's happening now, instead of looking backward to the past or anticipating too much about the future. It is a way to soothe yourself and achieve greater happiness as you get more and more aware of the moment. To practice mindfulness, one can simply start from mindfulness meditation. Learn more or create a meditation habit from today in your TickTick!

5. Keep things minimal

Minimalism is another concept that we’ve heard often over these recent years. It is a less-is-more mindset and lifestyle, by trimming all unnecessary things out of our lives, whether they are personal belongings, mental burdens or digital clutters. The golden principle embedded is to live to the minimum and keep things dead simple. Having that mindset can help us in many ways, and on top of that, it reduces mental pressures, especially when living in such a commercial and highly competitive world. Although starting a minimal life is not a must but at least it is something beneficial. Learn more about minimalism.

6. Eat a healthy diet

“Eating healthy” is commonly seen in most people’s resolutions. Indeed, it seems so easy to be said but not that easy to be executed. What drags us back is usually our inertness and lack of plans. To counter that, the skills of sticking to a habit and tools to help us keep track of the habit are quite essential. The “21/90” principle is such a method that tells about how to form a new habit -- 21 days to establish a new habit and 90 days to make it stick. Yet, a complete habit-forming process requires more than that. Learn more:

• 3 key stages of making a new habit stick
• How to use TickTick to build a complete habit-tracking system

7. Develop a side hustle

If it was last year, I might not even mention “developing a side business” as a new year’s resolution, but things have changed unprecedentedly due to the COVID-19 crisis. Remote working has become the next normal and a lot of physical opportunities have vapored. It then becomes important to have a simple side hustle/project to enhance your financial stability and get you through any difficult times. Learn more about the benefits and methods of having a slash career.

8. Spend more time with family

Family time is always what needs to be cherished. The company and emotional support from family cannot be compared with other feelings and is always what gets us through tough times. Spending more time with family, even if it’s just a simple Sunday meal or a small gift sharing. Being grateful and expressing love as much as possible is perhaps the biggest resolution that I should suggest to everyone for 2021. 

Well, since you’ve got there – a bunch of ideas, tips, and resources to help you review the past year and see your New Year’s resolution through. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Don’t forget to check back on 2020 TickTick Memory in the app ! We’ll see you there:)

Approaching the end of 2020, we can’t wait to walk you through a complete TickTick feature review: what features have been newly added, what major improvements have been made, as well as what integrations and projects were introduced. Read through the full review of features coming to TickTick this year, and pick up things you’ve missed along the way! 

Section 1: New features

Break down a complex task with Task Nesting

One of the biggest new features introduced in TickTick this year is Task Nesting (Subtask). Beforehand, there were only Check Items within the task, which could be checked off and set reminders to. Yet, it couldn't perform other functions like a complete task. We brought the whole Task Nesting into your to-do lists! (Please note Check Items are still available in the task description for basic listing).

Task Nesting (Subtask) allows you to cut a huge task into smaller chunk and chucks into slices if you’d like (5 levels supported for subtasks). Each subtask is empowered with the functionality that a task has: setting due dates, priority or tags, or assigning to others.

Breaking down a task into more manageable and actionable ones is a great way to help beat procrastination, because the easier the task is, the less fear of difficulty one would feel. Subtasks also make managing a complex project easier, because it usually takes steps over steps to reach a big goal. Learn more about Task Nesting here.

Sort out your lists with Sections 

With Task Nesting, you’re maybe familiar with the task “breaking” process, but what’s also important is the “grouping” process. Here comes the “Section”, which can be added to your lists to help you sort out and group tasks, instead of letting them sparsely scattered. 

Sections are like subtitles in the list, which give you a clear clue of what underneath tasks are about. They function as a subelement in the list, to help reduce visual clutter and keep tasks in order. Select “...” in the list > “Add/Manage Sections” and you’ll be able to create Sections. You can also choose to fold any Sections to save more space in the list. It’s also handy if you switch your list to Kanban View because Sections will automatically become Columns under Kanban!

Simplify note-taking with Note

A brand-new Note feature has been introduced in TickTick for mainly two purposes: 

To provide a separate room for simple note-keeping at TickTick, where you can record any random thoughts and ideas, without the need of switching to other apps. 

To function additionally for the task management. For example, if you’d like to include some context information (background info, learning resources, references) regarding a task in your lists, Note can serve this purpose well. 

To enable the Note feature, please first create a Note List (select the type when adding a new list). You can then either take notes in the Note List you just created, or go back to any of your task lists, and convert any tasks to notes! Learn more about how to use Note.

Widgets for iOS14 & macOS Big Sur 

Since Apple introduced iOS14 and macOS Big Sur this year, we also brought you all-new TickTick widgets that work perfectly on the new systems. Three types of widgets were redesigned respectively for Tasks, Calendar, and Habits. Check everything from your Home Screen and never miss an important thing! Varying from different sizes and themes, you’re free to customize TickTick widgets to go with your devices however you like!

Check out widgets for iOS14 and widgets for macOS Big Sur.

Section 2: Major improvements

Pomo evolved to Focus

Pomo was renamed as “Focus”, to include another new timer -- “Stopwatch”, which could count up your focused hours, in contrast to Pomo Timer. 

White Noises within Focus were also enriched and replaced by better-quality ones, to be more ear-pleasant and helpful for focus experience. 

What has also been improved was Focus Statistics. From different perspectives, those stats include how much time you’ve spent on which task, and a timeline chronologically demonstrating your time-spending. 

