Frequently asked questions
What is Goals and Tasks?
A visual goal-mapping app that lets you break big goals into sub-goals and tasks, then view them as a radial map, timeline, outline, tree, or bracket.
Is it free?
Yes. The Free plan includes the Goal Map, Dashboard, Mobile access and one project — no credit card required. Pro ($9/mo) unlocks every view, unlimited projects, exports, imports, and AI features.
Do I need an account?
An account is required so your goals sync across sessions and devices.
What's the difference between a goal and a task?
Goals are outcomes you want to achieve — they describe a desired future state. They're typically broad, longer-term, and success-oriented. Example: "Get healthier" or "Launch a new product."
Tasks are specific actions you take to move toward a goal. They're concrete, completable, and time-bound. Example: "Go for a 30-minute run" or "Write the product landing page."
A simple way to think about it: goals answer "What do I want?" while tasks answer "What do I do next?"
The relationship between them is hierarchical — one goal usually breaks down into many tasks, and completing those tasks (ideally) gets you to the goal. The gap between a goal and tasks is often where planning lives: figuring out which tasks actually lead to which goals.
In Goals and Tasks, everything starts as a goal. A task is simply a leaf goal — a goal with no sub-goals beneath it. That distinction matters because tasks are the things you actually do, while higher-level goals are the outcomes those tasks add up to. Because tasks are the actionable units, only tasks can have recurrence (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and streaks. Parent goals automatically reflect the progress of the tasks underneath them, so checking off tasks rolls progress up the tree.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes. Goals and Tasks works in your phone's browser, and the Mobile Map view is optimized for touch — drag to reorder, tap goals to drill in, and check off tasks from the radial canvas. You can also add it to your home screen for quick access.
How do I turn a goal into tasks?
1. Create your top-level goal as the central hub of a new Goal Map (for example, "Get healthier").
2. Click the + button in the lower-right corner of the screen to add a sub-goal under the current hub. Repeat to break the goal into the major areas it depends on ("Exercise", "Eat better", "Sleep more").
3. Double-click any sub-goal to make it the center hub of the map, then keep adding children beneath it until you reach concrete, actionable items — those leaf nodes are your tasks ("Go for a 30-minute run", "Plan weekly meals").
4. Open a task to set a start date, due date, recurrence, notes, or tags in the property editor.
5. Check tasks off as you complete them. Progress automatically rolls up the tree, so parent goals fill in as their underlying tasks get done.
How do I add a sub-goal?
1. In the Goal Map, double-click the goal you want to expand so it becomes the center hub.
2. Click the + button in the lower-right corner of the screen to add a sub-goal under the current hub.
3. Repeat for each layer of the hierarchy until you reach concrete, actionable items — those leaf nodes are your tasks.
How do I create a task from scratch (without breaking down a goal first)?
There's no separate "new task" button — in Goals and Tasks, a task is simply a leaf goal (a goal with no children). So creating a standalone task means creating a goal and leaving it as a leaf.
The quickest way:
1. From the Dashboard, click New Project (or open an existing catch-all project like "Inbox" or "Quick Tasks" if you keep one for loose to-dos). Give the hub a name like "Today" or "Errands".
2. On the Goal Map, click the + button in the lower-right corner of the screen to add a new goal under the current hub. Name it after the action you want to do ("Call the dentist", "Submit expense report").
3. Leave it as a leaf — don't add children under it. That makes it a task.
4. Click the goal to open the property editor and set its dates on the Details tab:
• Start Date — when you can begin (required if you want recurrence or to track streaks).
• Due Date — when it needs to be done. This drives the status colors (red = overdue, yellow = due today) and its position on the Timeline.
• Recurrence — optional, for tasks that repeat (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Custom).
5. Check it off from the goal's checkmark badge when done. If you'd rather work from a list, the Outline view and the Focus Zone both let you tick tasks off without going back to the map.
Tip: many people keep one project as a general "Tasks" hub for one-off to-dos that don't belong to a bigger goal yet — you can always drag them into a real goal later using the Clip Tray.
