Step-By-Step To Done
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How to Get Started

Beginner Phase: Building Foundations

Step 1: Create Your First Contexts

Contexts are like folders or categories that organize everything in your system. Think of them as areas of your life:

To create a Context:

  1. Click “Contexts” in the Management sidebar or press c.
  2. Click the + button.
  3. Enter a name (e.g., “Work,” “Personal,” “Health”)
  4. You can create sub-contexts by clicking the + button next to an existing context.

Example Context Structures:

A freelance designer might set up:

A student might use:

A parent managing a household might try:

Pro Tips:

Step 2: Add Your First Tasks

Tasks are standalone to-dos that don’t belong to a project. They’re perfect for:

To add a Task:

  1. Click the + button in the Tasks column on the Dashboard
  2. Type your task title and relevant data
  3. Press Enter

Task Features:

You’ll notice that there is no due-date or do-date. That’s because the Step-By-Step To Done system doesn’t rely on dates. Instead, we simply put together our list of tasks and work through them in order. Of course, if there is something that has to be done on a particular day or is due by a particular day, you’ll want to prioritize those. We are going to add do- and due-dates in the future. For now, try to add tasks without dates and work through them in order. I think you will find that this is a much more effective way of working and reduces the stress of having to plan and meet deadlines.

Just do the next step.

Example Tasks:

Step 3: Create Your First Trail Map (Project)

A Trail Map is a project or significant objective. It is broken down into sequential steps that guide you from start to finish. It can be planning a family trip or building a website or software application. You will be tasked with adding steps to your Trail Map so that you reach your destination. However, you can let AI help you build the trail map!

To create a Trail Map with AI:

  1. Click the + button in any context
  2. Select “Add Trail Map”
  3. Describe your goal (e.g., “Launch a weekly podcast”)
  4. Add details (optional)
  5. Choose detail level: High-Level, Detailed, or Very Granular
  1. Click “Generate Steps”

The AI will create a structured plan with actionable steps! While the AI will do its best to create a plan for you, it won’t always get every detail right. You can always modify these steps, as well as have the AI break down a step into more detailed steps. Once you have a Trail Map built, you will have an excellent step-by-step plan to achieveing your goal, completing the project—reaching your destination.

Manual Creation:

Example Trail Maps:

“Plan a Family Vacation to Costa Rica” (Context: Personal → Home)

  1. Research destinations and activities in Costa Rica
  2. Set a budget for the trip
  3. Book flights
  4. Book accommodations
  5. Plan daily itinerary
  6. Arrange transportation (rental car or shuttles)
  7. Purchase travel insurance
  8. Pack and prepare documents
  9. Enjoy the trip!

“Launch My Freelance Portfolio Website” (Context: Work → Marketing)

  1. Define target audience and goals for the site
  2. Choose a domain name and hosting provider
  3. Select a website platform or framework
  4. Design wireframes for key pages
  5. Write copy for About, Services, and Contact pages
  6. Gather portfolio pieces and case studies
  7. Build the site
  8. Test on multiple devices and browsers
  9. Set up analytics and SEO basics
  10. Launch and announce on social media

“Train for a Half Marathon” (Context: Personal → Health)

  1. Get a physical and clearance from doctor
  2. Buy proper running shoes
  3. Find a 12-week training plan
  4. Start with base-building runs (weeks 1-4)
  5. Increase mileage gradually (weeks 5-8)
  6. Add speed work and tempo runs (weeks 9-11)
  7. Taper week (week 12)
  8. Race day!

Tip: Don’t worry about getting every step perfect upfront. You can always add, remove, reorder, or split steps later. The power of Step-By-Step To Done is that you always know what the next step is.

Intermediate Phase: Organizing Your Work

Step 4: Master the Daily Review

The Daily Review is your daily planning session. Access it from the sidebar or header.

What You’ll See:

Best Practices:

Example Daily Review Workflow:

Imagine it’s Monday morning. You open Step-By-Step To Done and go to Daily Review:

  1. Process Inbox - Over the weekend you quick-captured “Look into new project management tool for the team” and “Birthday gift idea for Mom.” You assign the first to your Work context and the second to Personal → Home.
  2. Review Next Steps - You see three next steps:
    • “Write introduction for blog post” (Work → Marketing)
    • “Call plumber about kitchen leak” (Personal → Home)
    • “Review pull request from Alex” (Work → Dev Team)
  3. Check Habits - You log your morning meditation and water intake.
  4. Waiting On - You see “Waiting on client approval for logo design” has been blocked for 5 days. You decide to send a follow-up email.
  5. Upcoming Projects - “Q2 Marketing Campaign” starts next week. You glance at the first few steps to mentally prepare.

The whole review takes 5-10 minutes, and now you know exactly what to focus on today.

Step 5: Use Collections Effectively

Collections are simple lists for non-sequential items:

To Create a Collection:

  1. Click + in any context sidebar
  2. Select “Add Collection”
  3. Give it a name and description

Collection Features:

Example Collections:

“Books to Read” (Context: Learning)

“Home Improvement Ideas” (Context: Personal → Home)

“Gift Ideas for Mom” (Context: Personal)

“Bug Reports - v2.0” (Context: Work → Dev Team)

Tip: Collections are also great as an Inbox. Step-By-Step To Done automatically creates an Inbox collection for you. Use it to quickly capture thoughts and ideas throughout the day, then process them during your Daily Review.

