Three levels deep, no further
By Jacob McDaniel
ToDidIt has a Project at the top, and inside it tasks can nest three levels deep: Task, Subtask, Sub-subtask. That is the floor. You cannot go deeper, and that limit is a feature, not something we ran out of time to build.
Infinite nesting is a trap
Tools that let you nest forever feel powerful in the demo and become unusable in month three. What happens is predictable. The tree gets deep, the deep items get forgotten, and the act of filing a task turns into a small architecture decision: does this go under here, or one level up, or should I make a new branch? Every one of those decisions is a tiny tax on capturing the thing, and capture is the moment that matters most. A structure that asks you to think about the structure is working against you.
Three levels covers real work
We looked hard at how people actually break work down, and three levels of nesting under a project covers almost all of it. A project holds the big tasks. A big task splits into subtasks. A gnarly subtask occasionally needs a short checklist under it, and that is the sub-subtask. Past that point, you do not have a deeper task. You have a new project. Forcing that distinction keeps projects legible: you can look at one and actually understand it, instead of scrolling through a fractal.
Constraints make completion visible
There is a completion reason too, which is the whole point of ToDidIt. Finishing should be visible. In a shallow tree, finishing a subtask clearly moves a task forward, and finishing a task clearly moves the project forward. The progress is legible because the tree is legible. In an infinitely deep tree, you can grind for an hour, close six items eight levels down, and the project bar barely moves. That is the exact feeling we built the product to avoid.
So the cap is deliberate. Three levels deep, then start a new project. It is one of those limits that feels restrictive for about a day and then quietly makes everything calmer. If your project truly needs to go deeper, that is usually the project telling you it is actually two.
Frequently asked questions
How deep can tasks nest in ToDidIt?
There is a Project at the top, and inside it tasks nest three levels deep: Task, Subtask, and Sub-subtask. That is the floor; you cannot go deeper, and the limit is intentional.
Why cap the hierarchy instead of allowing infinite nesting?
Tools that let you nest forever feel powerful in the demo and become unusable by month three. Deep items get forgotten, and filing a task turns into an architecture decision that taxes capture, the moment that matters most.
Is three levels really enough for real work?
For almost all of it. A project holds the big tasks, a big task splits into subtasks, and a gnarly subtask occasionally needs a short checklist under it. Past that point you do not have a deeper task, you have a new project.
What if my project genuinely needs to go deeper?
That is usually the project telling you it is actually two. Starting a new project at that point keeps each one legible, which is also what keeps completion visible as you finish work.