Productivity · Windows 10 and 11
A to-do list that understands the dates you type
Type a task the way you would say it, such as “pay rent on the 1st every month” or “call the dentist tomorrow at 10am”, and Octoolo sets the due day, the reminder and the repeat for you. Tasks sort themselves into My day, Important and Planned, and into lists of your own, with steps to tick off inside each one.
How to make a to-do list in Octoolo
- 1
Open the to-do list
Open Octoolo's Productivity app and pick To-do list under Plan on the left. It starts on My day.
- 2
Type a task
Write it in the box at the top and press Enter or Add. A day (“tomorrow”, “on Friday”, “on Oct 12”) sets when it is due, a time (“at 6pm”, “in 20 minutes”) adds a reminder, and a repeat (“every weekday”) brings it back. What Octoolo understood shows inside the box before you add it.
- 3
Make your own lists
Press New list under the lists on the left, type a name, pick a color and press Add list. While a list is open, the tasks you add go into it.
- 4
Fill in the details
Click a task to open its panel. Add steps, a Remind me time, a Due day, a Repeat, the List it belongs to and a note. The star marks it Important.
- 5
Tick it off
Tick the circle beside a task when it is done. Finished tasks fold into Completed at the bottom; a repeating task moves on to its next day instead.
The lists on the left
Five lists are always there. They are views, so one task can show in several of them at once:
| List | What it shows |
|---|---|
| My day | Tasks due today or late, and tasks with a reminder today |
| Important | Tasks you starred |
| Planned | Every task with a due day or a reminder, soonest first |
| All tasks | Everything, whatever list it is in |
| Tasks | The default list, for tasks you did not put anywhere else |
Below them come your own lists, each with its name and color: Work, Shopping, the house move. The number beside a list counts the tasks still open in it. Delete list, at the top of an open list, removes the list but not its tasks: they move to Tasks.
Tasks with a time also appear in Reminders, because both tools share the same tasks. Change one in either place and it changes in both.
What the add box understands
You do not have to open a date picker for most tasks. The add box reads the day, the time and the repeat out of what you type and keeps the rest as the task's name:
| You type | You get |
|---|---|
| buy milk tomorrow | “buy milk”, due tomorrow, no reminder |
| send the invoice on Friday at 9am | Due Friday, with a reminder at 9:00 |
| call the bank in 20 minutes | A reminder 20 minutes from now |
| pay rent on the 1st every month | Due on the 1st, coming back every month |
| team report every weekday at 4pm | Monday to Friday, with a reminder at 16:00 |
The rule of thumb: a day alone sets the due day, and a time also makes it ring. So “pay rent on the 1st every month” is due on the 1st but stays quiet; write “pay rent on the 1st at 9am every month” to be reminded too. The words are English ones; the task's name can be in any language.
Repeating tasks and steps
Open a task and set Repeat to Every day, Every weekday, Every week, Every month or Every year, or choose Custom for every so many days, weeks, months or years. Weekly custom repeats let you pick the weekdays, so “every 2 weeks on Monday and Thursday” is possible.
Ticking a repeating task does not finish it. It moves to its next day, and the panel counts how many times you have done it. A monthly task on the 31st lands on the last day of shorter months, so it still comes once in February.
Steps are small tasks inside a task, each with its own tick: the documents to gather for a passport, the rooms to clean before guests arrive. Type them under the task's name in the panel. Anything longer belongs in the note below, or in Notes.
Where your tasks live, and what it does not do
Your tasks are kept in Octoolo's data folder on this PC. There is no account to make and nothing is uploaded. That also means:
- No phone app and no sync. The list is on this computer only.
- No shared lists. Each list is yours alone.
- No calendar view. Planned lists everything with a day, in date order.
- No import. Tasks from another app have to be typed in.
Reminders ring as Windows notifications while Octoolo runs, also after you close its window: it stays in the corner of the taskbar while something is planned. Nothing rings while the PC sleeps or is switched off.
Questions, answered
Will it remind me about a task?
Yes, when the task has a time: type one (“at 6pm”) or set Remind me in its panel. A Windows notification appears with Snooze 10 min and Done, even with Octoolo's window closed.
What happens when I tick a repeating task?
It moves to its next day instead of finishing, and the panel counts how many times it was done. Set Repeat to Never to make it an ordinary task again.
Can I use the list on my phone too?
No. There is no phone app and no sync: the tasks stay on this PC.
Can I share a list with my family or team?
No, lists are not shared. Each list is kept on your own computer.
Is there a calendar view?
No. The Planned list shows every task with a due day or a reminder, soonest first, and My day shows today and anything late.
Can I bring my tasks over from another app?
Not with an import. Type them in; dates and repeats in the words are picked up as you go.
To-do list, and 16 more apps.
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