How to Separate Work and Personal Tasks in One Place
The simplest way to separate work and personal tasks is to keep them in one place and label each task by area. With task management in Planfix, a Category field or project groups mark each task, and saved filters and the Planner show one area or both. This three-minute video shows the setup in a single window.
What you’ll learn: how to keep personal and business tasks in one place
- Mark tasks as personal or business with a List-type Category field (0:41).
- Or group projects into Personal and Business, with subprojects by area (1:16).
- Save a task filter for each area (1:46).
- Show both areas as separate lists in the Planner (2:09).
How to separate work and personal tasks in Planfix, step by step
Steps 1 and 2 are two ways to mark a task; the video’s filters use both. Steps 3 and 4 show the result.
Step 1. Add a Category field to tasks
The quickest way to mark a task is a List-type custom field. Go to Account Management → Types of objects, select Task and open its Custom fields settings (the video shows the pre-July 2026 path Custom fields → Task fields). Create a new field, choose the List type and name it Category. Add values such as Personal and Business, and assign each a color.
Then add the field to the task card: search for it in your field sets, click to choose where it appears and move it to rearrange the layout.
Step 2. Group projects into Personal and Business
Only administrators can create project groups. You can also group tasks through them: go to Projects and create the groups you need, for example Personal and Business. For each one, enter a name and save. Then create a project and add it to the matching group.
Inside each project you can add subprojects to split personal tasks by area, such as travel, nutrition and car maintenance. Create tasks inside a subproject, or select it manually when creating a task.
Step 3. Save a filter for each area
Open the Tasks section and click Add on the left panel to create a saved task filter. Set its name, color, view and selection parameters; in the video, these are the project group and the matching category. Conditions are joined with AND by default, so the filter shows only tasks that meet both. Click Filter and save, then repeat for the other area.
The same article warns that a custom-field condition is not applied to tasks without that field or for people who cannot access it, so such tasks are not split by category. Keep the field on the task card and give filter users access to it.
Step 4. Show both areas in the Planner
Go to the Planner section, click Add at the bottom of the panel with your planners, choose Planner and name it. Then add planner lists, the planner’s columns:
- create a list for personal tasks and choose the Cards view so each task shows more detail;
- set its name, color and selection parameters;
- in its filters, add the conditions you configured earlier, such as category or project, and save;
- duplicate the list and adjust its settings so it shows only business tasks.
Example: moving a task from Personal to Business
Picture a setup like the video’s: Personal and Business project groups and a planner with two card-view lists, each showing only the tasks that meet its conditions.
Say a task in the Personal list turns out to be work. Drag its card into the Business list, and it takes on that list’s selection parameters: if the list selects by category, the Category changes to Business without opening the task.
Who keeps work and personal tasks in one place
- Founders and freelancers: personal task management and client work share one account, and a filter shows one side at a time.
- Managers who plan their own week: one planner shows a Personal and a Business list side by side.
- People who run home life like a project: travel, nutrition and car maintenance become subprojects.
Separating work and personal tasks: FAQ
Should I separate personal and business tasks with categories or projects?
Either works. A Category field is simplest: one value per task that any filter or planner list can use. Project groups need an administrator, and subprojects add structure when personal life has several areas. The video’s filters use both.
Will colleagues see my personal tasks in a company account?
Only colleagues with access to those tasks: access in Planfix is set per task, not per project. The exception is project auditors, who can access all of a project’s tasks, so keep personal projects without auditors. Project names are visible to every employee by default; mark a project Hidden for employees to show it only to those with access to at least one of its tasks. Its auditors and client managers still see it.
Should I combine work and personal to-do lists in one app?
It works if each task is labeled by area. In Planfix, both share one window: a Category field or project group keeps the areas apart, a saved filter shows one of them, and the Planner shows both on one screen.
Start with one field for work and personal tasks
Add a Category field with Personal and Business values, save a filter for each area, and add a planner when you want both on one screen. Once tasks are split, search and filter tasks in Planfix to find any of them. New to Planfix? Start your free trial.
This video was featured in What’s New in Planfix: December 2025.
