Tasks
OterApp’s task surface helps you capture, schedule, and complete what you need to do — from one-off errands to recurring routines.
Creating a task
Open the Tasks screen from the sidebar and tap New task. Every task has a name (required) and optional note. You can also set three independent date fields:
- Due date — the deadline. Tasks with approaching due dates show up in filtered views and overdue alerts.
- Scheduled date — the day you plan to do it. A task appears on its scheduled date regardless of its due date.
- Show in list from — when the task should start appearing in your list. Useful for future tasks you want to keep out of sight until a certain date.
You can set any combination of these fields — they work independently.
Subtasks
Break a task into smaller steps. Each subtask has its own name, completion toggle, and optional due/scheduled dates. Subtasks are rendered as checkboxes indented under their parent task.
Tags and filtering
Tags let you organise tasks across categories like “Work”, “Personal”, or “Errands”. Tags are reusable — the same tag can appear on many tasks. Use the tag filter in the task list to focus on one category at a time.
Organise tags into groups and assign a colour to each tag for quick visual scanning.
Recurring tasks
Need something to repeat? Set a recurrence pattern when creating or editing a task. Recurring tasks (called rituals) automatically create a new instance on their next due date after you mark the current one complete.
Sorting and priority
The task list can be sorted by:
- Eisenhower matrix — urgency × importance (default). The app arranges your tasks into quadrants: do first (urgent + important), schedule (important, not urgent), delegate (urgent, not important), and eliminate (neither).
- Due date — closest deadlines first.
- Priority — manually assigned priority value.
- Name — alphabetical.
- Created date — newest first.
Date range filters let you view tasks for today, this week, next week, or this month.
Marking complete and history
Mark a task done with a single tap. The completion timestamp is recorded so you can review what you accomplished and when. If you marked something done by accident, undo it — the task returns to your list.
Completed tasks older than 7 days with no due date are automatically hidden from the main list to keep the view clean.
AI-powered import
Don’t feel like typing tasks one by one? Paste a block of free text or tabular data (from a spreadsheet, email, or note) and the AI import will parse it into individual tasks with due dates, tags, and subtasks. Preview the result before committing.
Tips
- Overdue tasks: A task past its due date that isn’t done stays visible until you complete it. You can optionally hide overdue tasks if you prefer a cleaner view.
- Reschedule: Need to push a task? The reschedule action moves all set dates forward to tomorrow at the same time — no need to manually adjust each field.
- Clearing a field: To remove a date you previously set, use the clear action. Simply leaving it blank in the edit form won’t clear it.
Our approach
Oter’s task system is grounded in decision science — the Zeigarnik effect (incomplete tasks occupy mental space), cognitive load theory (limiting visible items to reduce overwhelm), and implementation intentions (scheduling tasks increases follow-through). The Eisenhower matrix helps overcome urgency bias.