With such updates, you will have more additional resources to track your focused time, and also enjoy a smoother Focus experience. Learn more about Focus.

A more customizable Habit

We also made the Habit feature in TickTick  more flexible and personalized, with a lot more customizable choices, such as Habit Icon DIY, individual switches for Habit Log, emoticons within habit logs, and customizable habit frequencies. All these made building and tracking habits a more fun and enjoyable thing to do in TickTick! Learn more about Habit.

Kanban went on mobile

Kanban is not an unfamiliar feature in TickTick already because it’s within the top 3 features picked by our users. But a very important update on Kanban is it can now be accessed and managed on mobile devices too! This means you could simply track the progress of your project, collaborate with team members, and manage your workflow anytime on the go! Learn more about Kanban.

Section 3: New integrations

Stay connected with TickTick + IFTTT

IFTTT (If This Then That) empowers your apps and devices to work together in a new way by establishing connections (“applets”). The integration with IFTTT brings a more automated task management experience in TickTick because, through IFTTT, you can either make TickTick a “Trigger” or “Action” to other of your daily tools. For example, if you’d like to write in a designated note in Evernote every time you complete a task, you can make “Completing a task” as a Trigger, and it will be automatically fired to Evernote. Just like that, everything could simply be connected. Learn how to set it up.

Streamline workflow with TickTick + Zapier

Similar to what you can do with TickTick + IFTTT, Zaiper is also a wonderful tool to help you connect everything and automate your workflow. It moves info between your web apps automatically, so you can focus on your most important work. Via creating “Zaps” in Zapier, you can link your TickTick with other apps you use daily. Learn how to set it up.

Stay hands-free with TickTick + Alexa 

As a popular voice assistant loved by many, Alexa has been offering us a revolutionary hands-free experience in life. Now, you can do more with TickTick + Alexa integration! Call TickTick by the name of “Tick Tick” as the invocation name at Alexa, and it will further be able to “Add Task With Reminder”, “Read Your Today’s To-Dos”, “Read Your Tasks From Any Lists”, “Add Task to a Specific List” and “Read Your Next Task”. Find out more!

Stay on top of your Inbox with TickTick + Gmail

Checking emails might be a daily task for most of us. Now, with the powerful TickTick + Gmail integration, you can easily stay Inbox zero and streamline your workflow, because turning emails into tasks in TickTick is one-click away. Simply follow the path: Add TickTick for Gmail from your G Suite Marketplace > Open the desired email in Gmail > Click TickTick on the panel to the right > Edit some details and set due dates and priorities if needed > Click “Add Task”.

Stay control of your emails with TickTick + Spark

TickTick has also been integrated with another widely-used email app – Spark. With Spark, you can stay on top of your inbox by intelligently prioritizing your emails, and keep your inbox distraction-free. And from Spark to TickTick, you can simply streamline your workflow from email inbox to task management tools! Please note this feature is currently iOS-only. Help me get connected!

Section 4: New Projects

TickTick Blog has a new home

Long been on other blog platforms, TickTick Blog finally has its official site on our website! In TickTick Blog, you can find articles about features and updates in TickTick, contents regarding productivity, time management methods, self-growth, and positive lifestyle, as well as stories shared by our users! Click here to have a small cruise, or simply find “Blog” via the bottom menu on our website, or through the About page in the App!

TickTick Educational Offer 

To help people most in need to get through a tough time during Covid-19, TickTick developed the educational plan, offering discounts (25% off) for all students and educators! That special offer would be a long-standing policy, to help more people manage their time well and be more productive while studying from home. Click here to apply!

TickTick Ambassador Program

As an all-in-one productivity app loved by tens of millions, we sincerely would like to invite those who are also passionate about spreading the power of productivity around to be part of TickTick! That’s why we brought up the Ambassador Program and are calling for people worldwide to join the TickTick family and contribute to the larger community! Check out there.

TickTick Gift Card is available 

As Christmas and new year are approaching, we introduced TickTick digital gift cards officially! Either to have one for yourself/your team, or send one to friends or family, it would be your best choice when selecting a practical and worthwhile gift! Time is the most precious gift. TickTick Gift cards help people save time and get things done. Can’t wait to Send Love!

Final Words

Reading TickTick feature review in 2020, I believe you have got a general idea of what's new and picked up things missed. We can’t wait to bring you an even better TickTick in the year of 2021!

We wish you all a wonderful new year ahead! Don't forget to check out the video of 2020 Top 5 features in TickTick!

You may have been a TickTick veteran for many years already, knowing a lot of tricks that suit your workflow best. Or, maybe you just got started today. No matter whether you’re in the know of how powerful TickTick can be to help you stay organized, focused, and productive, this article will level up your TickTick knowledge for sure!

Read on to learn something new! 

Section 1: Task & List

Add tasks all over the list with the draggable "+" button (mobile)

Some may have well recognized the Quick Add Button "+", which usually stays on the left or right bottom corner of your list, but what you may not be familiar with is that "+" can move all over your list! Once you drag the “+” and drop it somewhere, a task will be added straight to the bull's eye. For example, if "+" is dropped under a subtask, you’ll be taken to create a new subtask. 

To make this happen, simply short press on the "+" > release it anywhere you'd like your task to be added > create a task and it will go into the targeted area (example below)! 

Quickly arrange Today’s tasks with “Plan Your Day”

There is a built-in smart list called “Today” in TickTick, but did you know that there’s a little feature called “Plan Your Day” in the Today list? If you ever wondered why there was a circle-shaped button on the top of Today, that is “Plan Your Day”! Tapping in, you’ll get started with the arrangement of all overdue and today’s tasks one by one. What you can do is reschedule, complete, or delete them. Stay Today-free with everything getting quickly arranged one click away!

