how to end TODO lists in emacs org-mode

Question

I have a list of TODO items, and I\'m trying to have 2 TODO lists in the same file, but can\'t seem to end the first one.

FIRST LIST: TODAY
* TODO Item 1
  D         


        

Answer 1

Plain lists start with '-' and they end at white-space lines:

First list
- Item 1
- Item 2

Second List
- Item 1
- Item 2

But TODO's can only be recognized in a headlines (starting with a *). I think this is a part of the org-mode design. You can quickly turn a list into headings by marking the lines and pressing C-c *. A similar but more light-weight feature to TODO's, "checkboxes", can however be used in plain lists for having a list of subtask.

List a
- [X] Item 1
- [ ] Item 2

List B
- [ ] Item 1
- [ ] Item 2

C-c C-c Toggles a list item. Also lists can be nested and show the satus of their children.

- [ ] List A
  - [ ] Item 1
  - [ ] Item 2
- [-] List B
  - [X] Item 1
  - [ ] Item 2

Another possibility is using inline tasks C-c C-x t they have a specific ending

List 1
*************** TODO Item 1
*************** END

*************** TODO Item 2
*************** END
List 2
*************** TODO Item 1
*************** END
*************** TODO Item 2
*************** END
*************** TODO 
*************** END

More discussion can be found here