> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: /help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plan a project with sections and milestones

> Collect the tasks for one piece of work, split them into sections on a list or board, add dated milestones, and link the project to a goal or life area.

A project holds the tasks for one piece of work with an end, such as a move, a trip or a renovation. Inside a project you sort tasks into sections, see them as a list or a board, add dated milestones and keep notes. This page covers creating a project, both of its tabs, and finishing, archiving or deleting it.

## Create a project

**1. Open Projects**

Click **Projects** under **My Life** in the sidebar, or press **G** then **P**.

**2. Click New project**

Click **New project** at the top right. The new project opens straight away.

**3. Name it**

Type a name in place of **New project**. To note what the project is for, point at the space above the name and click **Add description**.

To change the icon or color, click the icon next to the name. It's the same picker as for [life areas](/help/life-areas.md#create-a-life-area). In the color list, turn on **Inherit color** to use the color of the goal or life area the project is aligned to.

Each project has two tabs at the top: **Overview** for the project itself and **Tasks** for its tasks. A project reopens on the tab you last used in it. This is remembered per browser and in the Mac app, not across devices.

## The Overview tab

![The Overview tab of the project Move to Lisbon, with the Overview and Tasks tabs at the top: its name and description, Alignment, Date and Progress, an empty Notes section, and a Milestones section with one milestone, Keys in hand, dated Mar 4, 2027](https://mintcdn.com/heym/n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj/images/projects/project-overview.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj\&q=85\&s=a63c7ddf9227e9a93a66c30c65c1cf6c)

A project's Overview tab

| Part | What it's for |
| - | - |
| **Alignment** | Links the project to a goal or a life area. |
| **Date** | When the project starts. Turn on **Deadline** to add an end date. |
| **Progress** | Fills by itself: the share of the project's tasks that are completed. |
| **Notes** | Space for plans, links or a checklist. The placeholder reads "Add notes, docs, or a spec…". |
| **Milestones** | Dated checkpoints, with a count of how many are done. |

### Link a project to a goal or life area

1. On the **Overview** tab, click under **Alignment**.
2. Search or scroll, then pick a goal (or subgoal) or a life area.

A project linked to a goal also belongs to that goal's life area, and the goal's page lists it under **Projects**. To unlink it, open the same menu and click **Clear**.

![The Alignment menu with lea typed in the search box, three goals under Goals, Growth & Learning under Life areas, and Clear at the bottom](https://mintcdn.com/heym/n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj/images/projects/alignment-picker.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj\&q=85\&s=c4c8be13d8235c277f9994166bffa035)

Type to narrow the list: goals first, then life areas

### Add milestones

Milestones mark the moments that matter, like "Contract signed" or "Keys in hand".

1. In **Milestones**, click **Add milestone**, type a name and press **Enter**.
2. Point at the milestone and click **Set date** at its right to give it a date.
3. When you reach it, click the circle in front of its name.

Drag milestones to reorder them. To rename or delete one, point at it, click **⋯** at its right, and choose **Rename milestone** or **Delete milestone**.

## The Tasks tab

The **Tasks** tab shows the project's tasks, grouped into sections.

![The Tasks tab of Move to Lisbon as a board, showing the Paperwork and Apartment columns, each holding task cards with an assignee and a date, and a New task button at the bottom](https://mintcdn.com/heym/n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj/images/projects/project-tasks.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj\&q=85\&s=f1a43f550057fe26a8455d825abcef0b)

The Tasks tab as a board, one column per section

To add a task, click **New task** under a section, or **+** next to a section's name on the board. It's filed into the project, in that section.

### Use sections

Sections split a project into stages or topics, such as "Paperwork", "Apartment" and "Moving day".

* Click **Add section** (on a board, it's to the right of the last column), type a name and press **Enter**.
* Drag tasks between sections to move them, and drag sections to reorder them.
* Click **⋯** next to a section's name to **Rename section**, **Hide group** or **Delete section**.

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline src="https://mintcdn.com/heym/RxdohfEkT1hOgZzU/videos/projects/drag-between-sections.mp4?fit=max&auto=format&n=RxdohfEkT1hOgZzU&q=85&s=3354318d7bf1dcb2d22473ad8b0789a8" aria-label="On the Move to Lisbon board, dragging the task Compare deposit terms out of the Apartment column and dropping it at the bottom of the Paperwork column" />

Drag a task to another section's column

Tasks that aren't in a section appear under **No section**. When you delete a section, its tasks stay in the project and move to **No section**.

