how to schedule a recurring task in Microsoft to-do

Question

How can I schedule a recurring task that occurs on the 3 Wed of every month or one that occurs on the 2nd Saturday of every April? Both of these are very easy in Outlook but I've yet to find a way in To-Do

***moved from Outlook / Windows / Classic Outlook for Windows / For home***

Answer 1

Hi OneMrEd

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I realize that you've encountered a problem with " How to schedule a recurring task in Microsoft to-do ", and I understand how you feel. Don't worry, I'll do my best to help you.

There are currently some functional limitations in setting complex recurring tasks in Microsoft To Do (such as "the third Wednesday of every month" or "the second Saturday of April"). Although To Do supports basic recurring task settings, other methods are required to implement periodic tasks with non-fixed intervals. The following are specific operation suggestions and alternatives:

1. Advanced Recurring Tasks with Outlook

Since Outlook offers more powerful recurring task features, follow these steps to create complex recurring tasks and sync them with Microsoft To Do:

Create Recurring Tasks in Outlook

1. Open Outlook → Go to "Tasks" → Create a new task → Set the subject, due date, etc. → Click "Recurrence."
2. In the recurrence settings, choose "Monthly" → Select "By week" → Set specific conditions like "The third Wednesday" or "The second Saturday."
3. Save the task. It will automatically sync with the "Planned" list or "Assigned to Me" list in Microsoft To Do.

Sync and View

• Ensure that Outlook and Microsoft To Do are logged into the same Microsoft 365 account. Task data will automatically sync.
• When viewing synced tasks in Microsoft To Do, note:
  • Recurrence rules can only be edited in Outlook, while Microsoft To Do will display only the due date for the current cycle.
  • To adjust recurrence rules, you will need to go back to Outlook.

2. Limitations and Future Updates

• Current Limitation: Microsoft To Do's recurring task functionality does not yet support complex recurrence rules and is primarily designed for simple scenarios (e.g., daily or fixed weekly recurrence).
• Future Possibilities: Microsoft is gradually integrating features between Outlook and To Do (for example, the deeper integration of Teams with Outlook Calendars). Future updates may include support for more advanced recurring task settings.

Summary:

• Simple Recurring Tasks: Use the "Repeat" feature directly in Microsoft To Do.
• Complex Recurring Tasks:
  • Create them in Outlook first and sync to Microsoft To Do to utilize Outlook's full recurrence rules.
  • Manually adjust dates as a temporary workaround.

I hope these suggestions have been helpful to you!

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions or need any further help.

Best regards

Adrian.C-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Thank you very much for the thoroughness of your reply.  I was actually going through all of my recurring Outlook tasks and converting them to Microsoft to do because I thought Outlook task are going away with the introduction of the new Outlook interface?  Is this not the case and will Outlook tasks remain usable when the conversion to the new outlook UI  is fully implemented?

Also I noticed that any of my current Outlook tasks that are the complex rules display in Microsoft to do as shown in the screenshot below.  I guess it didn't dawn on me that even though they can't display they would be fully functional.

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated!

Answer 3

Hi OneMrEd

You are so welcome.

Don’t worry, in the new version of Outlook, although there is no direct Task function, it seems to have been integrated with To Do, but after my test, you can still create recurring tasks through the calendar:

And provides a lot of plug-ins for you to choose from:

So you don't have to worry about not being able to create recurring tasks like this in the future. You mentioned that any complex rules in the current Outlook tasks will be displayed in Microsoft to do, which is normal. Microsoft accounts themselves will be synchronized with each other in applications that support cross-application synchronization, and the two functions are similar in themselves and will be merged under the promotion of Microsoft.

Finally, I wish you a happy life! Welcome to post in the community next time!

Best regards

Adrian.C-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 4

Thank you Adrian.