# Break big work into sub-items

Items inside an item, each with its own date and done tick, for work too big for one line.

A checklist line is a step you tick off. A sub-item is an item inside another item: it has its own dates, done tick, description, labels and fields, and its own bar on the timeline. Use one when a step needs more than a tick.

## 1. Add sub-items

1. Open the item and choose **Add to item**, then **Sub-item**.
2. Type in **Add a sub-item** and press Enter. The box stays open for the next one. Later, **Add sub-item** under the list opens it again.
3. Tick a sub-item when it is done. The heading counts them, such as **1 of 4**.

![An item with four sub-items, one done and one with a due date, and the Add a sub-item box](https://listspace.app/help-images/guide-sub-items-light.webp "Sub-items inside their item, with the count at the top")

## 2. Give a sub-item its details

1. Click a sub-item's title. It opens in the same window, like any item.
2. Add a due date, a description or labels, as you would on an item.
3. Choose **Sub-item of** at the top to go back to the parent.

## 3. See them in each view

- **Board**: sub-items stay inside their parent, and the parent shows a small count such as **2/5**.
- **Table**: sub-items sit indented under their parent. Click the arrow next to the parent to fold them away.
- **Calendar**: sub-items with dates show like any item.
- **Timeline**: sub-items sit under their parent. A parent without dates of its own gets a thin bar from the first start to the last due date of its sub-items.

## 4. Move items in and out

1. To put an item under another one, open it, choose **More**, then **Make it a sub-item of...**, and pick the parent.
2. To make a sub-item an item of its own again, choose **More**, then **Turn into an item**.

Moving, copying or archiving a parent takes its sub-items along.

## Good to know

- Sub-items go one level deep: a sub-item has no sub-items of its own.
- A sub-item is always on the same board as its parent.
- Subtasks in a CSV from Asana, Jira or ClickUp come in as sub-items. See [Move from Trello, Notion, Asana or Jira](https://listspace.app/guides/move-from-trello-notion-asana-or-jira).
- Ask your AI to "break this item into sub-items". It can make them, and move them under another parent.

## Help articles this guide uses

- [Sub-items](https://listspace.app/help/sub-items)
- [Items and documents](https://listspace.app/help/items-and-documents)
- [Boards](https://listspace.app/help/boards)

This guide as a web page: https://listspace.app/guides/break-big-work-into-sub-items. All guides: https://listspace.app/guides.