Mark the progress of tasks with “Status Bar”

We’ve received multiple requests for marking the progress of tasks/subtasks. However, this feature has been there for a long time. Have you found that before?

• On Mobile: Long press the time of a task and the status bar will appear. Swipe left or right to mark how many percentages of the task has been completed.
• On Desktop: Go to the task detail page > Click on the line (status bar) below the time of a task to mark/change its progress status.

Customize the “Repeat Type” of a recurring task

Setting a task as recurrent is a widely-used feature in TickTick, but a lesser-known feature within it is customizing the "Repeat Type". You can decide how the next recurrence of your task will be generated: based on completion of the current recurrence, or based on a fixed time. If you select Completion Date, the next recurrence will appear when a task was last completed. But if it’s set to the Due Date, your next task will appear on time, no matter if you’ve completed this current cycle or not. 

To access this when adding a new task, simply go to Repeat > Custom > Repeat Type.

Jump from task A to task B with task links

Each of your tasks has a unique link. Simply copy the link of task A (from the “…” menu) + paste it into the description of task B. These two tasks will be connected. You’re then free to jump from one to another anytime you want.

Customize how you get reminded with “Default Reminder”

Task reminders may not qualify as a little-known feature, but some of the ways you can customize them aren’t so obvious. Tired of setting reminders whenever you add a new task? Try to change “Default Reminder” in the Task Default settings. There, you can customize how long before a due time the automatic reminder will be sent, i.e. on time,15 minutes before the due date, 30 minutes before, etc.

See an overview of today’s tasks with “Daily Notification”

Wish to have an overview of today’s tasks, showing what’s been completed and what’s not? Daily Notification allows you to do that! Go to Settings > Sounds & Notifications > enable “Daily Notification”, and select the time you wish to get this. TickTick will then send you the daily report at the time you’ve set. It can be more personalized if you’d like, i.e.skipping weekends. Try and see if it helps with your daily self-reflection!

Remove date/time in the task name

The Smart Recognition in TickTick can automatically capture the date/time when you input a new task, either from typing or voice input. Do you know that you can choose whether to keep the date/time in the task name or not? Once enabling it within Smart Recognition settings, the date/time won’t remain in the task name. But what if the date keyword is the task itself, not a time you wish to set to the task? Easy. Tap on the blue-highlighted keywords when adding a task and it will go back to plain text. This will avoid it from being smartly recognized as the due date and being removed from the task name.

Customize swipe actions on a task/list 

Is it possible to change swipe actions on a task/list? Yes, you can tailor everything you like! You can customize all these powerful gestures so whenever you swipe left or right on a task, TickTick performs one of many actions as you wish: move, schedule, etc.

Section 2: Date & Time

Set time to a task based on flexible “Time Zone” options

Considering the need for business trips or across-timezone collaboration, TickTick introduced two Time Zone options: Fixed Time Zone and Floating Time Zone.

• Fixed Time Zone: the time set for your task will change according to the actual time zone you are in. 
• Floating Time Zone: the time setting of your task will stay the same no matter where you are in the world.

Once enabling the “Time Zone” in Date & Time settings, you’ll be able to select the two above when setting time for tasks. Learn more here.

See how many days left for a task with “Countdown Mode”

How about seeing both the due date of a task and how many days left for the task before the due date? This can happen with a simple tap on the task’s due date. How? Enabling “Countdown Mode” in the Date & Time settings! Without taking extra space, you can just tap to switch between the due date and the number of days left.

Section 3: Calendar

Hide certain time slots from the timeline of Calendar

On TickTick Calendar, you may have noticed that 0-7:00 and 21-24:00 are hidden from the timeline. Yet, what you may not find out is if you click on the hidden slots, you can drag to adjust certain time slots you wish to hide. For example, If you’d only like to view schedules during work hours (10-6), just hide the rest on your Calendar with a simple click. 

Switch back to Today from any date on Calendar

Another little feature in Calendar is to quickly switch back to Today from any date. Without the need to swipe a long way back to Today, or the risk of getting lost on Calendar, you can simply:

• On mobile: tap the date above the current Calendar view and you’ll be back to Today.
• On desktop: Click Today on the top right to quickly switch back.

Decide how your tasks are color-coded on Calendar

Have you ever wondered why tasks are shown in those certain colors on Calendar? Is there any way to change them? 

Yes! Within the “…” menu, you’ll find “View options”, and the first option appearing is “Color”. By system default, all tasks shown on Calendar are based on their “List Color”, but you can change that to be based on their “Tag Color”, or “Priority Color”. 

Customize the first day of the week and the first week of the year

Varied in different cultures and working environments, the first day of the week can be different. In TickTick, you can choose your week to start from Sunday, Monday, or Saturday. Similarly, you can also customize when the first week of the year starts. This is especially handy if you’d like the first week on the Calendar to be week 1 of a new school year so that it would be clear to check which week you’re currently in and how many weeks are left.

* Take me to the complete Calendar Tutorial: video or blog!

Section 4: Pomo

See the contrast between estimated time and actual time spent on a task

Wouldn’t it be nice to see the estimated time you’ve set to a task vs. the actual time-spending on it? Do you know how to do that in TickTick?

