I’m currently evaluating GoodTask on the free trial and really enjoying it so far. I’ve already created several Quick Actions with their own keyboard shortcuts—eg one to set a specific priority level (e.g. “High”) and another to assign a particular due date (e.g. (next) “Thursday”).
What I’d love to do is cycle through a list of tasks entirely via the keyboard, applying one of those Quick Actions to each task in turn and immediately advancing to the next item — without ever touching the mouse.
Is there a a built‑in command, Shortcut, AppleScript or macro trick that lets you:
Invoke a Quick Action (for priority or due date)
Move the selection to the next task
(all with a single command, and ideally working in priority-board view)
For example mac reminders has poor quick actions but if you're on say a scheduled list and apply 'tomorrow' it'll auto-select the next reminder (or it will stay in place and you can go down with the arrows, whereas here the reminder repositions). This kind of batch, keyboard‑only workflow would make GoodTask indispensable for me. If it’s possible, I’ll gladly purchase the full version once my trial expires.
Thanks in advance for any tips, methods or scripts you can share!
You can move between tasks by using arrows and tab key. You may try it out. Also you can use Enter/Escape key to open task detail panel if needed. (Or use menu bar's View - Integrate panel to put it on same window)
When task is selected, you can CMD-Enter to open context menu to run actions or set up your keyboard shortcuts to run it directly. Below video explains how to set up Mac's keyboard shortcuts to GoodTask.
Thanks for your prompt response! I’m afraid it still isn’t quite what I mean—I already know how to navigate between tasks or open the detail panel. What I’m after is a fully keyboard‑driven, batch‑style workflow:
Start in a smart list (for example “Scheduled” or a priority‑filtered list). Note that, as reminders get modified, they may leave that list, which complicates things.
Invoke a Quick Action (e.g. set a specific priority or due date) with a single keyboard shortcut—as per the video tutorial. [works fine]
Have it apply immediately. [fine]
Automatically move the highlight to the next task in the list, ready to repeat. [crux]
Steps 2 and 3 work perfectly. Step 4 works in a “static” list, but in a smart list (where changing a property can remove an item) the selection “follows” the task or vanishes—and hitting ↓ sends me back to the top or onto an already‑processed task (eg if that's the top task).
I also tested the Deselect (End) option—when checked, the task un‑highlights (so ↓ starts at the very top again), and when unchecked it stays selected (so ↓ simply re‑selects the same item). Neither gives the desired “apply → advance” behaviour.
Interestingly, if I open the Quick Actions menu and choose an action by arrow‑key and Return, it doesn’t “follow” the reminder— and then ↓ works as expected / desired. But using the custom keyboard shortcut for that same action does trigger the smart‑list follow behaviour.
I’m running macOS Sonoma 15.4.1 and am on the free trial. I can record a short video demonstrating this discrepancy, if helpful. Any ideas or work‑arounds would be greatly appreciated — this is the one feature that might make the difference for me!
It's a somewhat complicated issue. I've checked and tried to replicate your workflow but the base case I can think of is moving to next task before it gets removed on current smart list. Normally it gives some time before it gets refreshed. Or you need to use tab or arrow keys (left, right) to move around to select next task.
As you've mentioned, using static list would be a workaround on your case even though you may need to move some more if needed.
I guess some kind of process like Today page or Next page that let you can run on tasks one by one would be a nice solution. I'll keep it on the list to consider.
And yes, exactly for today and next page, that's the kind of idea (though personally I like the flexibility of deciding the context by doing it in smart playlists and wouldn't need a whole interactive experience just for it).
Im left wondering: Is it expected that when applying a quick action to the same reminder in the same list you'd see two different behaviours: one if I click on the quick action on the right panel and another if I run the shortcut for it? I find that really strange
Example: Make a quick action to set something to 'next Tuesday' with Deselect (End) ticked, and give it a keyboard shortcut. select a reminder in the middle of Today list (in list view cmd+1). apply action by a) clicking on the action from the menu, or b) using the shortcut. If a), reminder moves to monday, next reminder becomes currently selected (yay!). If b), reminder moves to monday, no reminders are selected anymore, forcing you to start from top with key arrows (frustrating!)
