Apple devices and automation

Widgets, Controls and Apple Watch

Keep a project on your Home Screen, desktop or wrist, tick tasks off without opening the app, and fix a widget that looks empty.

On this page
  1. Pick what the widget shows
  2. Add a widget
  3. Why a task is missing from a widget
  4. Tasks on Apple Watch
  5. Every related feature

A Tasks widget keeps one project or list in view, so you can see what is next and tick it off without opening the app. Everything stays in sync, so a task you finish on your wrist is done on your iPhone, iPad and Mac too.

Pick what the widget shows

Tasks has three widgets. Choose the one that matches how you look for work.

Widget Shows What you can tap
Projects Tasks from one project, one status column at a time The checkbox moves a task to its next status. The column name in the header switches columns. + opens Create Task.
Smart Lists and Filters A Smart List or a filter such as Today The checkbox, or a task to open it
Tags The tags you pick A tag to open its tasks

A good first widget is Projects set to Home, so the household list is always one glance away.

Add a widget

  1. Touch and hold an empty spot on the Home Screen, then tap Edit and Add Widget.
  2. Search for Tasks, choose Projects and pick a size.
  3. Touch and hold the new widget, choose Edit Widget, tap Project and pick Home.

For a Smart Lists and Filters widget, tap Smart List instead and pick a list or a filter, such as Today.

Point a Projects widget at Home and a Smart Lists and Filters widget at Today. The Home widget opens on its Do column.

Widgets follow the look you choose for your Home Screen. Touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Customize, and pick Dark, Tinted or Clear.

Dark keeps the colours, while tinted and clear turn the widgets and the Tasks icon monochrome.

On the Lock Screen, touch and hold, tap Customize, then add a rectangular or circular Tasks widget. Widgets also work in StandBy when your iPhone is charging on its side.

Two rectangular widgets keep Work and Home in view without unlocking your iPhone.

For one-tap capture, add the Add Task control to Control Center or the Lock Screen. It opens Create Task straight away.

The same widgets work on iPad and Mac. On iPad, add them from the Home Screen just as on iPhone. On Mac, right click the desktop and choose Edit Widgets, search for Tasks and drag a widget into place, then right click it and choose Edit “Projects”. iPad and Mac also offer an extra large size, which fits several columns of a board.

Why a task is missing from a widget

A widget shows only the project, column or filter you chose. If a task you expect is not there:

  1. Check the widget’s project and the column in its header. Tap the column name to switch to the next column, or to All.
  2. For a Smart List or a date filter such as Today, make sure the task matches it. A task with no date will not appear in Today.
  3. Open Tasks once. Widgets refresh on the system’s schedule, and opening the app nudges them.

Tasks on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch app opens your projects, lets you swipe through a board’s columns, and completes a task with a tap. To add one, tap + and dictate or type the title.

Add a complication to your watch face for a quick look at a project, or the Create Task complication to capture from your wrist. A running timer also shows in the Smart Stack.

The Apple Watch app pairs with your iPhone. Tasks you add or complete on your wrist appear on your iPad and Mac as soon as they sync.

Start with one widget for the project you open most, then add a second only if you keep reaching for it.

Explore all 15 related features

Browse the related features below for more detail, or search every feature.

iPhone app

Capture and manage Tasks on iPhone.

iPad app

Use Tasks with touch, keyboard, trackpad and larger layouts.

Mac app

Plan projects and boards in a desktop interface.

Apple Watch app

Capture, review and complete work from your wrist.

Apple Vision Pro app

Use Tasks on Apple Vision Pro.

Project widgets

Show tasks from a chosen project.

Smart List widgets

Show a chosen Smart List or filter.

Tag widgets

Open or review work connected to selected tags.

Interactive widgets

Complete supported tasks without first opening the app.

Home Screen widgets

Use small, medium, large and supported extra-large layouts.

Lock Screen widgets

Use circular and rectangular accessory widgets.

Watch widgets

See Tasks information in supported watchOS widget areas.

Watch capture widget

Open task creation from a watch face or widget.

Watch complications

Keep Tasks available from supported watch faces.

Cross-device CloudKit sync

Keep work in sync across signed-in Apple devices.