diff --git a/today/cli.py b/today/cli.py
index 263d61a..529ccec 100644
--- a/today/cli.py
+++ b/today/cli.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 import itertools
 from datetime import date, timedelta
-from typing import List, Optional
+from typing import List, Optional, Union
 import functools
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ class CliArgs:
     task_dir: Path
     today: date
     lookahead_days: timedelta
-    task_id: Optional[int]
+    task_id: Optional[Union[int, str]]
 
     # Only display tasks that are due / have reminders up to and including this day
     def task_date_filter(self) -> date:
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     )
     parser.add_argument(
         "task_id",
-        type=int,
+        type=str,
         nargs="?",
         help="Show the description of this specific task",
     )
@@ -76,11 +76,19 @@ def parse_args(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser, args: List[str]) -> CliArgs:
         today = date(int(today_split[2]), int(today_split[0]), int(today_split[1]))
     else:
         today = date.today()
+    task_id: Optional[Union[int, str]]
+    if not ns.task_id:
+        task_id = None
+    else:
+        try:
+            task_id = int(ns.task_id)
+        except ValueError:
+            task_id = ns.task_id
     return CliArgs(
         task_dir=task_dir,
         lookahead_days=lookahead_days,
         today=today,
-        task_id=ns.task_id,
+        task_id=task_id,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/today/scripts/start.py b/today/scripts/start.py
index bb86eb6..2aba50c 100644
--- a/today/scripts/start.py
+++ b/today/scripts/start.py
@@ -14,18 +14,23 @@ def run(args) -> None:
         task_file.write_text("")
     else:
         tasks = parse_task_files(cli_args)
-        if cli_args.task_id >= len(tasks):
-            print(
-                f"The task id provided ({cli_args.task_id}) is not in range, rerun today"
-            )
-            sys.exit(1)
-        task = tasks[cli_args.task_id]
-        # path = " → ".join(task.path)
-        # path = " / ".join(task.path)
-        path = " <span weight='bold'>/</span> ".join(task.path)
-        # current_task = f"<span weight='bold'> Current Task ({cli_args.task_id}) -</span>" if False else ""
-        rel_path = task.file_path.relative_to(cli_args.task_dir)
-        task_snippet = f"<span color='white'> {path} <span weight='bold' color='red'>→</span> {task.title} <span color='lightgray'>({rel_path}:{task.line_number})</span></span>"
+        task_snippet: str
+        if isinstance(cli_args.task_id, str):
+            # This is an ad-hoc task that doesn't correspond to any task file, just display the string
+            task_snippet = f"<span color='white' weight='bold'>Ad-hoc task:</span> <span color='lightgrey'>{cli_args.task_id}</span>"
+        else:
+            if cli_args.task_id >= len(tasks):
+                print(
+                    f"The task id provided ({cli_args.task_id}) is not in range, rerun today"
+                )
+                sys.exit(1)
+            task = tasks[cli_args.task_id]
+            # path = " → ".join(task.path)
+            # path = " / ".join(task.path)
+            path = " <span weight='bold'>/</span> ".join(task.path)
+            # current_task = f"<span weight='bold'> Current Task ({cli_args.task_id}) -</span>" if False else ""
+            rel_path = task.file_path.relative_to(cli_args.task_dir)
+            task_snippet = f"<span color='white'> {path} <span weight='bold' color='red'>→</span> {task.title} <span color='lightgray'>({rel_path}:{task.line_number})</span></span>"
         Path("/tmp/task").write_text(task_snippet)
 
     # https://i3wm.org/docs/i3status.html
diff --git a/today/scripts/today.py b/today/scripts/today.py
index aeeaf57..252f5d1 100644
--- a/today/scripts/today.py
+++ b/today/scripts/today.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ def run(args) -> None:
 
     # If a specific task is displayed, the program will exit
     if cli_args.task_id is not None:
+        assert isinstance(cli_args.task_id, int)
         if cli_args.task_id < 0 or cli_args.task_id >= len(tasks):
             console.print(f"The task_id {args.task_id} does not exist")
             sys.exit(1)