Quire Sublist: Bridge the Gap between Team To Do Lists and Personal Productivity

Last updated: May 29, 2026

TL;DR: Quire Sublists are personalized filtered views of a project's master task list. Save the filter, name it, optionally share it with selected team members, and switch back to the master view in one click. The master list stays the team's source of truth; the Sublist is your view of it. Available on every plan including free.

The cognitive case for personal filtered views is well-established. Cal Newport's Deep Work argues that high-value knowledge work requires sustained focus on a narrow set of tasks, and the most common obstacle is the visible clutter of unrelated work demanding attention. Research by the University of California's Gloria Mark found that it takes about 23 minutes to fully refocus once your attention gets pulled away, so a screen full of tasks that aren't yours carries a real cost. David Allen's Getting Things Done makes the same point from a different angle: the trusted system only works if you can scope it down to what matters right now. Sublist is Quire's mechanism for getting from a shared 200-task project to your 20-task view without abandoning the team's source of truth.

Do you ever think how amazing it would feel to make the tasks in your to do list disappear and accomplish everything you set out for the day, so you can go home early then continue where you left off with your favorite Netflix show? However, more often, life won't go as planned, especially when you are working on a complex project with so many team members. By day's end, the team's shared task list looks like a matrix and no one would ever know where to get started. With so many team members working on the same list, it's mostly impossible to identify your tasks and how to connect all the dots together.

We know you’ve tried your best to optimize your productivity, but sometimes life gets in the way. At Quire, we never let the stress win and make you feel less of yourself. It's not you, it’s the way your team works with the to do list. Today, in order to solve the frustration and distraction problems once and for all, we introduce you with the ultimate Quire Sublist - the feature that will change the way you deal with your task list forever.

How does Quire's Sublist compare to filtered views in other PM tools?

Most modern PM tools support filtered views. The differences come down to whether views are per-user or per-project, and whether the view itself can be shared with named members.

The pattern: personal filtered views are common, but the granularity varies. Quire's per-user Sublists with optional sharing (including to the external team) is the unusual part of this row, especially since it sits on the free tier.

How do you personalize the way you view your team goals?

We’ve all been through this: sitting in conference rooms for hours on end where nothing gets done. Everyone has the same proposal and same action plan, but somehow you look at the eye of your teammates and you realize you two share the same feeling: I have absolutely no idea what is going on.

Lost in translation happens more often than you thought. No matter how good your communication skill is, everyone has very different ideas when it comes to interpreting a to do list. The tasks that matter to a manager may not mean that much to a staff. Letting team members have the ability to create a personalized list is the secret to getting things done.

Tip: You can create as many sublists as you want and set different view permission for each sublist.

For one project in Quire, you can have as many sublists as you wish. For example, you might create a sublist named Design Reference and put all of the tasks/subtasks that are related to the task of Design Reference. Instead of creating a matrix of tags that drive all of the project members crazy, with your own personalized sublist, you can focus on the right tasks at the right time, without getting distracted by everything else.

And when you are working with the sublists, you can always switch back to the “master” list at any time to view all of the tasks shared between team members and the big picture of your project.

Learn more on how to create a Sublist

How do you tackle to-do lists as a winning team?

We encourage you and your team to dream big but keep the to-do list relevant and straight to the point. If you have too many things to look at, you will end up not knowing where to focus on. Same thing with your to-do list, if there are too many tasks laying around, you will get lost before you even start working on your list.

You can build in as many tasks as you want, your team members can also contribute to the task list and eventually create a big picture on how to achieve team goals. The brainstorming process can last forever until your team gets on the same page. However, when your team sits down at the desk and start working on the task list, you can use Quire Sublist to create a shorter version of the ever-growing list and focus on the tasks that matter to each individual only.

Tip: You can select the same tasks and create different sublists.

There are often some team members working together on the same section of the project. Quire Sublist was born to help you create a focused view for yourself and Also, for the project members and even the external team that share the same workload. If you are a team manager, for example, you can select several crucial tasks related to the Phase 1 of the Product Development and create a sublist named Phase 1 then share with your team members. This way, everyone is kept on the same page and they all know which tasks are relevant to the milestone.

The key to productivity is to get focused on what should be done, instead of being worried about everything all over the place. With the combination of Quire MyTasks II and Sublist, now your team can be more proactive to stay on top of the deadlines.

How do you stay realistic with an ambitious to-do list?

When Quire was born, we shared our philosophy to the world: every great dream needs a doable starting point. You can dream the world but without laying out the groundwork, you can never make your dreams come true. Quire is one of the few if not saying the first to allow users to create unlimited sublists within a master list. Productivity is all about getting focused on the right tasks at the right time. Nested task list, Kanban Board, Sublists are the powerful trio to help you visualize and accomplish your dreams.

We hope Quire Sublist can be a part of your successful stories, whether you are planning for your company trip or building a rocket. Helping you improve productivity, get things done and achieve your dreams is always our mission from day one. Share your stories with us on Twitter @quire_io or email us at feedback@quire.io.