How to Use the Todoist Filter Builder Prompt to Create Saved Views That Show What Matters Right Now

Todoist is easy to start with and easy to overload. After a few months, the Today view mixes urgent work with small chores, waiting items get lost, and old tasks without dates sit untouched in projects you rarely open. Filters solve this, but the query syntax is not obvious, and many people either never set them up or create a dozen they forget about. The Todoist Filter Query Builder: Saved Filters with today, overdue, p1, #Project and ##Subprojects, @Labels, /Sections, assigned to, created before, AND OR NOT Operators, Comma Split Lists, and a Weekly Review Set prompt turns how you work into a small set of saved filters, writes each query in Todoist syntax, explains it in plain words, and tests it against sample tasks.

What the prompt produces

1. A label plan that keeps useful labels, picks one waiting label, and drops labels no filter uses.
2. Saved filters, one per question you want answered, each with a name, query, color, and plain reading.
3. Stacked views that use commas to show several lists on one screen.
4. A test table of sample tasks and which filters they appear in, so nothing falls through.
5. Edge case notes for tasks with no date, recurring tasks, sub tasks, and shared projects.
6. A daily and weekly routine that tells you which filter to open when.
7. Setup steps for creating, favoriting, and ordering filters in the sidebar.
8. Fallbacks for any syntax that should be tested in your own account.

How to fill the inputs

WorkContext describes your role and the areas that compete for attention, such as a job, a side project, and family duties.

ProjectTree lists your projects, sub projects, and sections exactly as named. Filters reference names directly, so spelling matters.

LabelPlan lists labels you use or want. Context labels like calls or errand work well in filters. Labels you never filter on add clutter.

Collaboration explains shared projects and who assigns tasks, which affects filters that use assigned to.

FilterQuestions is the heart of the prompt. Write each one as a question, such as "what should I do now at work" or "what am I waiting on."

Reading the example output

The example is an operations manager who also coaches a youth soccer team.

• Two unused labels are dropped, and the Someday section replaces a vague maybe label.
• Work Now combines today and overdue with Work and its sub projects, and hides anything waiting on someone else.
• Stale Work finds undated tasks older than a month, which are the ones most likely to be forgotten.
• Road Calls supports a commute, showing calls that can be made now or any time.
• Weekly Review stacks four lists in one view for a Friday review.
• The test table shows every sample task appears somewhere, which is the real check that the system works.

Tips for better results

• Keep the number of filters small. Seven is plenty for most people.
• Name filters with short verbs or nouns you will recognize at a glance.
• Use one waiting label everywhere instead of several.
• Test each query with real tasks before relying on it.
• Review Stale Work weekly and make a decision on each item.

Mistakes to avoid

• Do not build filters around labels you rarely apply.
• Do not forget that sub projects need the double hash to be included.
• Do not create a filter for every project. That is what projects are for.
• Do not leave tasks with no date out of every view.

Who it is for

Managers juggling several areas of responsibility, freelancers with multiple clients, students balancing classes and jobs, parents coordinating family tasks, and anyone who already uses Todoist but feels the Today view has stopped helping.

Related PromptDig links

Open the Todoist Filter Query Builder: Saved Filters with today, overdue, p1, #Project and ##Subprojects, @Labels, /Sections, assigned to, created before, AND OR NOT Operators, Comma Split Lists, and a Weekly Review Set prompt and describe your projects to build your filters. For more productivity and task management prompts, Browse more prompts. If you have a Todoist or planning prompt that keeps you on track, Share a prompt.