# Create tasks and group them by topic

> A task has a title, a topic and a coin reward from 1 to 1,000, 10 by default. Add a timer, a checklist and tags if you need them. Topics group tasks in the Tasks list and in Analytics. Drag cards into your own order, and lock the tasks you reuse.

- Page: https://dabadoro.com/docs/tasks-and-topics/
- Applies to: Dabadoro 1.2
- Last updated: 2026-10-22

*Figure: The New task form: Calculus II: practice midterm, topic Study, 30 coins, a 1 hour timer and the High Priority tag. Example data.*

- What needs to get done. The only field you must fill.
- The group it joins in the list.
- The coins it pays when you finish it, 10 by default.
- A timer with a length, or Untimed.

*The New task form. Example data.*

## Create a task

Tasks live in the Tasks list, ready to drag into your day.

1. **Open Tasks**

   Press `2`, or choose **Tasks** above the list.

2. **Press Create task**

   The + at the top of the list opens the **New task** form.

   (The head of the Tasks list: Tasks (7), the lock for all idle tasks, Create task and Search tasks.)

3. **Type a title, then press Create task**

   The task joins its topic in the list. The button stays grey while that topic already holds a task with this title.

**Suggested tasks** at the foot of the list adds Lesson, Exercises, Mock Exam or Flashcards.

The form has no date. You plan a task by dragging it onto the [schedule](https://dabadoro.com/docs/dashboard-and-schedule/).

## Fill in the fields

Every field except the title has a default you can keep. The form at the top shows the main four.

- **Checklist** holds steps you tick off. Enter adds the next row.
- **Tags** offers High Priority, Medium Priority, Low Priority, Work, Study, Health, Personal, or your own with **Custom tag...**
- The **Reward** buttons step by 5 coins. A **Timer** runs up to 6 hours, and **Untimed** is a stopwatch you finish yourself.

> **Tip:** A timed task finishes **on its own** when its time is up, and pays its coins.

## Group tasks by topic and order them

The list shows each task under its topic. You decide the order of both.

*Figure: The Study topic in the Tasks list with its tracked time and three tasks, each with its timer and coins. Example data.*

- **Topic**: Its name and the time tracked on its tasks.
- **A card**: Drag it up or down to change the order.

- A topic appears the first time you save a task with it. A task with no topic goes under Uncategorized.
- Drag the dots at the left of a topic to move the whole topic. The arrow at the right folds it.
- **Search tasks** matches titles, topics and tags. Topics stay in place while a search is on.

Topics also split your time in [Analytics](https://dabadoro.com/docs/analytics/).

## Lock the tasks you reuse

A locked task stays in the list. Dragging it places a copy on the schedule.

*Figure: A task in the Tasks list with its lock on. Dragging it places a copy. Example data.*

*A task with its lock on. Example data.*

Tasks start locked. The lock at the top of the list, **Lock all idle tasks**, switches every task.

The lock on one card, shown when you point at it, switches that task alone. Unlocked, a drag moves the task out of the list and into your day.

## Edit, finish or delete a task

Each card has a menu. The list and the schedule offer different actions.

*Figure: The menu of a task in the Tasks list: Edit task, Copy to schedule with Ctrl or Cmd plus Drag, and Delete task.*

*Figure: The menu of a task on the schedule: Edit, Complete activity with Ctrl plus Enter, Move future matches with Alt plus Drag, Copy to schedule with Ctrl or Cmd plus Drag, and Delete with Alt plus Delete.*

*The menu of a card in the Tasks list, then of a card on the schedule.*

Finish a task with the tick on the timer. Finished tasks stay on the day they were done. To log time you spent away from the timer, use [Complete activity](https://dabadoro.com/docs/complete-past-days/).

Press `Ctrl+Z` to bring back a task you deleted by mistake.

## See also

- [Daily planner](https://dabadoro.com/daily-planner/): What planning your tasks is for.
- [Focus timer](https://dabadoro.com/docs/focus-timer/): Run the timer on a task.
- [Rewards, coins and XP](https://dabadoro.com/docs/rewards-coins-xp/): What finished tasks pay.