Today View
Your Daily Timeline
The Today view is where Set truly shines. It’s your personalized timeline that shows exactly when you’ll finish all your starred tasks for the day.
As you complete tasks, adjust time estimates, or reorder items, your completion time updates in real-time. This helps you make informed decisions about what you can realistically accomplish today.
Header Controls
- Tap the weekday: Cycle between color modes (Project, Priority, or Accent)
- Tap the date/time: Toggle between showing the current time or the date
Overview Section
The overview section shows your daily statistics at a glance. Tap it to toggle between two views:
- Normal view: Shows task count, duration, remaining time, and finish time
- Finish-time view: Shows only the finish time in large text for quick reference
This is just a size toggle for the overview, and it’s separate from the full-screen Focus Mode described below.
Focus Mode
Focus Mode (iPhone and iPad) is a distraction-free, read-only version of Today. Everything falls away except your task list and start times.
Entering Focus Mode
- Tap the empty space below your Today list, or
- Tap the Today tab again while you’re already on Today
What Changes
- The overview, date strip, toolbar, add button, and tab bar all disappear
- Each task’s colour bar, duration, and metadata are hidden too
- Rows become read-only, so tapping a task no longer opens it for editing
- The estimated Finish time shows at the bottom of the list
Checking Things Off
Tap a task to reveal its completion circle, then tap the circle to complete it. Tap the task again to hide the circle. Subtasks work the same way. Tap a completed task to hide it.
Leaving
Tap the exit button at the bottom, or tap the background again.
Settings
Two toggles under Settings → Interface fine-tune Focus Mode:
- Hide Completed in Focus Mode (default on): keeps finished tasks out of the list
- Hide Status Bar in Focus Mode (default off): hides the system status bar for an even cleaner screen
For the full walkthrough, see the Focus Mode documentation.
Week Planning
Set isn’t just for today, you can plan your entire week ahead.
Reveal the Week Strip
On iOS, swipe down on the Today view (or tap Show Week in the ⋯ menu) to reveal the week strip at the top. On macOS, the week strip is always visible.
Navigate Between Days
- Tap any date pill to view that day’s tasks
- Use the chevron arrows to move between weeks
- Tap Today to jump back to the current day
Full Planning for Any Day
Every day works just like Today, you can:
- Add tasks and breaks
- Drag to reorder your schedule
- Recalculate start times from your default day start time
- Export any day as PDF, Markdown, or Rich Text (see Export)
The recalculate button uses your default day start time (set in Settings) for future dates instead of “now”.
Drag Tasks onto Date Pills
Quickly move tasks between days by dragging them onto date pills in the week strip:
- Long-press a task to start dragging
- Drag it onto a date pill in the week strip
- Drop it, and the task is scheduled to that day
To reach a day that isn’t in the current week, hold the task over the week strip’s chevron arrows to page forward or back a week at a time, then drop it on any day, even next week.
The task will be starred and given a start time based on your default day start time. Works from both the Today view and Project views.
Schedule Date
The schedule pill on each task card lets you pick exactly when a task should happen.
How to Use
- Expand any task card
- Tap the calendar pill in the properties row
- Pick a date from the calendar
- Set a time using the hour and minute pickers
- Tap Done to confirm
Quick Options
- Today, schedule for today
- Tomorrow, schedule for tomorrow
- Clear, remove the schedule and unstar the task
When you schedule a task, it’s starred and appears in the Today view for that date. Start times are calculated from your chosen time.
Recalculate, Set’s Core Feature
The ↻ Recalculate button (top left of Today view) is the heart of Set. When life interrupts your plan, and it always does, one tap instantly rebuilds your entire day’s timeline without any manual math.
How It Works
When you tap recalculate, Set:
- Moves the first incomplete task to the new start time
- Chains every subsequent task and break one after another based on their durations
- Reschedules all notifications automatically
- Plays a subtle sound to confirm the recalculation happened
No mental arithmetic. No dragging each task individually. Your whole day is rebuilt in an instant.
Quick Tap vs Hold
Quick tap → recalculates from now (the nearest next 5-minute marker).
Hold or swipe the ↻ button to reveal all four options:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| From Now | Starts the first incomplete task at the nearest next 5-minute marker. E.g. if it’s 2:17 PM, tasks start at 2:20 PM. |
| From Next Half Hour | Starts from the next :00 or :30 mark. |
| From First Task | Keeps the first task’s current time fixed and recalculates everything after it. |
| Set Start Time | Opens a time picker so you can choose any custom start time. |
Locked Tasks
Tasks with a locked start time are skipped during recalculation, they stay pinned to their set time. All other tasks flow around them automatically.
For Future Days
When viewing a future day in the week strip, the recalculate button uses your default day start time (set in Settings) instead of “now”, since the current time doesn’t apply to future dates.
Calendar & Reminders Sync
Import events from Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders directly into your Today view.
Calendar Sync
- Calendar events appear as locked tasks in Today view
- Events use their original calendar color
- Sync happens automatically when you open the app or switch back to it
- Your schedule flows around locked events during recalculations
Reminders Import
- Pull tasks from multiple Apple Reminders lists
- Imported tasks include notes, due times, and priority levels
Enable Calendar and Reminders sync in Settings → Integrations.
