# Create a task

> Add a task by typing it the way you would say it. Prior reads the date, time, priority, project and repeat from your words and fills the fields for you.

Source: https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/create-a-task/
Last updated: 2026-11-05

Write the task as a sentence. Prior highlights the words it understands and fills in the fields, so "Call the printer tomorrow at 10am p2 for 20 min #Work" becomes a task with a date, a time, a priority, a duration and a project.

## Add a task

1. Press <kbd>N</kbd>, click **New task**, or tap **+** on a phone. In the desktop app <kbd>Cmd</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>N</kbd> works too.
2. Type the title. Words Prior understands light up as you type.
3. Press <kbd>Enter</kbd>, <kbd>Cmd</kbd> <kbd>↵</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> <kbd>↵</kbd>, or choose **Create task**.

Add a description under the title if you need one. Every field can also be set by hand.

## What Prior reads

Reading happens on your device, instantly, in English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch, mixed freely.

| Field | Examples |
| --- | --- |
| Due date | `today`, `tomorrow`, `friday`, `next monday`, `in 3 days`, `in 2 weeks`, `end of month`, `march 3` (the next one to come) |
| Time | `at 3pm`, `15:30`, `tomorrow morning`, `tonight`, `noon` |
| Duration | `30 min`, `1h30`, `for 45 min` |
| Priority | `p1` to `p4`, `high priority`, `low priority`, `not urgent` or `not important` (P4), `urgent` or `asap` (P1), `important` (P2), `!!!` (P1) and `!!` (P2) at the end |
| Reminder | `remind me` |
| Repeat | `every day`, `every weekday`, `every 2 weeks`, `every monday`, `every! 2 weeks` |
| Project | `#Name`, or the project's name in the sentence |
| Assignee | `@Name`, in a shared project |
| Story points | `3 pts`, in a Scrum or Scrumban project |

A repeat sets the first due date to today, or to the next listed weekday. See [Recurring tasks](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/recurring-tasks/).

Prior is careful. "Weekly report" is not a repeat, "important" in the middle of a sentence is a word and not a priority, and a number like 1.5 is not a date. Readings it is less sure of appear as suggestions above the fields: choose one to apply it or **×** to dismiss it. Click a highlighted word to keep it as text in the title.

A list after a colon, like "Groceries: milk, eggs and bread", offers to **Turn into a checklist** with three items. If you do not name a project, Prior may guess it from your similar tasks: a sure guess is applied, a weaker one is offered.

## The fields you see

The sheet shows the fields that matter for this kind of task and keeps the rest behind the **+** button. A field also appears once it holds a value, whether you set it or Prior detected it.

| Kind of task | Fields shown first |
| --- | --- |
| Personal task | Due date, Priority, Project |
| Task in a project | Due date, Priority, and Assignee when the project is shared |
| Software project, Kanban | Status, Assignee, Priority, Due date |
| Software project, Scrum or Scrumban | Status, Assignee, Story points, Due date |

The **+** menu adds the others: Reminder, Repeat, Duration, Checklist, Area, Follow up, Sub-tasks and dependencies, and more. See [Task details](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/task-details/).

A new task starts as **Todo** with priority P4, or as **Backlog** in a software project. In a shared project it is assigned to you unless you name someone with `@`.

## Create several tasks in a row

Turn on **Create more** to keep the sheet open after you save, ready for the next task. If you close a new task without saving, Prior keeps the title and description as a draft. The next new task offers **Draft restored · Discard**, and a draft expires after 7 days.

## Other ways to add a task

- The quick-add field on Today and the **Add task** row under each group. See [Quick capture](https://priortasks.com/docs/tasks/quick-capture/).
- A project's own quick-add line, and the **+** of a board column or a matrix quadrant, which preset their fields.
- The [command palette](https://priortasks.com/docs/getting-started/command-palette/): type a sentence and choose **Create task**.
- [Prior AI](https://priortasks.com/docs/prior-ai/assistant/) and assistants connected through [MCP](https://priortasks.com/docs/integrations/mcp/).
- An email in the mail inbox: right-click a message and choose **Add to task**.
- A file from another app. See [Import your data](https://priortasks.com/docs/getting-started/import-your-data/).

> [!pro]
> With Prior AI, the sheet also suggests a project, an assignee, a priority and a duration while you type, and **Prefill** asks right away. Values it applies show a violet sparkle, and you can change any of them. Without Prior AI, everything above still works.