Support
Needs Doing for iPhone and Mac
Need help? Email andy.aiken@live.co.uk. It helps to say whether you're on iPhone or Mac and what you were doing when the problem happened.
How Needs Doing works
Needs Doing is for jobs that come round on a rhythm. Instead of a list of deadlines, it shows how far each task has gone through its cycle, and puts the most urgent at the top. A daily job one day late ranks the same as a monthly job one month late.
When you add a task, you choose when it happens:
- Today or by a date: a one-off job.
- At some point: a one-off with no date. It slowly moves up the list over a few weeks so it doesn't get forgotten.
- On a schedule: tied to the calendar, like bin day every Monday. Doing it late doesn't move the next one.
- Roughly every…: counted from when you last did it, like watering the plants every few days. Doing it late pushes the next one back.
Common questions
What do the colours mean?
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Not yet | Not due for a while. Only shown under All tasks. |
| Due soon | In the last fifth of the time until it's due. |
| Due | Due now, or up to half a cycle late. |
| Late | Between half a cycle and a whole cycle late. |
| Overdue | More than a whole cycle late. |
I added a task and it disappeared
The To do list only shows tasks that are due soon or later than that, so a task that isn't due yet waits out of sight. It's still there under All tasks, and when you add it, Needs Doing tells you when it will appear.
I missed bin day. Why isn't it overdue?
For tasks on a schedule, a missed one is normally just gone: there's no point putting out last week's bins. The task shows as due for the next one instead. If every occurrence really has to be done, open the task and change If it's missed to Each one must be done.
How do I undo a mistake?
Straight after ticking something off, tap Undo in the banner at the bottom of the screen. Later on, open the task and swipe the entry in its History to undo it.
My morning digest didn't arrive
- A digest is only sent on days when something is due. Settings shows the ones coming up.
- Check the digest is switched on and set to the time you expect. On iPhone, tap the gear on the To do screen; on a Mac, choose Needs Doing → Settings.
- Check notifications are allowed for Needs Doing in your device's Settings.
- On a Mac the digest is off unless you turn it on, so you don't get the same digest on both your iPhone and your Mac.
My list isn't the same on my iPhone and Mac
- Make sure both are signed into iCloud with the same Apple Account.
- Open Needs Doing on each device. Settings shows whether iCloud sync is on.
- Changes usually arrive within seconds when both apps are open, but can take longer if one of them has been in the background or offline.
- If you used Needs Doing without iCloud for a while, your tasks are merged into your iCloud list when you sign in. Nothing is lost, although a task you'd added on both devices may appear twice. Just delete one.
How do I delete everything?
Delete the app from each device, then remove its iCloud data: on iPhone, go to Settings → your name → iCloud → Storage, choose Needs Doing, and delete its data. See the privacy policy for more on what Needs Doing stores.