Step 6: Set Up Routines

Routines are recurring tasks that repeat on a schedule.

To Create a Routine:

  1. Navigate to Routines in the sidebar
  2. Click + to add a new routine
  3. Set title, description, and schedule

Schedule Options:

Routine Features:

Example Routines:

Weekly:

Monthly:

Custom:

Tip: Use the Creation Offset feature for routines that need preparation time. For example, if your monthly report is due on the 1st, set a creation offset of 3 days so the task appears on the 28th, giving you time to prepare.

Advanced Phase: Mastering Productivity

Step 7: Build Habit Tracking

Habits are routines you want to track daily for consistency.

To Create a Habit:

  1. Navigate to Habit Tracker in the sidebar
  2. Click + to add a new habit
  3. Mark it as a “Habit” in the routine editor

Habit Features:

Logging Habits:

Example Habit Setups:

Health Habits (Group: “Health”):

Productivity Habits (Group: “Productivity”):

Personal Growth (Group: “Growth”):

Tip: Start small! It’s better to track 3-5 habits consistently than to set up 20 and feel overwhelmed. You can always add more once your core habits are solid.

Fitness Tip: Step-By-Step To Done’s habit tracker is perfect for tracking whether you exercised today—keeping you accountable and building consistency. But if you want to track the details of your workouts—distances, times, routes, sets, reps, and progress over time—check out GetFitXP, a dedicated fitness tracking app. Many users keep a simple “Exercise” or “Walk” habit in Step-By-Step To Done for daily accountability while using GetFitXP for detailed workout logging. The two work great together: Step-By-Step To Done answers “Did I show up today?” and GetFitXP answers “How did I perform?”

Step 8: Create Templates

Templates are reusable project structures for recurring work.

To Create a Template:

  1. Navigate to Templates in the sidebar
  2. Click + to create a new template
  3. Add steps, structure, and details

Template Types:

Example Templates:

“Client Onboarding” (Manual Template):

  1. Send welcome email with questionnaire
  2. Schedule kickoff call
  3. Review completed questionnaire
  4. Create project brief
  5. Set up shared workspace/folder
  6. Conduct kickoff call
  7. Send follow-up summary and next steps
  8. Begin discovery phase

“Monthly Newsletter” (Recurring Template - Monthly on the 15th, Creation Offset: 7 days):

  1. Brainstorm topic ideas
  2. Write draft
  3. Source images and graphics
  4. Internal review
  5. Make revisions
  6. Schedule in email platform
  7. Send test email
  8. Approve and send
  9. Review analytics after 48 hours

“Sprint Planning” (Recurring Template - Every 2 weeks):

  1. Review previous sprint retrospective notes
  2. Groom backlog
  3. Estimate story points
  4. Assign tasks to team members
  5. Update project board
  6. Send sprint kickoff summary to team

“Quarterly Business Review” (Recurring Template - Every 3 months):

  1. Gather financial data
  2. Compile KPI metrics
  3. Create presentation slides
  4. Review with leadership team
  5. Incorporate feedback
  6. Present to stakeholders
  7. Document action items

Tip: When you find yourself doing the same type of project more than twice, create a template. It saves time and ensures you don’t miss important steps. Recurring templates are especially powerful—they automatically create a new Trail Map on schedule, so you never forget a recurring project.

Step 9: Use Tags for Cross-Cutting Organization

Tags are labels you can add to any item for flexible organization.

To Add Tags:

To View Tagged Items:

  1. Navigate to Tags in the sidebar
  2. Click any tag to see all items with that tag

Tag Management:

Example Tag Strategies:

By Energy Level:

By Time Available:

By Stakeholder:

By Status/Type:

Power Move: Tags work across all entity types. Tag a Trail Map step, a standalone task, and a collection item all with #client-acme, then view the #client-acme tag page to see everything related to that client in one place—regardless of where it lives in your system.

Step 10: AI-Powered Features

Generate a Trail Map:

Split a Step:

Regenerate Steps:

Example AI Workflows:

Scenario: You have a vague goal You type: “I want to start a YouTube channel about woodworking” The AI generates a detailed trail map with steps like:

  1. Define your niche within woodworking (beginner projects, furniture, etc.)
  2. Research successful woodworking YouTube channels
  3. Plan your first 5 video topics
  4. Set up filming equipment (camera, lighting, microphone)
  5. Create a YouTube channel and brand assets
  6. Film your first video
  7. Edit and add music/graphics
  8. Write title, description, and tags for SEO
  9. Upload and publish
  10. Promote on social media
  11. Review analytics and plan improvements

Scenario: A step is too big You have a step called “Set up filming equipment.” You click the AI split icon and it breaks it down into:

  1. Research camera options within budget
  2. Purchase camera and tripod
  3. Set up lighting (ring light or softbox)
  4. Choose and purchase a microphone
  5. Test audio and video quality
  6. Create a consistent filming setup/backdrop

Scenario: You need a different approach Your trail map for “Learn Spanish” isn’t working. You regenerate the steps with AI, providing new context: “I want to focus on conversational Spanish for an upcoming trip to Mexico.” The AI creates a travel-focused plan instead of a traditional academic approach.