To-Dos

Every project you start automatically has the To-Do tool. Use this to make lists of tasks that need to get done, assign those out, and set due dates. 

Jump ahead to:

• Create a To-do List
• Assigning To-dos
• Recurring To-dos
• Bulk assign, archive, or edit due dates
• Reassign to-dos in bulk
• Assigning multiple people to a To-do
• Group To-dos
• Convert a group into a new list
• Get notified about new To-Dos
• Use Hill Charts

Create a To-do List

Individual to-dos need to belong to a list so that's where we'll start. Click the "+New List" button to get started, give it a title, and type out a description if you'd like to. The description (1) is a great place to add notes, files, links, or even @mention people:

In addition to that, you can:

2. Use a to-do list template to create a new list
3. Track this newly created list on the Hill Chart

Assigning To-dos

Start with individual to-dos by giving it a title. You can get descriptive here by adding notes, designating when it is due, assigning it to anyone you're on that project with, and even choose to notify someone specific when it's done. Options!

When you begin typing someone's name in the "Assigned to" field, Basecamp will display matching results. Keep in mind that you can only assign a task to someone who is a part of this particular project:

When you assign a to-do to someone else, they'll receive a notification. Once it's done, they can click in the checkbox next to the to-do to mark it as complete. Anyone who asked to be notified when the task was done will be!

To-dos can also be assigned a due date or a span of dates — select the radio button for the type you need. Then, select the date(s). The person assigned will get a reminder notification at 9:00 AM the day before the due date and again at 9:00 AM on the day it’s due.

Leave a note, pictures or other files if the to-do needs more detail:

To edit a list or to-do title, click it, then click Edit at the top left. When you're done, click Save changes.

If you edit a due date, you'll see that change in the discussion section below the to-do itself:

Move items in your list or between lists by clicking and dragging the small grip icon to the left. Drop them in their new place. You can do this with entire lists, too!

You can see the number of completed to-dos in your lists at a glance, so you always know how much you've done:

Recurring to-dos

Need to update marketing materials every month? Mail out paperwork on a weekly basis? Or remember to clean your humidifier? We've got you covered! 

When you create a dated to-do in Basecamp, there's an option to mark the to-do as recurring. You can decide how often this task should repeat and how long it should repeat for:

Similar to recurring events, to-dos can be set up to repeat every day, every week, every other week, or every year. 

There are also other pre-defined options for a to-do to recur every weekday (Monday through Friday), every month on the day of the month you've chosen (ex: every 4th Tuesday), or every month on that day (ex: the 25th day of each month):

Each recurring to-do is a bit unique! This means that:

• If a to-do is not completed, you'll see them begin to pile up. Mark them as complete to clear them and get back on schedule.
• If you comment on or boost a to-do, it will not transfer over to any other to-dos in the past and it won't have an effect on future to-dos.

However, if you change the due date of a recurring to-do, it'll change the due date for future to-dos. Same if you were to change how frequently the to-do repeats:

What else might you need to know about recurring to-dos? Just two more things!

1. You might be used to seeing recurring events populate your Schedule. Dated to-dos will appear on your Schedule as well (if you've chosen so), but you won't see an infinite number of to-dos, only the next to-do that is due.
2. To-dos exist in lists but could also be a part of a to-do group. Archiving recurring to-dos, their group, or the to-do list they're a part of will put an end to any repeating to-dos. 

Bulk assign, archive, or edit due dates

You can assign, archive, or edit the due dates for multiple to-dos all at once.

To do that, simply click on the ≣ button next to any to-do. Then, press and hold the Command key (Mac) or Control key (Windows) and click on all the to-dos you want to work on:

Among others, you'll also see three options: Assign X to-dos, Due on, or Archive them: 

If you select Assign X to-dos, you'll be taken to a new page where you can choose a user from a dropdown menu to assign the to-dos to:

If you choose the Due on option, you'll be taken to a page where you can easily change the due dates:

Or shift them forward:

If you no longer need the to-dos, you can archive them.

Reassign someone's to-dos in bulk

Assigning multiple people to a to-do

You can assign multiple people to a single to-do but it takes just one person to mark the to-do as complete. There are two alternatives:

① Title a to-do list with the task. In this example, the goal is to confirm that everyone is set up in Basecamp so the title of the to-do list is "Confirmation." Each to-do in that list is the name of each person that should confirm this. When they check off their name, we're left with a list of folks that have yet to complete this:

② Title a to-do list with the assignee's name. The title of the list would be their name, and each to-do item in that list could contain the to-dos that need to be done. This list can be copied many times over so that all you need to do is change the title of the list. You can bulk-select these to-dos and assign them. Again, please keep in mind that it takes just one person to mark a to-do as complete!

Group To-dos

A group is like a sublist on a list. It has a header, and to-dos grouped below. To-do Groups are excellent for organizing work around disciplines (to build this feature designers need to do this, programmers need to do that, and when QA finds something fishy they can log things, too). Or for moving work through phases. You can drag to-dos between phases, set up work in advance, and even keep future phases empty until it’s time to slot work in.

There are two ways to make a group of to-dos on a list:

• To make an empty group (which you can fill later), click the hamburger menu to the left of the list name. Select “Add a group”.

• To group together to-dos that are already on a list, press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and click the hamburger menu to the left of each to-do you want to group (or shift-select a range to-dos), and select the “Group them” option in the menu. 

Groups can be copied or moved from the ≡ menu to the left of the Group name:

Convert a group into a new list

It's natural for to-do groups to evolve and need to become their very own to-do lists. You can make that change easily in Basecamp!

To convert a group into a list, click the three horizontal lines just to the left of the group. You'll see the option there to convert this group into a list:

The other way to do this is by clicking on the ••• menu to the right of the to-do group:

Get notified about new To-Dos

If you’d like to receive notifications when to-dos are added to a specific list, just go to that list in Basecamp. Inside the right-hand menu, you’ll see a new option to receive these notifications:

Once you’ve turned on notifications, you’ll see messages in your Hey! menu every time someone adds a new to-do to that list:

Prefer to get email notifications? No problem — we’ll bundle up these notifications so your inbox doesn’t get clobbered every time someone adds a to-do:

These notifications are only for you and only for a particular list. Other people will have to opt-in if they’d like to receive notifications, too. 

Want to stop receiving notifications? Just visit the to-do list, open the menu, and turn off the notification. :)

Next up: Card Tables →

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