What is the Clip Tray?
The Clip Tray is the narrow panel along the right edge of the Goal Map. Think of it as a global "parking spot" for goals you want to set aside without deleting them.
How to use it:
• Drag any goal from the canvas into the tray to stash it.
• Drag it back onto the canvas — at any level of the hierarchy — when you're ready to use it again.
• Items in the tray persist across hierarchy levels and navigation, so you can move a sub-goal from one branch to another by parking it in the tray, drilling into a different parent, and dropping it back in.
It's especially useful for reorganizing branches, holding ideas you haven't placed yet, or temporarily clearing the canvas without losing work.
Plan note: the Project Clip Tray is available on the Free plan. The Global Clip Tray, which moves goals between projects, is a Pro feature.
How do I switch between view modes (Map, Outline, Tree, Bracket, Timeline)?
Every project opens in the Goal Map by default, but the same goals can be viewed several other ways.
1. Open a project so you're inside the Goal Map.
2. Use the view switcher on the left side of the canvas to jump between modes:
• Goal Map — the radial hub-and-spoke canvas.
• Outline — a hierarchical, collapsible list with depth bands.
• Tree Diagram — a top-down hierarchy with smooth bezier connections, pan and zoom.
• Bracket — a tournament-style horizontal layout showing parent-child flow.
• Dashboard — a high-level summary of the project's progress and status.
3. Timeline is a separate view, opened from the Timeline button in the top navigation bar. It shows a monthly Gantt-style view based on each goal's start and due dates.
4. You can also open the Focus Zone overlay to see priority leaf tasks pulled from across the entire map.
All views share the same underlying data — switching views never changes your goals, just how you see them.
Plan note: the Goal Map and Dashboard are included in the Free plan. Outline, Tree Diagram, Bracket, Timeline, and the Focus Zone are Pro features.
How do recurrence and streaks work?
Recurrence and streaks only apply to tasks — that is, leaf nodes (goals with no sub-goals beneath them). Parent goals can't recur because they're outcomes, not actions.
Setting up recurrence:
1. Open a leaf task in the property editor.
2. Set a Start Date (required for recurrence tracking).
3. Choose a recurrence pattern: Daily, Weekdays, Weekly, Monthly, or Custom (every N days/weeks/months, or specific weekdays).
How streaks work:
• Each time you complete a scheduled occurrence, your current streak goes up by 1.
• Miss a scheduled occurrence and the current streak resets to 0.
• Your best streak is preserved as a personal record, even after a reset.
• A recurrence grid on the Details tab shows which past occurrences were completed or missed, so you can see your consistency at a glance.
For a calendar-style overview of every recurring task across your projects, open the Recurring Tasks Calendar.
How does progress roll up the tree?
You only check off tasks (leaf nodes). Progress on every parent goal above them is calculated automatically.
The rules:
• A leaf task is either 0% (not done) or 100% (done). Recurring tasks count today's scheduled occurrence.
• A parent goal's progress is the average of its direct children's effective progress.
• That average rolls all the way up — so completing a deep task nudges its parent, grandparent, and ultimately the root goal forward.
• When every descendant of a goal hits 100%, the goal itself shows 100% (green / Done).
Status colors follow the same roll-up: if any descendant is overdue, the parent shows red; if any is due today, yellow; otherwise it reflects in-progress or done state. This means you can glance at a top-level goal and immediately see whether anything underneath it needs attention — without drilling in.
What do the goal colors mean?
Goals and tasks use a simple color code so you can see status at a glance:
• Blue — In progress. The task or goal is active and on track (not yet due, not yet done).
• Green — 100% Done. The task is checked off, or every descendant of a parent goal has been completed.
• Yellow — Due Today or Starts Today. Time-sensitive: the task either needs to be done today or is scheduled to begin today.
• Red — Overdue. The due date has passed and the task isn't complete.
For parent goals, the color rolls up from their descendants: if anything underneath is overdue, the parent shows red; if anything is due today, yellow; and so on. That way a top-level goal's color tells you whether something below it needs attention.