Keyboard shortcuts for creating tasks

Using the web app, exit any tasks you’re editing and remove focus from Rapid Entry (if you’re using it) by clicking any list or hitting Esc. You can now use shortcuts to create the different items.

In most cases, the newly created item will contain the tags that are currently being used to filter items.

Action	Shortcut	Description
New Item (Bottom)	N	This will create a new item at the bottom the current list.
New Item (Top)	Shift + N	This will create a new item at the top the current list.
New Item (Middle)	Shift + Click	Create new items in the middle of a list by shift-clicking on an existing item entry’s whitespace. A new item will be inserted just above the one you clicked.
New Inbox Action	I	This can be used from any list to create a new Inbox item. It will not contain any tags unless you add them.
New Next Action	X	In most lists, this will create a new action at the bottom of the Next list. From within a reference list, it will create a reference item.
New Waiting Action	W	In most lists, this will create a new action at the bottom of the Waiting list. Click on “Waiting for Someone” followed by “Waiting” to choose your contact. You can also save the item as is to assign it to “Someone” for now. From within a reference list, it will create a reference item.
New Scheduled Action	S	In most lists, this will create a new action in the Scheduled list. By default, it will be scheduled for the next day. To choose another date, click on “Scheduled” and choose the start date. From within a reference list, it will create a reference item.
New Someday Action	Y	In most lists, this will create a new action at the bottom of the Someday list. From within a reference list, it will create a reference item.
New Focus Action	F	In most lists, this will create a new Focused Next action. From within a reference list, it will create a focused reference item.
New Project	P	This can be used from any list to create a new project.
New Reference List	L	This can be used from any list to create a new reference list.
Save Changes	Enter	Hit this while editing the item name to save the item.
Save Changes (from any text field)	Shift + Enter	This will save the item you’re working on regardless of the field you are currently editing.

Good to know: There are more timesavers in our general Keyboard Shortcuts list and our batch editing article.