Things doesn’t come with a templating feature built in, but you can use a manual workaround or Apple Shortcuts to speed up your work.

What’s a template?

A template consists a set of steps that you perform over and over again. For example, when you Onboard a New Employee, many steps will be the same as the last time you added a team member. Or when you’re ready for your getaway, 🏖️ Pack Suitcases for Summer Trip will contain most of the same essentials as the year before.

Rather than writing down these steps repeatedly, create a project (or to-do with a checklist) that contains the basics to get you started.

Results for the tag search 'template', showing all template projects together.
Store templates in their respective areas to keep everything tidy. If you tag your project or to-do with template, you’ll find it more easily in the future, too.

How to create and store templates

  1. Start out by creating the template Project.
    It’s a normal project, and should contain all the elements you’ll most likely need in the future. Include headings, to-dos, etc. but refrain from using dates. Apply a template tag to help you find it faster later.
  2. Chuck the project into Someday.
    This’ll make the template inactive and remove it from the sidebar/main lists view and keep everything tidy.

💡Tip: When you need to find one of your templates, you have two options: either search for the template tag, or go to the All Projects list and filter it by this tag (you might also have to hit Show x later items).

How to use templates

When you need your prepared steps the next time, simply duplicate your template and work with the copy. You can do this manually, or automate it via Apple Shortcuts.

Apple Shortcuts

Our ready-made shortcut will duplicate your template project and add it to Today so you can find it immediately. You can have a shortcut for each of your frequently used templates (each shortcut remembers which template to use).

Check out the Duplicate Template Project shortcut in our gallery.

Manual Approach

This alternative approach requires zero familiarity with Apple Shortcuts.

  1. Find your project.
  2. Inside it, behind the title, hit → Duplicate Project.
  3. Remove it from Someday: On the Mac, click x when you hover over the date. On iPhone, iPad, and Vision tap the date and hit Clear.

Your project will now appear in the sidebar/main lists view and you can customize it to your current needs.

💡Tip: If you have a template to-do with a checklist, notes, etc. that you’d like to duplicate, you can select it on the Mac and hit ⌘ CmdD. On iPad & iPhone, swipe left over the to-do and, in the toolbar at the bottom, hit → Duplicate.

FAQ

Will dates automatically adjust when a project is duplicated?
It’s not possible for dates to dynamically adjust when you duplicate a template. Assign dates to the copy after duplicating the template. To make that easier, try our natural language input, iOS gestures, and keyboard shortcuts.
What’s the difference between a template and repeating project?
With a template, you duplicate it whenever you need a fresh copy. A repeating project or to-do will repeat continuously on the schedule you previously set, and you might end up with duplicates you don’t need.
How do I remove the project from Today after the shortcut put it there?
Inside the project, hit the Today button. On the Mac, when you hover over it, just click x. On iPad or iPhone, tap Clear in the calendar pop-over.
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