Locked Start Times
Lock any task’s start time to keep it fixed during recalculations. Useful for events or calls at a set time.
To lock a task’s start time, expand the task card and tap the lock icon next to the start time. Locked tasks stay in place when you tap recalculate.
Adding Tasks to Today
⭐ Star Method
Tap the star icon on any task in your Inbox or Projects to instantly add it to Today.
➕ Direct Creation
Create tasks directly in the Today view by tapping the ”+” button. They’re automatically starred.
You can also drag the + button into your list to create a task at an exact spot. A dotted line with a plus shows where it will land, and the new task takes that position in your timeline.
📸 Scan Tasks from Image (Pro)
Photograph or import any list (handwritten notes, whiteboards, screenshots) from the Today toolbar and Set turns it into tasks, picking up durations, dates, and times automatically. Review and edit before adding. See the Scan Tasks documentation for details.
📅 Auto-Starring Scheduled Tasks
Tasks with a scheduled date automatically appear in your Today view on that day. This includes:
- Tasks scheduled for today
- Overdue tasks that haven’t been completed
- Repeating tasks that are scheduled for today
Toolbar Actions
Tap the ⋯ (ellipsis) button in the top right to access these options:
➕ Add Task
Create a new task that’s automatically starred and added to Today.
Free vs Pro
Free users can have up to 8 tasks per day in Today view. Overdue tasks from previous days don’t count against today’s limit. Pro users have unlimited tasks.
☕ Add Break
Toggle break mode to insert breaks between tasks. When active, + Add break buttons appear after each task. You can choose from:
- 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or 45 minutes
- 1 hour, 1.5 hours, or 2 hours
To edit a break’s duration, swipe right on it. Breaks can also be timed and completed within the Timer view.
🔍 Browse Tasks
Open the Browse Tasks sheet to quickly find and add tasks from your projects. Filter by project, priority, due date, and duration. Multi-select to add several tasks at once. Also accessible via long-press on the + button.
🎮 Select Mode
Select multiple tasks to perform bulk actions, including Batch Schedule to assign all selected tasks to a date and time at once.
📦 Log Completed Tasks
Archive completed tasks while preserving them for statistics. Choose from:
- Today Only: Log completed tasks from Today view
- All Completed: Log all completed tasks across all projects
👁️ Show/Hide Completed
Toggle visibility of completed tasks in your Today view.
📤 Export
Export any day’s timeline as PDF, Markdown, or Rich Text, plus a one-tap Email to Self that sends the list as text with the PDF attached. Perfect for sharing or printing your schedule.
How to Export:
- Tap the ⋯ (ellipsis) button in the top right
- Select “Export”
- Pick a format, or share via the share sheet
The export includes all task times, durations, and your complete timeline for the day. Export Options (under Settings → General) add black & white printing, include notes and subtasks, and set the Email to Self address. See the Export documentation for details.
Task Gestures
Both swipe directions are customizable under Settings → Interface, so you can assign the action that suits you.
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Swipe right | Edit duration (default), or any action you assign |
| Swipe left | Unstar from Today (default), or any action you assign |
| Skip to Tomorrow | A swipe action that moves the task to tomorrow. Turn on the evening option in Settings so it appears alongside your usual swipe only after a time you choose |
| Swipe a completed task | Logs that single finished task to Statistics and clears it from the list (iPhone and iPad). On Mac, right-click the task and choose Log Task |
| Swipe a blank new task | Deletes a just-created task that has no title yet, instead of running your usual swipe action |
| Tap the time | Edit the task’s start time directly, and all following tasks shift automatically |
| Tap the circle | Mark the task as complete |
Reordering Tasks
Drag and drop tasks to reorder them. This changes the sequence in which you’ll work on them, updating your completion times accordingly. Tasks automatically reorder when you change their start time.
Real-Time Updates
When you reorder tasks, Set instantly updates scheduled start times AND reschedules all notifications automatically. No need to manually update anything!
Logging Completed Tasks
Completed tasks can be logged to remove them from your active lists while preserving them in Statistics. Logged tasks can be reviewed or restored from the Statistics view.
Clear one at a time: Swipe any finished task in Today to log it on the spot (iPhone and iPad), or right-click it and choose Log Task on Mac. It moves to your stats and clears from the list, so you don’t have to log the whole day at once.
The bulk logging options vary by view:
In Today View:
- Today Only: Log completed tasks from Today
- All Completed: Log all completed tasks across all projects
In Other Views:
- Inbox Only: Log completed tasks from Inbox (available in project list view)
- This Project Only: Log completed tasks from the current project (available in project detail view)
Auto-logging can be enabled in Settings to automatically log completed tasks:
- At midnight
- On app launch
Handy Extras
A few smaller touches that make Today faster to work with:
- Quick Delete: Turn it on under Settings → Interface to delete tasks instantly, with no confirmation popup.
- Adjustable title length: Choose how many lines task and subtask titles show before they truncate, from one to five, under Settings → Interface.
- Auto-Move Overdue Tasks: Turn it on under Settings → Data to automatically pull unfinished scheduled tasks from recent days into today’s list when you open the app.
- Undo & Redo: Press ⌘Z to undo and ⌘⇧Z to redo, right across the app.
- Completed-task icon: Pick the classic tick or Set’s slash for completed tasks under Settings → Interface.