Recurring Tasks

Written By Manos Mastorakis

Last updated About 12 hours ago

Recurring Tasks in Routine let you create tasks that repeat automatically at a defined frequency. Instead of recreating the same task every week, every day, or every month, you define the recurrence once and Routine generates new occurrences automatically — keeping your workflow consistent without manual effort.

✍️ What Recurring Tasks do

A recurring task generates a new occurrence at the end of each cycle, ensuring the next instance is always ready when you need it. Each occurrence behaves like a regular task — it can be scheduled, time-blocked, completed, or discarded independently.

With Recurring Tasks, you can:

  • Create tasks that repeat daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually

  • Set custom recurrence patterns (e.g. every Tuesday and Thursday)

  • Define a start date and an optional end date

  • Pause a recurrence temporarily without deleting it

  • Resume a paused recurrence to generate future occurrences again

  • Edit the frequency of an existing recurrence at any time

  • Delete a single occurrence or the entire recurrence

🎙️ How to create a Recurring Task

From the Console:

  1. Open the Console (CMD/CTRL+SPACE)

  2. Type your task using the every keyword:

    • "Check analytics every Monday"

    • "Team standup every workday"

    • "Quarterly review every quarter"

    • "Call parents every Sunday starting next month"

    • "Annual performance review every year until 2027"

  3. Hit ENTER — the recurring task is created with the defined frequency

From the task creation modal:

  1. Create a new task via the + button or Console

  2. Open the task

  3. Click the recurrence field

  4. Select a frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly)

  5. Customize the pattern (specific days, start date, end date)

  6. Save — occurrences are generated automatically

🔄 Managing Recurring Tasks

Editing a recurrence:

  1. Open any occurrence of the recurring task

  2. Click the frequency indicator (e.g. "Weekly")

  3. Adjust the frequency or pattern

  4. Save — future occurrences update accordingly

Pausing a recurrence:

  1. Open any occurrence

  2. Click the Pause button

  3. No new occurrences are generated while paused

  4. The current cycle completes naturally

Resuming a recurrence:

  1. Open the paused recurring task

  2. Click Resume

  3. New occurrences are generated from the next cycle forward

Deleting a recurrence:

  • Delete a single occurrence — use the ... menu or CMD/CTRL+BACKSPACE on that occurrence only. Future occurrences are unaffected.

  • Delete the entire recurrence — use the Delete action from the recurring task's master view to remove all future occurrences

💡 How recurrences work

  • Each occurrence is generated at the end of the previous cycle — Routine always keeps the next occurrence ready

  • Completing an occurrence marks that cycle as done and triggers the next occurrence to be generated

  • Discarding an occurrence skips that cycle without affecting the recurrence

  • Notes added to a recurring task act as a template — they are carried forward to each new occurrence

  • Past occurrences are archived automatically, keeping your task lists clean

🔉 Natural language keywords for recurrences

The Console supports rich natural language for defining recurrences:

  • every day — daily recurrence

  • every workday — Monday through Friday only

  • every Monday — weekly on a specific day

  • every Tuesday and Thursday — multiple days per week

  • every week — weekly recurrence

  • every month — monthly recurrence

  • every quarter — quarterly recurrence

  • every year — annual recurrence

  • starting [date] — begin recurrence from a specific date

  • until [date] — end recurrence on a specific date

🗣️ Use cases

Recurring Tasks are especially useful for:

  • Daily habits — morning planning, evening review, daily exercise logging

  • Weekly routines — team standups, weekly reviews, recurring client check-ins

  • Monthly tasks — invoice processing, reporting, subscription reviews

  • Quarterly goals — OKR reviews, performance check-ins, planning sessions

  • Annual events — performance reviews, contract renewals, anniversary reminders

  • Personal commitments — calling family, scheduling workouts, journaling prompts

  • Team rhythms — recurring tasks assigned to team members for consistent workflows

Recurring Tasks ensure your important habits and routines never fall through the cracks — they're always there when you need them, without any manual effort.