How to create sub-tasks in Notion (3 easy steps)

Notion sub-tasks let you break any database item into smaller, trackable steps. You enable them in your database settings, and each entry can then hold nested sub-items with their own properties, due dates, and assignees. The whole setup takes under a minute.

One quick clarification first: sub-tasks break a task into smaller pieces (a parent/child hierarchy). Ordering rules like "Task B cannot start until Task A is done" are a different Notion feature called Dependencies, which we cover further down.

Below is a step-by-step walkthrough, followed by tips for getting the most out of sub-tasks across different views.

1. Choose a database

To create sub-tasks in Notion, you need a database. Any database works: a task tracker, a project board, a to-do list, or an assignment tracker.

If you do not have one yet, the quickest way is to use Notion's built-in Tasks template. Open a new page, type /tasks, and select the Tasks database. It comes with status, priority, and date properties already configured.

2. Enable sub-tasks (the Sub-items setting)

Once you have a database open:

1. Open the settings menu at the top of the database.
2. Under Database settings, select More settings.
3. Select Sub-items, then Turn on sub-items.

In the menu the feature is called sub-items, not "sub-tasks". Searching for the wrong name is the most common way to stall on this step.

Notion then creates a relation from the database to itself. That relation is what ties one entry to another, as a Sub-item on one side and a Parent item on the other.

3. Add a sub-task to a parent task

With sub-items enabled, hover over any task in list view and click the small arrow on the left. The dropdown that opens lets you add a sub-item: give it a name and set its properties.

You can also:

• Drag and drop an existing task onto another to nest it instantly.
• Open a page and use the Parent item relation to assign a parent manually.
• Nest multiple levels by adding a sub-task to a sub-task (useful for complex projects with phases, milestones, and individual action items).

Tips for working with sub-tasks

How do sub-tasks look in different views?

Sub-items stay visible in every database view, and you choose the format yourself. Open the settings menu at the top of your database, select Sub-items, then open the dropdown under Display options:

• Table, list, and timeline views: Nested in toggle gives you the familiar tree, where the arrow on a parent opens and closes its sub-items. Flattened list drops the indentation and lines parents and children up at the same level.
• Board, calendar, and gallery views: Card property prints the sub-items onto the parent's card. Flattened list shows every parent and sub-item as its own separate entry.

Nested in toggle reads better as a project overview, with phases and milestones tucked under the task they belong to. Pick Flattened list when each sub-task has to stand on its own, for example to give it a slot on a calendar.

How to track sub-task progress

Notion shows no completion counter by default, but a rollup property adds one:

1. Add a new Rollup property to your database.
2. For the relation, choose Sub-items.
3. Choose the property of the related pages the rollup should read.
4. Choose the calculation.

One thing to know before you set that calculation: Notion's documented list of rollup calculations has no "percent checked" option. The only two percentage calculations are Percent empty and Percent not empty, and both measure whether a cell holds a value, not whether a box is ticked. Point either one at a checkbox and it tells you nothing, because an unticked checkbox is still a filled cell.

Two settings that do work:

• A count: point the rollup at any property of the sub-items and choose Count all. Every parent task then shows how many sub-tasks it holds.
• A percentage: point the rollup at a property that stays empty until the sub-task closes, a completion date for example, then choose Percent not empty. The share climbs as those dates get filled in.

Either way, the value updates on its own whenever a sub-item changes.

How to filter and sort by sub-tasks

The shortest route is the sub-items menu itself. Open the settings menu at the top of your database, select Sub-items, then open the dropdown labeled Filter options, which reads Include if your display option is set differently:

• Parents only shows the parents that match your filters, with a count of the sub-items they hold.
• Parents and sub-items shows both.
• Sub-items only shows just the children.

Those three are for table, list, and timeline views. Board, calendar, and gallery views support Parents only and nothing else, which is the part people usually get wrong.

For finer control, filter on the Parent item relation directly:

• Only top-level tasks: filter where Parent item is empty.
• Only sub-tasks: filter where Parent item is not empty.
• Overdue children: combine "Parent item is not empty" with "Due date is before today."

Pair these filters with recurring task automations and you have lightweight project tracking without leaving Notion. The Notion project management guide covers the full structure.

Limitations to keep in mind

• No automatic status roll-up: Completing all sub-tasks does not automatically mark the parent as done. You need a formula or manual update.
• Performance on large databases: Databases with thousands of entries and deep nesting (four or more levels) can slow down. Two to three levels of nesting works best for most workflows.
• Sub-tasks nest work, they do not order it: On their own, sub-tasks are a parent/child hierarchy and do not enforce "Task B cannot start until Task A is complete" sequencing. For that, Notion has a separate Dependencies feature with its own switch (Database settings > More settings > Dependencies > Turn on dependencies). You draw the links in timeline view, and when you turn dependencies on you pick how Notion handles the dates: Shift only when dates overlap, Shift & maintain time between items, or Do not automatically shift.

On bigger projects, the planning tends to stay in Notion while the day-to-day execution happens in a task app. Two-way sync keeps both sides current without retyping anything: the Todoist integration and the Google Tasks integration carry the parent/child hierarchy across as a Notion relation instead of flattening it into one long list.

Conclusion

Turning on sub-items takes under a minute, and the payoff is immediate. Every entry in your database carries its own steps, with the properties you already use for everything else: status, due date, assignee.

Most people who get stuck are stuck on the vocabulary. In the Notion menu the feature is called sub-items, and the item type you nest by is Parent item. Searching the settings for "sub-tasks" gets you nowhere. For the majority of projects, two levels of nesting and one progress rollup are enough; dependencies only matter the day the order of the work does.

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