Go to the task detail page > Unfold “...” and select “Start Focus” > “Estimation”, you can then set beforehand an estimated Pomo number that you intend to get for this task or an estimated duration you’ll spend doing it before the timer starts. This will then appear above the task name, and you can also get a preview of it when back to the list. 

After you’ve completed the task with the company of Pomo Timer/ Stopwatch, the actual time you spent will show besides the estimation you set before (see the example below).

Quickly change the duration of your Pomo Timer 

To quickly change the duration of a Pomo Timer (25 mins by system default), there are also two fast ways to do without the need of going to Pomo Settings.

• Long press on the Pomo timer > scroll up and down to adjust the duration.
• Tap on the Pomo timer > Select or customize a new duration.

Section 5: Habit

Tap to switch between Current Streak & Total Days

Similar to what you do to see between the due date and days left for a task, in TickTick Habit, you can also tap the number behind a habit to switch between the Current Streak and Total Days you’ve been insisting on.

Quickly checking-in a cumulative habit

“Drinking 8 cups of water a day” or “Reading for 20 mins a day” can be considered as a cumulative habit that usually needs multiple check-ins based on your completion. Instead of checking it off multiple times, you can just give such habits a one-time check-in. 

Simply swipe left on the habit > tap “+” > type in how many times you’ve done. Or, if you are more used to checking in all with a one-time swipe, you can also enable the “Achieve it all” option in the setting of a cumulative habit. This will allow you to complete it all at one time too.

Section 6: Note

Get a Summary for tasks and save it as a note

Summary is a hidden but handy feature combined with Note in TickTick, to help you review and reflect on your task completion and management. It is an auto-generated report (review) of things (tasks) that you’ve done plus those undone, which can be customized by applying different filters on it. For example, you can get a Summary of what tasks at study you’ve completed today if you filtered it by List (Today) and Tag (Study). 

Summary in Note is savable, printable, and shareable as well. Where to find it?

• On mobile: Go to the editing page of a note > unfold the bottom toolkit > you’ll see the access to Summary (see the demonstration below). 
• On desktops: Find “…” on the bottom right corner of your note > select “Insert Task Summary”, and you’ll also get a broad view of Summary.

Final words

Once you’ve made it there, I believe you’ve all got to know TickTick a little bit better than before. Take these tips to help yourself get more organized, focused, and productive! Tell us your unique tricks that are not covered in this article and you’d like to share with others!

Long extending itself beyond a simple to-do app, TickTick offers an all-in-one productivity solution packed with features like to-do lists, Pomo, Habit, Kanban, Note, and more importantly, TickTick Calendar! It is not very common for a to-do app to have one, but it is always useful if it does! TickTick is such an app that combines your to-do lists with a built-in calendar in a single place, empowering you to get more out of your time and manage your tasks well.

Planning helps in actual doing. With TickTick Calendar, you can always plan out your day and time block your tasks in advance (Learn more on Time Blocking). This allows you to be more conscious of how you’ll spend your time and get more concentrated on what’s important in your schedule. One can thus be more productive and organized in life.

Before we dive into Calendar specifically, creating a to-do list is the first step. Write down tasks you need to do, no matter if it is related to your work responsibilities, social events, business meetings, or day-to-day activities. All tasks, if created with a specific date, will automatically be integrated and appear on your TickTick Calendar. Then let’s explore what you can do with Calendar in TickTick. (Prefer to see it in a video tutorial? Click HERE.)

Check schedules with flexible Views

There are altogether 5 Views in TickTick Calendar, which can tailor to your needs from different aspects: List View (mobile-only), Day View, 3-Day View (mobile-only), Weekly View, and Monthly View. It’s simple to check all things on your agenda from different timelines and platforms, to always stay tuned with what’s coming next. 

What makes it even more convenient is the all-new Calendar Widgets! Without the need of opening the app, simply see what’s up next from your Home Screen. Never miss a thing with all at hand.

Apart from that, you can also customize the views on Calendar to your own needs. Within the “...” menu, you’ll find the “View options”. Going into, you can decide whether to show completed tasks, check items, or future cycles of a recurring task. You can also decide how your tasks are color-coded. The system-default way of color-coding is based on “List Color”, but you can also change that to be based on “Tag Color”, or “Priority Color”. What’s more straightforward and eye-catching than viewing all your high-priority tasks coded with the bright red on Calendar? 

Customize the Timeline to show 

24-hour a day is the same, but the start of the day may not be the same for everyone. Customizing to your own needs, you can adjust the timeline on your calendar and choose to hide certain time slots. By system default, the hidden time frames are 0-7:00 and 21-24:00. If clicking on the hidden slots, you can simply drag it to adjust the time frame you wish to hide. This way, you can have more flexible choices, i.e. only showing schedules in working hours from 10-6.

Time block your tasks

• Arrange tasks

Time blocking is a time management method, which means cutting your day into different chunks and putting different tasks into these chunks. This can help us be more organized with a time-boxed schedule and can also help beat procrastination.

To help you do that, TickTick offers a way that well integrates your to-do lists and Calendar. That feature is called “Arrange tasks”. By clicking “...” on the top right corner of your Calendar, you'll be able to see it. This allows you to see all your undated tasks sorted by List, Tag, or Priority. For example, some random thoughts that you’ve thrown to the Inbox that remain unplanned will appear on the right side, when you sort by List. To quickly arrange them, what you need to do is simply dragging and dropping them into any time slot.

• Add a new task 

It is also intuitive to add a new task directly on Calendar. Click on any empty time box, and you’re free to add a new task from there. On the Weekly or Monthly Calendar, you can also multi-select different dates to add a long-duration task. 

