Task Zero is a keyboard-first GTD task management system for Obsidian.
If you’ve ever used MyLifeOrganized, the UI will be immediately familiar. I love MLO and used it for many years, and wanted a similar experience inside Obsidian.
The goals of this project are:
Reduce friction as much as possible.
Everything can be managed from a single interface on the main task page.
You can interact with this plugin via API as well. For example, here’s how you can get a list of your Next Actions, and output them as a Dataview task list:
```dataviewjs
// Get the list of next actions from Task Zero
const nextActions = tz.tasks.getTasks('next-action')
// Output the list as a Dataview task list
dv.taskList(
dv.pages().file.tasks
.filter(task => nextActions
.map(x => tz.tasks.blockPrefix + x.id)
.includes(task.blockId))
)
```
Bought MyLifeOrganized almost 20 years ago and I really loved it - no idea when I stopped using it, probably when I fell into the trap of giving all the, back then, constantly appearing productivity/GTD apps and websites one try after another.
Looking forward to give this a try once it’s in the community plugins (hopefully during the holidays).
I had a question that the documentation does not already clearly answer [1]: Let’s say I define a project (call it “project 1” for now) in a note by making a task with subtasks. Can I add subtasks to project 1 from anywhere else in the vault?
I know that the documentation says
Please note that the projects do not need to be part of a single list. They could be in separate sections of a note, or in completely different notes.
To me, that quote means that projects (i.e. tasks with subtasks) can be defined from anywhere in the vault, and I do not need to manually maintain a note with a list of all the projects. It’s still not clear whether projects can be updated from anywhere in the vault.
Here’s my use-case: I’m a grad student and I have an idea for a new project while writing in my daily note, and I can think through the first few steps of that project. Every week I have a meeting with my advisor going over my progress, and discussing further steps I should take. I take meeting notes every week, and I prefer making a new note for each meeting.
In this scenario I would like to be able to identify actionable items in my meeting notes, and be able to assign them to the appropriate project without having to search for the daily note where I first listed the project’s steps.
Caveat: I have not yet installed the plugin to try it out. It’s possible the plugin’s onboarding or task creation UI clears this up. In any case, I feel like the documentation should spell it out clearly. ↩︎
came back to this after trying your original one almost 3 years ago and I really like the direction it’s going but I’m getting really buggy behavior here, so not sure if it’s a problem on my side or plugin’s.
I create a new note with nested (even 1 level) tasks and instead of registering it as a project it flattens out the structure by removing indentation and making everthing an inbox task
I add a task to a project and it flattens it into a standalone task
I archive a completed project and it leaves incomplete tasks of that project in place assigning them to the nearest unindented task as a project task
i marked something as action and could not move it to a project either by indenting in the note or by moving to a project in the plugin
I added a task to the project and it doesn’t show up at all in the plugin
most of my projects are in projects tab but one is stuck in actions tab
I really really wanted to love it but at this point the behavior is just too bizarre. if you think it’s on my side any ideas what I should be looking at to fix these issues?
Really hope to see it working right some time soon!
Can you try it with a Sandbox vault? It’s possible that some other plugin is conflicting and changing the indenting. Or alternatively it might be something sync related.
This has replaced my previous GTD setup. I’ve also stopped using the Tasks plugin - it still integrates fine with the new plugin, but I have no need for it anymore.
I have been a big fan of your original GTD with Obsidian dataview script. I wasn’t familiar with MyLifeOrganized but am definitely interested in this. I’ve installed it and am playing around with it a bit.
I have a few immediate asks/suggestions:
I think subtasks/subprojects need to retain their hierarchy in the task list. Right now I can see a task for a lecture I need prepped for today at the top (because it’s due today), then two subtasks for it below in the next action section. It’s confusing when they are all related tasks and belong together on the tasklist but are spread out instead. Similarly on the Projects page it’s confusing to see subprojects from one page spread out instead of nested under their root project.
Could you add the name of the file where the tasks/projects come from? I can mouse over and see it, but would rather have it displayed. I really liked in your GTD dv script that you could see the name of the project/heading underneath a next action.
It would be helpful to have a list to see all scheduled tasks somewhere. It’s good per GTD to keep them off the main tasklist until they’re due, but it’s helpful to have a place to see them all if something changes. For example, sometimes I log a phone call with friend for a future date, but then it changes. It’s tough to track down the original task with it gone off the tasklist entirely. Thinking about this more though, this may just be a me thing where I need to be more judicious about whether something needs a due date or a scheduled date. Alternatively, you could consider a Tickler tab for scheduled tasks.
The documentation has been helpful, but I’d add a bit more to getting started. I could’ve missed it, but it wasn’t clear to me that the tasklist would be an icon in my sidebar and that I’d access it there. I also think it could be clearer that you need to set a hotkey to open the tasklist right off the bat.
Thank you so much for this! I think it’s going to ultimately replace the dv script for me once I figure out some of these kinks. It’s so much easier to edit tasks this way and also to sort by context.
Also, the system seems to not be able to handle reccurring tasks. When I tried importing my tickler system into it, it just checks off the original task but doesn’t create a new one.
I might need to see a screenshot of this one to understand exactly what you mean.
In GTD, a project (the parent task) is a stake in the ground to let you know that something is unfinished. The sub-tasks are the individual actions which need to be taken, and prepping for a lecture would be the action which needs the due date.
Subtasks are sequential, which means that you should only see the very next action in your Next Action section. You shouldn’t see both subtasks.
Could you give a real-world example of how this would be useful? A GTD Next Action should be self-contained, i.e. all the info you need about the task should be in the task description itself.
Sorry for the double post, fat finger something and ended up posting a 1/2 finished post. I’m a new user who can’t edit my post yet.
Anyway,
Was there a resolution to this? I’m having a similar issues. I have tested with a brand new vault, default install of obsidian (1.11.7) and only the BRAT and TaskZero (0.1.17) plugs installed.
I want to be able to have my project/tasks setup as follows
Project 1
Task 1
Task 2
etc…
If I just type it that way in a new note file as soon as I go to the task list it gets flattened (no indents).
If I try and “process” them through the task list I can’t assign(move) more then one task per project. The indentation/order of task that I’m not changing change when I edit other tasks.
On your website the “Projects” over/instructions page is exactly how I would like to have my projects/task list setup. I would use both sequential and parallel project setups.
At no point can I get the task list to only show the “project 1” project and task 1, it always shows project 1, task 1 and task 2. Task 2 should not show until task 1 is complete.
Maybe I’m just not understanding how to use the plugin to get the result I want.
Can the plugin auto detect indents and setup project/sub-task hierarchy based on indents or does all the that setup need to be done through the plugin task page?
I had played around with your script/dataview setup and it was ok. I would like to use this one as it has a cleaner look/feel to it.
May the Review Queue be short,
May the manifest.json be pleasing,
May no linting error be fatal,
And may the sacred “Approve” button
Be pressed with confidence and joy.
Task Zero was built for the faithful —
Those who believe the Home Row is superior to the Mouse,
Who processes inboxes like monks copying manuscripts,
And who whispers “weekly review” without fear.
If it pleases the Council,
Let Task Zero emerge from Pending Review
And join the blessed ranks of Community Plugins.
In return, I promise:
One unused CSS snippet
Three abandoned side projects
And a solemn promise; “Not to rename folders for at least 30 days”
Thank you for your time, your patience,
And your divine moderation powers.
A Small Prayer to the Gods of Obsidian 
)