On this page
1. Create a list for the routine #
Open Microsoft To Do and sign in with the account you want to use for the review. Choose + New List in the list menu and rename the new list Weekly website review. The official list instructions confirm this route.
Keep this routine in a named list so it has a home outside today's selection. A weekly check belongs to a continuing responsibility, even on days you don't work on it. That makes it easier to find than a task that you remember only as something once added to My Day.
2. Add three tasks with clear finishing points #
Use Add a task to enter these original examples, pressing Enter after each one:
| Task | A clear finishing point |
|---|---|
| Check the contact form | Send a harmless sample and confirm receipt |
| Review the main page links | Open the important destinations and flag failures |
| Check the latest published guide | Read the page and confirm its examples and links |
The accessible task instructions document the Add a task field and Enter action. You should see three separate tasks in your new list.
Avoid using a vague task such as Website. A task needs a point at which you can honestly mark it complete.
3. Add steps to the longer check #
Select Check the latest published guide and use Add step for the individual actions: read the opening, follow the main tool link and inspect the worked example. Microsoft's step instructions describe the detail view's step control.
You should see those actions inside the parent task. Keep steps small enough to clarify completion, without turning a short routine into a second project-management system. If a step needs a different owner or due date, it may deserve a task of its own.
For writing checks, the offline note-taking shortlist can help choose a place for the detailed review notes. The task list tells you what to do; the notes preserve what you found.
4. Set the first due date and repeat pattern #
Select a task, choose Add due date and pick the date of the next planned review. Then choose Repeat → Weekly. Repeat those choices for the other two tasks if they belong on the same weekly schedule.
The official due-date and reminder guide lists daily, weekdays, weekly, monthly, yearly and custom repetition. You should see the selected date and repeat pattern in the task's details.
Set the first date deliberately. A weekly pattern attached to the wrong starting day can produce a routine you keep postponing. Before adding reminders, read the schedule back to yourself: this check is due on the chosen day and repeats weekly. That is the rule you want the app to retain.
5. Add a reminder at a time you can act #
In the task details, choose Remind me and pick the date and time at which you want an alert. Microsoft's due-date guide treats this separately from Add due date. A due date puts work on the schedule; a reminder asks for your attention at a particular time.
For example, the review might be due Friday, with a reminder when your Friday maintenance session starts. Choose a time when you can do the work. A reminder during a meeting gives you another notification to dismiss and leaves the actual routine unchanged.
Check the device's notification permission if you depend on that alert. Don't assume setting a due date alone creates a timed notification. Review Planned as well, because it shows scheduled tasks and gives you a way to inspect the routine independently of an alert.
6. Select recurring tasks for today's work #
When it's time to do the review, open the task and choose Add to My Day. The original task still belongs to your named list. My Day is a working selection, so you can combine today's website review with unrelated work without moving every task into one permanent folder.
Read the task details before checking it off. A step such as sending a form sample needs an observed result, not merely opening the contact page. If the check reveals a problem, record the follow-up as a separate task with enough detail to act on later.
For a visual problem, use the ShareX annotation guide to attach an explanatory image to the follow-up. If the problem concerns a process, a flowchart may explain it more clearly than a long task title.
7. Complete one occurrence and inspect the next date #
Once the work is genuinely complete, mark that occurrence complete. Inspect the list and the recurring task's next due date. Confirm that it still matches the schedule you intended, especially after a late completion or a custom pattern.
Don't mark a real task complete simply to make the overdue list look clean. For learning the controls, create a disposable task called Practice weekly review, give it the same settings and inspect that separate example. Delete the practice task afterward so it doesn't become another recurring obligation.
If you're using more than one device, sign in with the same account on each. Microsoft's sync instructions explain the account requirement and Exchange Online storage. Compare the named list first when diagnosing a mismatch; a My Day selection and a task's existence are different questions.
Known problems around today's task view #
Dragging an email into My Day doesn't create the task
A June 2025 Microsoft Q&A report described email dragging working in a custom list but failing in My Day. The reply directs users to create the task in a normal list and then add it to My Day. Use that two-step route for an email that starts a website follow-up.
You can't group Planned by the original list
In a November 2025 Q&A answer, Microsoft described the available My Day and Planned sorts and confirmed that grouping by list wasn't among them. Open Weekly website review directly when you need to review that routine as a group. Keep Planned for seeing due work across lists.
Troubleshooting #
| Problem | Check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No timed alert appears | Only a due date was set | Add Remind me and check notification permission |
| Task appears under a different account | Device uses another sign-in | Open the same account and named list on both devices |
| Schedule starts on the wrong day | First due date doesn't match the routine | Correct Add due date, then review Repeat |
| Today's view misses the routine | Task hasn't been selected for today | Find it in its named list and add it to My Day |
| Review is hard to finish | Task title covers too much work | Split it into tasks or add clear steps |
Variations on the weekly review #
Make a weekday routine
Use Repeat → Weekdays for work that belongs on each weekday. A publishing check and a weekly maintenance review are different rhythms. Don't make every task daily merely to keep it visible; that creates completion noise around work that hasn't changed.
Share the list with a colleague
Open the list's sharing icon, then choose Create Invitation Link → Copy Link. The official sharing instructions describe personal-account sharing and sharing within the same workplace or school. Confirm that the accounts fit a supported arrangement before relying on the invitation. Use Manage access to review who can join.
Keep the review evidence in notes
Record findings in Joplin or Obsidian and use the task list for the next action. The Obsidian vs Joplin comparison explains the notebook choice. Avoid pasting every research note into a task title that needs to be readable on a phone.
Completion checklist #
- The routine has a named list and clear tasks.
- Each recurring task has the intended first due date and repeat pattern.
- Timed reminders are set separately where needed.
- A completed occurrence produces the next date you expect.
- The list is visible under the same account on your devices.
- Follow-up problems have their own actionable tasks.
- Any shared-list access matches the intended collaborators.
Next steps #
Use Trello when the follow-up becomes a board of work and Todoist when project organization is the larger question. The recurring review should stay small enough that you can finish it each week.
Related reading #
Best Free Task Management Apps for Personal Work and Small Teams, Todoist vs Microsoft To Do: More Structure or a Simpler Day?, Tool details, Other options.