• Reschedule a task

To adjust the time scheduled for a task on your Calendar, you can choose to

a) drag n’ pull the time frame to adjust the task duration (30-min at minimum);

b) drag n’ drop the task to another time slot for quick rescheduling.

Subscribe to third-party calendars

Not only can you enjoy the great combination of your to-do lists and Calendar in TickTick, but outside resources can also be imported as well for overall arrangement. TickTick works perfectly with other calendars such as Google Calendar, iCloud, Outlook, and more. Once subscribed successfully, events from these calendars will automatically display in your TickTick Calendar. Any changes you made to these events can also be synced in TickTick. 

Wrap up

Visualizing schedules, customizing Calendar views, timeboxing tasks, staying in control of your time, and organizing everything in one place, TickTick Calendar makes it all happen!

P.S. Click HERE to see the Calendar tutorial video.

P.P.S Calendar features will be improved soon!

New to TickTick? Download from HERE

An often heard theory of habit-building is the “21/90” rule. 21 days for a habit to form (0-1), and another 90 days for that habit to stick (1-100). Apart from these two key stages, the initial decision to commit to a new habit is also important. 

Deciding to commit to a positive change

A ritual of starting

Before jumping into a new habit, a good way to get yourself mentally ready is a ritual of starting. Telling yourself and maybe also people around you that you’d like to make a certain change, is establishing an invisible “flag”. It’ll not only psychologically remind yourself, but others can also play the role of a supervisor if needed. 

A reason behind the change

It is essential while always neglectful to identify what drives you to make the change and where your initial motivation comes from. It seems determined that your habit won’t last for long if the reason behind it is self-punishment. This means that an intrinsic motivation of establishing a habit should develop from what you love, instead of hate.

A clear goal and steps to reach it 

Once you’ve committed, it’s important to set a clear goal and detailed plans. The goal can be big but also achievable, which can be segregated into everyday tasks. For example, you’ve decided to “eat healthily”, the goal can be “to half the frequency of eating out and double the intake of vegetables in the first month”. Based on this, plans for weekly meal plans and daily caloric intake can then follow.

A tool to help you track the habit

Keeping a habit with a useful tool can save a lot of troubles, and TickTick is one of the options. With the Habit feature in TickTick, one can create a new habit in the way they like by setting its frequency, customizing the habit icon, as well as adding quotes to the habit to motivate you. All of these can be done in one second to help you prepare for a new habit.

Programing behaviors as habits from 0-1

Time block your habits and get reminded

Once the new habit has been created, the next thing is to schedule it. Plan it out with a specific time and get yourself reminded. Easy work with the help of TickTick, because you can view your habits in TickTick Calendar and see when you need to do it. You’ll also get reminded, multiple times a day. For example, if you’ve decided to “Drink 8 cups of water a day” - You will be reminded 8 times at different intervals asking you to drink water. 

Visualize the process of doing instead of the results

A very common pitfall that people usually fall into when forming a new habit is fantasizing too much about the results. For example, When starting to learn a new language, what beginners imagine is the scenario they are fluently interacting with native speakers in that language. This indeed sounds inspiring from the surface but is no help in the actual accomplishment. Therefore, instead of visualizing the far-reaching future, putting the process of doing it into visualization (i.e. imagine practicing that language after work every night) is much more practical, which can help take actual actions.

Check-in habits and reflect on your behavioral path

It is more structural and reflectable if you can check in your habits and be aware of your behavioral path. Instead of doing maths yourself, in tools like TickTick, you can always keep track of how you did on a habit and get some cool insights for reflection. Two main features are especially handy in terms of this: 

Habit Log -- Record a Habit Log by writing down what you did and how you felt.

Habit Statistics -- Reflect on what you’ve done well and what still needs improvement.

Get rid of the guilt and allow flexibility

One fact that you may have to accept is there are always ups and downs in the habit-building process, which means no one can do it perfectly to never miss a check-in. It is not necessary to feel guilty if you’ve missed one because you need to give yourself time to breathe. In TickTick, you can mark your habit as “unachieved” because compared with burnout, balance and consistency are more important. Guilt is perhaps the most destructive emotion. Although it may encourage you to take quick actions to compensate, it can also demolish your willpower in one second afterward.

Identify unconscious excuses and eliminate them

Normally, we’re very good at finding excuses for our behaviors. For example, “I would skip the workout today because I ate less than yesterday”. That is an excuse because what you ate yesterday can’t offset the workout you need to do for today. When the “No” voice is spinning in your head, maybe you have to think twice whether it is the truth or just an unconscious excuse that will pull you back.

Making habits stick from 1-100

The buddy scheme  

As mentioned ahead, having someone in your habit-adopting process is a way to enhance your execution power. It could be someone who joins your plans as a buddy to complete things together. Or, just a person who knows your plans can also give you a little push if he/she senses abandonment from you. A role model could also be a “buddy” in another sense because he/she is someone you look up to and wish to be, even though you don’t know them in real life.

Enhance the extrinsic motivation 

To continue to do something as a habit, besides the intrinsic motivation (initial passion), extrinsic motivations are also a huge source of willpower. Binding rewards with actions is what people usually do to enhance motivation from outside: instant rewards (small treatments) for small progress and future rewards (big leisure) for big improvements.

Avoid rush decisions 

Nothing can change overnight, so is your behavior. Even though you’ve seen some progress, it may not be the right time to jump to the next level. Make your habit consistent, not evolutionary, and the key is always stickiness and sustainability. Therefore, remember to take baby steps and make sure you won’t lose your new habit because you rush it.

