How to plan a route with multiple stops and stop driving in circles

5 min readUpdated: 29 September 2026

A government office, the pharmacy, a parcel pick-up, two client visits — when you need to visit several places in one day, the wrong order can cost you an hour of driving back and forth. A moment of planning is enough to avoid it.

When route planning pays off

Errands in town — offices, shops, pick-up points.
Field work: client visits, servicing, measurements, deliveries.
Renovating or moving — a round of wholesalers and shops.
Sightseeing on a trip — several attractions in one day.

Order: by time or shortest?

If some places have a fixed time (a visit at 10:00, a pick-up before 15:00), the route has to follow the calendar. If not, it's better to arrange the places so that the total distance is as short as possible. With five stops you can still do it by hand; with ten you can't — there are millions of possible orders.

Before you set off

List all the places for the day
Mark the ones with a fixed time
Check opening hours
Choose a starting point (home, office)
Set the order and open navigation
Leave extra time for parking

How to do it in Add My Task

Each place is a task with a date and a location — search for the address, paste a Google Maps link or click on the map.
Open the task map (for one board or all of them — “Map and routes” in the menu) and choose Day or Week.
Set the order: By time or Shortest, start from your location or from the first task, and travel by car, on foot or by bike.
Click Open in Google Maps — on your phone you can start navigation straight away. Google Maps accepts up to 10 points at once, so longer routes are split into parts. You can also download a GPX file for another navigation app.
Working as a team? Assign tasks to people, and everyone can turn on the Only mine filter to see their own route on the map.

Tip: In the week view each day has its own route. It's a handy way to spread field visits so that you cover one area per day.

Good to know

Distances in the list are measured in a straight line. Google Maps will show the real travel time and distance, including traffic.
The “Shortest” order ignores task times — check that appointments with a fixed time still fit.
The map only loads after you click “Show map”; the list of places and the route work without it. We don't store your location.

Turn your list into a shared board

Add My Task is free and runs in the browser. Create a board, invite people and assign tasks — in a minute.

Create a board for free

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