Orbit is built to stay useful without constant system maintenance. Open it, type a task and you are running.
Your first task
- Open Orbit and type into the entry field at the top of the list.
- Write the task the way you would say it out loud:
pay invoice friday 9am #work. - Press Return. Orbit reads the date, the time and the tag out of the sentence and files the task; the title stays clean.
If the date files the task in another bucket, Orbit keeps the list you were viewing open. Look in the destination bucket or All to find the new task.
That is the whole loop. Everything else in Orbit exists to keep that loop working on the days you have no energy for tidying.
The four time buckets
Orbit does not ask you to invent a folder structure. Tasks land in one of four buckets that describe when, not what:
- Today: what you intend to do before the day is out.
- This Week: the near term.
- This Month: soon, but not pressing.
- Future: someday, without guilt.
A task moves between buckets by dragging it, by editing its date, or by letting a date arrive. If a simpler view suits you, turning off Settings ▸ Sidebar & Views ▸ Show This Month and Future collapses Orbit down to the nearer horizons.
Where things live
| You want to | Go to |
|---|---|
| Change how Orbit looks | Settings ▸ Appearance |
| Switch between list and board | More ▸ View on iPhone; View on wider screens; or Settings ▸ Sidebar & Views ▸ View Type |
| Group work by project | Spaces in the sidebar |
| Cut across projects | Tags |
| Keep work and home apart | Settings ▸ Profiles |
| Bring tasks in from another app | Settings ▸ Import & Export |
Set up capture from anywhere
On Mac, turn on Settings ▸ Menu Bar & Dock ▸ Show Orbit in the Menu Bar and Add a Task from Any App. They add a menu bar item and the ⌃⌥Space shortcut, so you can capture a task from inside any other app without switching to Orbit.
On iPhone and iPad, add the Add Task widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen, or ask Siri.
Next steps
- Learn what the capture field understands in Orbit’s plain-language capture.
- Bring your existing tasks from Things, OmniFocus, Todoist, Apple Reminders or a spreadsheet with Import from another task app.
More ways to capture and plan
- Brain Dump turns spoken or typed thoughts into reviewed tasks.
- Calendar events puts appointments beside your planning horizons.
- Navigation and settings explains where controls move on smaller screens.