Extended from the “21/90” principle, there should be 3 stages in the development of a new habit: 0, 0-1, and 1-100. Take those tips above for every step and embrace a new change! Start a new habit in TickTick!

Feel like learning more? Read about How I Finally Stuck to My Habits by Going by Joseph.

You may have already been a TickTick premium user for a while, or you are just new to TickTick, wondering what you can achieve with a pro account. To help you make better-informed decisions on whether TickTick is worth trying, this article will walk you through all the premium features in TickTick, with a clear comparison with the free plan!

Section 1: Unlock more advanced features

Full Calendar functionality

• Access more Calendar views. 

In TickTick Calendar, there are five view options: List, Month, Day, 3-Day, Week. This means you can check all your tasks, events, and habits with different timelines in your TickTick Calendar. Free users only have the access to the list view, while premium can enjoy them all!

With access to different Calendar views, what you can get is not only a clear visualization of your workflow and to-dos in life, but it also allows you to time block your tasks. TickTick offers an “Arrange Tasks” feature within these Calendar views. Simply via drag n’ drop, any tasks can be quickly arranged into any time chunks.

* Please note that List View and 3-Day View in Calendar are mobile-only.

• Set both start and end dates to tasks. 

Premium users can set a duration (both start and end time) to a task, while a free account only has access to the due date. This becomes handy especially when it comes to day scheduling and time blocking.

• Subscribe to third-party calendars.

TickTick made importing from local calendars an access-to-all option. But we understand your need of synchronizing events from other calendar tools you've been using as well, such as Google Calendar or Outlook. Pro accounts can enjoy more freedom of subscribing to third-party calendars.

• Set up your Calendar widgets.

Calendar widgets are another advantage that premium users can have. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just check schedules from your home screen?

P.S. Calendar widgets for iOS14 are coming soon!

Advanced List & Task features

• Customize Smart Lists

The "Custom Smart List" feature will allow you to be as flexible as you need with all the Lists! 100% tailored to your own needs, you can create Smart Lists with multiple filters. For example, if you’d like to see only the high-priority tasks at work, then a Smart List could be created with the filters “Tasks from work list” + “High priority”. Easy peasy!

• Check List Activities (desktop-only)

On desktop versions, premium users can check List Activities, to stay tuned with any changes made in the list. This includes when and who made the changes to tasks in the list, as well as what changes to which tasks. This is quite helpful especially when you’re collaborating with others on a shared list, since you’ll be able to check the status anytime and would not miss anything important in collaboration. 

• Check Task Activities 

Similarly, when tapping into a task detail page, you’ll also be able to check the Task Activities, regarding the details (when/how/who) the task has been dealt with.

• Set reminders to Check Item

Another useful feature is regarding the Check Items in tasks. A pro user can not only let TickTick remind you of incoming tasks but can also set reminders to the Check Items within the tasks!

* Please note that Check Item is different from the Subtask. Learn more HERE.

Smoother Focus experience 

• Set Estimation to tasks

If you’re used to using Focus in TickTick, you may have seen the “Estimation” feature. After starting Focus, there’s an Estimation option, within which premium users can set either an estimated Pomo number or an estimated duration that they would spend on the task. This helps a lot if you’d like to reflect on and compare the estimated hours and actual time spending on certain tasks.

• Premium White Noises

There are also more White Noises for premium users to use within the Focus, such as Chirp and Biscuit. Try and let it better help you stay focused

• Check Weekly Focus Statistics

All users can access Focus statistics, but if you’d like more in-depth data, you can check changes of Weekly Focus Statistics in your Focus history, with a pro account.

Section 2: Enjoy fewer limitations

Section 3: Have more theme options

With TickTick Premium, you can also enjoy more flexibility when choosing a theme and icon to decorate your TickTick!

Time to get on board!

Before the end of October, have a quick look at what has recently been ticked in TickTick and tell us what you’re also expecting!

Note Is Going Live!

Note is a new feature introduced into TickTick not so long ago. Have you been happy so far using it for simpler note-taking? Let’s quickly go over its functionality!

What Is the “Note” Feature for?

From our last discussion, Note was added mainly due to two purposes: 

To provide you with a separate room for simple note-keeping at TickTick, where you can record any ideas and thoughts anytime during performing daily tasks. Without the need of switching to other apps, you can simply write it down and save it there in just one place. 

To function as an additional resource for your task management. For example, if you’d like to include some context information (background info, additional learning resources, references, tips) of your to-do lists/ tasks, Note can serve this purpose well. 

How to Access the Note?

Some may already find it a bit tricky to access Note for the first time. This is true to some extent because we did not wish Note to get in the way of task management. However, it doesn’t mean it isn’t easily accessible. Simply create a Note List from the tab bar > Quick add any notes in the list > convert note to task in the note list if needed, or vice versa. 

Still confused? Click HERE to learn more on how to use Note.

What I’d also like to emphasize here is don’t forget the Summary feature we’ve provided together with Note. Summary lies in the note editing page, you can either find it once the toolkit is unfolded or after clicking the “...” at the right bottom corner. 

Summary simply means a review of things you’ve done, which we generate for you based on your custom filters, i.e. Today & Home. You’ll then be able to see an overview of all home tasks completed today. This can actually help a lot to reflect on the work you’ve done.

Widgets for iOS14!

Ever since iOS14 was in beta, we’ve heard it thousands of times for TickTick widgets adapted to iOS14. Therefore, we’ve released the beta version of widgets, and introduced the first official version on the 28th of September!