### Switch between list and board

Click the view settings button (the sliders icon) at the right of the tab row.

| Option | What it does |
| - | - |
| **List** or **Board** | Shows tasks as rows under each section, or as cards in one column per section. |
| **Group** | Click **Group** to open the **Groups** page, then click **Group** there and choose **Section** (the default), **Priority**, **Date** or **Assignee**. On a board, each group becomes a column. |
| **Display properties** | Picks what each task shows: **Alignment**, **Date**, **Labels**, and **Assignee** once you share something with someone or accept a share. |
| **Show** | **Open** tasks only, or **All** to add a **Completed** group. A list also offers **Completed** on its own. |

![The project's view settings with List and Board, Group set to Section, Display properties Alignment, Assignee, Date and Labels, and Show set to Open](https://mintcdn.com/heym/n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj/images/projects/display-settings.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj\&q=85\&s=b4642baff1fa9f3497fccd6c7f302006)

View settings on the Tasks tab

On the same **Groups** page, turn on **Hide empty groups**, click the eye next to a group to hide or show it, or drag groups into another order.

![The Groups page with Group set to Section, Hide empty groups turned on, and the groups Paperwork, Apartment, Moving day and No section, each with an eye icon](https://mintcdn.com/heym/n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj/images/projects/group-options.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=n5OvCilbUvjGlsuj\&q=85\&s=34780f59e26a4fab84b0250b9894c1f4)

The Groups page of the view settings

You can add sections only while the tasks are grouped by **Section**.

### Drag a task to change it

Dragging a task into another group changes the task to match:

| Grouped by | Dropping a task into a group |
| - | - |
| **Section** | Moves it to that section. |
| **Priority** | Gives it that priority. |
| **Date** | **Today** or **Tomorrow** gives it that date, and **No date** removes its date. **Overdue**, **This week**, **This month** and **Later** don't accept dropped tasks. |
| **Assignee** | Assigns it to that person, or to no one under **No assignee**. |

When the **Completed** group shows (grouped by **Section**, with **Show** set to **All**), drag a task into it to complete it, or drag a completed task back into a section to reopen it there. To rename **Completed**, click **⋯** next to its name and choose **Rename group**.

## Move a task into a project

* Open the task, click under **Alignment**, and pick the project under **Projects**.
* Or, while you type a new task, type **+** and the start of the project's name, then pick it from the list. See [Type a task in one line](/help/quick-entry.md).

A task belongs to one place: a project, a goal or a life area. Picking a project for a task replaces any goal or life area it had.

## Complete, archive or delete a project

Open the project and click **⋯** at the top right. In the **Projects** list, point at a project and click the handle that appears at its left.

* **Mark completed** marks the project as done. Its tasks stay as they are. It stays in the **Projects** list, dimmed and marked with a check. Choose **Mark incomplete** to reopen it.
* **Archive** puts the project away without deleting anything. An archived project is read-only. To see your archived projects, open the view settings on the **Projects** page and turn on **Show archived**, then choose **Restore** to make one active again.
* **Delete** removes the project after you confirm in the **Delete project** window. Its tasks move to Trash and its sections are deleted.

> [!WARNING]
>
> A deleted project can't be brought back. Its tasks can be restored from Trash, but they come back without the project. See [Undo and Trash](/help/undo-and-trash.md).

## Good to know

> [accordion] Do a project's tasks count toward its goal's progress?
>
> No. A goal measured by **Completed tasks** counts only the tasks aligned to the goal itself. The project's tasks fill the project's own **Progress** bar. To see the project from the goal, open the goal's page and look under **Projects**.

> [accordion] Why don't I see my project on its life area's page?
>
> A life area's page lists goals, tasks, habits and notes, but not projects. Open **Projects** in the sidebar to find it; the **Alignment** column shows where each project belongs.

> [accordion] Why can't I edit an archived project?
>
> Archived projects are read-only, so nothing changes by accident. Restore the project first, then edit it.

> [accordion] Can other people work in my project?
>
> Yes, with Pro you can share a project and assign its tasks. See [Share with others](/help/sharing.md).

## Limits

The Free plan includes 3 projects. Completed projects don't count toward the limit, but archived ones do. Pro has no limit. See [Free, Pro and Lifetime](/help/plans.md).

## Related

> [card] [Goals](/help/goals.md)
>
> Link a project to the outcome it serves.

> [card] [Tasks](/help/tasks.md)
>
> Dates, priorities and everything else on a task.

> [card] [Share with others](/help/sharing.md)
>
> Invite people into a project and assign tasks.

> [card] [Undo and Trash](/help/undo-and-trash.md)
>
> Restore tasks from a deleted project.


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