The new widgets provide you with more patterns/appearances options, in order for you to go with your Home Screen setup. Besides, not only for tasks, we’ve included Habit widgets too! Isn’t it cute to add these cute icons on your iPhone screen? 

New to iOS14 widgets? Find the tutorial video HERE. 

Q1: Why can’t I check off the tasks/habits directly from my home screen widgets?

This is due to the iOS limit, and no actions can be taken from the screen directly.

Q2: Will there be widgets for Calendar as well?

Yes! Calendar widgets are coming soon

Improved Task Nesting!

Some major improvements have also been made on the nested tasks on the newest version. Here’s what:

• Subtasks in Smart List can be draggable now, just like in other normal lists.
• Nested tasks can be displayed in Kanban View too, which is especially helpful for your project management.
• The parent task will automatically be marked as completed once all its subtasks are checked off. Make more sense since subtasks belong to their parent task.
• Templates can include subtasks now. This means when saving a parent task as a template, the subtasks it has will be saved in the template too.

These new updates made Task Nesting more smooth and friendly to use, taking more user cases into consideration. Take the last one as an example, it saves the trouble from adding the same subtasks again and again when creating a new task from templates. One time might be neglectable, but the time saved could be remarkable when added on. From the GTD methodology, to save time in planning is to increase time in actual doing!

What’s Next?

• Calendar widgets for iOS14!
• Major improvements on the Focus feature. 
• More localized language support in the app.

Not within your wishlists? Tell us what you’re also expecting simply via Feedback & Suggestions in the app. Any voice is welcomed!

What is Note?

Long extending itself as just a task manager, TickTick now has a separate note-taking area! Available across all devices, it can provide you with a fluent experience of note taking on iPad, mobile phones, Mac or Windows!

Note is a new and free feature introduced to simplify your note-taking process at TickTick. The confusion may immediately rise between some of you who’ve already been used to having task descriptions for this purpose. Indeed, descriptions could be used for keeping some simple notes of the task. However, limitations were quite obvious too: For one thing, it doesn’t look like a note but still a task associated with your schedule, priority, and arrangement; for another, once the task is completed, the description within it will also be gone. Thus, to provide you with a more intuitive note-taking process, and an individual space to save notes for you to look back at any time, here comes the Note!

How to access Note?

• To add a Note

To add a Note, you need to first add a Note-type list (There are two types of list now: Note and Task). Accessing from “Add List” at the bottom of the left sidebar > Unfold to see the List Type > Select Note List. From here, a Note List has been created and you’ll be able to find it in the left sidebar, together with other lists. The icon of different list types is different to help you identify them. 

* List Type: The List Type determines what you will create in a list. There are two types of lists: You can add and manage to-dos in a Task List, or take and keep notes in a Note List. 

* Please note that any actions regarding notes, including taking notes, convert a task to a note, insert a summary, etc must be based on the creation of a Note List first.

• To use a Template

Entering the Note List you’ve just created, you’ll see a pencil-shaped quick add button (mobile versions), similar to what’s for the task quick-adding. Simply tap to start any notes! Wanna make the note-adding even faster? Try using one of the Templates we’ve provided for you: Meeting Note, Reading Note, and Weekly Review! If there isn’t a fit, you can also save your note as a template to automate your note-taking for the next time.

• Tags and Attachments 

Unlike tasks, notes cannot be completed, prioritized, or assigned. But it still has other functions similar to a task, e.g. Tags. To sort out your notes, you can always tag them, whether it’s a diary, work review, or lecture note. Besides, you can also upload attachments into the notes to save everything related just in one place.

• Make use of Markdown

Many of you may already be familiar with the Markdown feature when writing in the task description. It’s also supported during the Note editing. Markdown is a markup language that can be written in a plain text editor. For example, adding an asterisk (*) before and after a word/phrase, will then be automatically italicized. If you’re experienced in using Markdown to take notes, just a glimpse of our supported syntax will be sufficient to jump-start. If you’re new to this, find the tips here for writing with Markdown.

Note vs. Task

Note is separate from and parallel to Task. To identify which is which, the icons are quite different first in first. The nature of them is different too. On top of that, tasks are to-do-things that need to be scheduled and checked off, while notes are not something that should be completed, either something scheduled. It is simply a record of your ideas, thoughts, mindmap, experience or learning materials, and additional resources.

Despite the distinctions, you can still make some connections between your tasks and notes in TickTick. They are not legitimately separated from each other but can be combined to make maximum differences in your work/study productivity. Here’s how:

•  Direct conversion from note to task/task to note

Task and Note are easily convertible, and they can even exist in the same list, no matter what the List Type is. Go to a note description, and tap “...” on the top right corner, you’ll be able to see an option “Convert to Task”. Select it and your note will immediately become a task. It still remains in the original list, not going anywhere, with a particular (Task) Section for it. The same process goes for the conversion from Task to Note too.

• Copy the note link and paste it into a task

Another way to connect your notes and tasks is by copying and pasting links. This is also quite easy because what you need to do is simply copy the link of Note A and paste it in Task A. From here you can quickly jump between the note and task via the link.

• Get a Summary for tasks and save it as a note

Summary is another important feature that we’ve added this time to help you link your notes and tasks. Summary is a report (review) for things (tasks) that have been done, which can be customized by applying different filters on it. For example, you can get a Summary filtered by List (Today) and Tag (Study). When applying, you’ll be able to see it with items you wish to show. The Summary you get is savable, printable, and shareable as well.

*Note: Summary can only be generated in a Note, not in a Task.

Why does a Summary for tasks have something to do with a note? 

As mentioned above, Summary is only available in the note-editing, because it’s not supposed to be kept as a task. But it can be particularly useful when you need to add a piece of note to help you summarize and reflect on what you’ve done recently in your to-do lists. Summary can thus be a very good addition. Go to a Task List > Create a task > Convert it to a note > Get a Summary in the note-editing > Save.

Where in particular can I find the Summary?

For mobile users, after going into the note-editing, unfold the bottom toolkit, you’ll then find access to Summary. On desktops, find the “...” on the bottom right corner > Insert Task Summary.

P.S. Please note that this feature is not supported on Mac.

In general, Note is a separate feature from Task, but they are also well-connected. The use of Note can not only simplify the note-taking process at TickTick for heavy note users but can also be a good addition for those who would like to use it for better task management at TickTick. 

No matter how you use it, the key is to get things done more easily and smoothly. This is exactly what we keep doing: Making TickTick a no-brainer app and a real all-in-one productivity solution for you.

Now, time to get on board!

Autumn is approaching as August officially passed. Since last time we’ve done the feature review, TickTick has kept trying hard to roll out new features, as well as improving the existing ones in the past few months. Then, what major improvements have recently been made in TickTick? Read on to have yourself a quick wrap up. Spoiler alert in the end!

Break down a complex task with Task Nesting

Beforehand, there wasn’t a complete subtask feature, only a Checklist in the task description. The Checklist used to be a lightweight version of subtasks, because what you could do with it was only setting a due date and letting TickTick remind you. However, the feedback we’ve continuously received from you guys has driven us to fully develop a complete subtask feature, which is why we introduced Task Nesting! 

Task Nesting is the real subtask foundation, which allows you to cut a huge task into digestible chunks, and chucks to slices if you’d like, with altogether 5 levels supported. It complies with GTD method to help you stay organized by empowering each subtask the functionality that a task has, whether setting due dates or priority, assigning, adding tags, or keeping details in the description. 

Breaking down a task into more manageable and actionable ones is a great way to help beat procrastination. In another, it also keeps a neat and organized structure of the list, and reduces visual clutter in the app.

Learn more about how Task Nesting.

Still confused about how to use it? Find the Tutorial.

Group your tasks with “sections” at hand

With Task Nesting, you’re maybe familiar with the task “breaking” process, but what’s also important is the “grouping” process. Therefore, it becomes more necessary to introduce a feature that can help sort out and group your tasks in the list, instead of letting them sparsely scattered. Here comes the Section! 

Sections are sub elements of the list, which means you can always use Sections to collect different tasks into groups, and thus keep your list clean and neat. Titles of these Sections can give you a clear clue of what the underneath tasks are about. You can also choose to fold or unfold your Sections, as you like. 

To access the Section:

• If you’re mobile users, go to a list > tap “...” on the top right  corner > select “Manage Sections” > Add a new one or manage existing Sections. 

• On desktops, similarly go to a list > Click “...” and you’ll be able to see an option called “Add Sections”.

More surprisingly, if you have ever switched your list to Kanban View, the titles of Kanban boards you’ve created before will automatically convert to titles of Sections, once you switch back to List View. This was designed to maintain the content uniformity between Kanban and List Views. The view-switching has also become more smooth and connected.

Add tasks flexibly with the redesigned “+” button

The Quick Add Button “+” used to only be able to stay on the bottom left and right corner in your list. Now that the Task Nesting and Sections are at hand right now, a need for a more flexible quick-add has come to the center. This is happening! The “+” button can now be dragged and moved all over your list. Once “+” dropped, a task can then be added straight to the bull’s eye, anywhere you’d like it to go. For example, drag “+” and drop it under a subtask, and you’re then able to quick add a subtask.

Short press on the “+” button > release it where you’d like your task to be added > type in the new task and it will automatically go into the targeted area. Task-adding has never become this quick and easy.

Set estimated Pomo before starting Pomo timer

Another improvement here is mainly for our Pomo users at TickTick. In Focus, there are two timers: Pomo timer and Stopwatch. Pomo is based on the Pomodoro technique, which combines normally a 25-min work and a 5-minite break. This goes in cycles at least four times and then you’ll gain a Pomo after a longer break. Stopwatch is simply for counting up your focused hours, and nothing else.

To better connect the use of Focus feature to the your basic task management, we’ve introduced the Estimation. Tap “...” on top right corner of your task > Select “Start Focus’, and you’ll be able to find the “Estimation”. Here’re two options:

Estimated Pomo (newly added): Set an Estimated Pomo number for a task you'd like to focus on, before starting your Pomo Timer, and the number will automatically show above your task.

Estimated Duration: You can also choose to set Estimated Duration for a task, e.g. 2 hours and 15 minutes, if you prefer using Stopwatch to track your focused time. Similarly, the estimated time will show above your task.

* Note: You cannot set both Estimated Pomo and Estimated Duration.

Estimation is an important part of your performance management. Comparing your expected time for a task with the actual spending can help you gain a better understanding of your current performance and make next schedules more objectively.  

Other small updates

• Pomo Allowlist (Android only): Add an app to the Pomo Allowlist, and you can then use it with your Pomo timer keeping running at TickTick.
• New city themes: Cairo and Los Angeles!
• Tags can be capitalized: Use uppercase for tags.
• Lists under different folders can share same names.

What’s Next?

A Note Feature: Simplify your note-taking process at TickTick.