To begin, open your Google Drive. Open a new Sheets to-do list template, And rename it. Then, begin to add details to your list. The to-do list template has columns for both the date and task. Add enough details to the steps in the Task column to make sure you know exactly how to complete that step. Get more done with the Google Tasks mobile app. Manage, capture and edit your tasks from anywhere, at any time, with to-dos that sync across all of your devices. Integrations with Gmail and Google Calendar help you get tasks done, faster. Quickly capture tasks anywhere. Create task lists with your most important to-dos. View, edit and manage tasks on the go, from any device. Manage.
Redesigned, revamped, and relaunched last year, Google Tasks is equipped with simple task management features that are so easy to use that you could be the least tech-savvy person around and still use it effortlessly.
If you have been searching for a to-do list that synchronizes with your email and calendar, look no further — Google Tasks is your answer. It has the ability to declutter your life and get you so organized that even Marie Kondo would be proud.
In this guide, we’ll go through everything you need to know about Google Tasks to help you optimize your daily life. From how it works and how to synchronize it with other Google services to keyboard shortcuts and more, we’ll hit them all.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
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Post Contents
- What Is the Google Tasks Manager?
- Where to Find Google Tasks
- Add Email as a Task
What Is the Google Tasks Manager?
Officially known as Google Tasks (not to be confused with Google Chrome’s Task Manager), this to-do list by Google was actually first launched way back in 2008. It has, however, spent much of its existence being overshadowed by the tech giant’s many other more popular features.
The fact that there was no direct one-click access to it from the Gmail or Google Calendar desktop interface also meant it was not as often explored as other services. Epubor ultimate 3 0 10 823.
But this all changed in June 2018.
As part of efforts to enhance the G Suite experience, Google launched a series of changes, including adding Tasks to its core services alongside Drive, Calendar, Hangouts, etc.
How to Use Google Tasks
Simply put, Google Tasks is a task management service ripped down to its basic core. With it, you can:
- Add and remove tasks
- Add details to tasks
- Set due dates and times for tasks (synchronizing with Google Calendar)
- Receive tasks notifications
- Add emails as tasks (synchronizing with Gmail)
- Add subtasks
- Mark tasks as complete
- Have multiple lists
- Have different lists for different accounts
It pretty much offers the most fundamental features of a to-do list in an extremely minimalistic and user-friendly layout and design. You can think of it as a digitized version of the traditional pen-and-paper notebook that you carry around with you, but this is integrated with your email and alarm clock.
As it stands, it is meant for individual use and does not have the more complex project and productivity management capabilities like those offered by Trello, Asana, and other productivity apps.
Aimed at providing users with the ability to make their lives more efficient, it is integrated and synchronized with possibly the two most-used G Suite features: Gmail and Google Calendar.
Where to Find Google Tasks
If you are a regular G Suite user, of the changes Google launched last year, most of your attention would have been on the new Gmail design.
Smart replies, smart email compositions, and the ability to snooze emails are great and exciting new features. But what about beyond your email to other new features such as the brand new Google Tasks?
With its revamp, Google has now made it extremely easy for G Suite users to access Google Tasks. Here’s how.
Google Tasks Desktop
On your desktop, Tasks is already integrated into your Google interface. You may locate it in a side panel on the right from any of the following: Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
This is a panel that you can choose to hide or show.
Click on the icon to open up your Tasks list(s).
If you are a first-time user, you will see that a default list called “My Tasks” has already been created. You will not be able to delete this list, but you can rename it to whatever you like.
And that is as easy as clicking on the overflow menu (the three vertical dots) on the top right to pull up the options available to modify your list — including renaming it.
Google Tasks App
The app is completely free to download from the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.
Likewise for the app, first-time users will have the same “My Tasks” list already created for them that can be renamed.
Navigating your way around the mobile and desktop versions is pretty much the same. The only difference is that the overflow menu on the mobile app is located on the bottom right instead of the top right.
And just like all other G Suite features, both app and desktop versions are automatically synchronized.
Add Reminders to Google Tasks From Google Calendar
If you have been using Google Calendar reminders and are getting started with Tasks to organize your life, it would certainly help to have your reminders and tasks in one single list for easy viewing.
After all, Google Calendar reminders work just like Tasks, and condensing everything into one view eliminates the need to switch back and forth. Plus, it all falls into Google’s plan for Tasks to be the “one destination to track what you need to do in G Suite.”
You can copy your existing reminders from Google Calendar in two easy steps:
- Open the overflow menu
- Select the last option on the list: “Copy reminders to Tasks”
This is, however, only a one-time import. So, changes such as edits to reminders or new reminders added to Google Calendar after existing reminders have been copied will not be automatically reflected on Tasks. Any synchronization of Reminders and Tasks from this point on must be done manually by repeating the above steps.
View Tasks on Google Calendar
If you are a planner, you will want to be able to view your tasks on a calendar so that you can get organized. Fortunately with Tasks, you have the option of doing so on Google Calendar as long as you have set a date (and time) to your task. Here’s how to schedule a task:
- Select the option to add a task, or if you already have a task created, enter edit mode
- Click on “Add date/time”
- Indicate the date (and time) you want to schedule the task for
- Click “Ok” if you are on your desktop or “Done” if you are using the app
You can also choose to schedule a recurring task, which could be helpful for if you have medication you need to take on a daily or regular basis, or tend to be a little more forgetful with things like paying bills on time.
In order for your scheduled tasks to be visible on Google Calendar, make sure you have the “Tasks” option selected on your Google Calendar and it will be listed in the corresponding timeslot. If there is no specific time assigned to the task, it will simply be listed as an “All day” task.
Reschedule Tasks on Google Calendar
Amid the hustles and bustles of life, it is common for plans to not always pan out as scheduled. If you need to reschedule your tasks, you may do that directly from Google Calendar on your desktop.
This actually works in the exact same way as rescheduling an event. There is, of course, the old-school method of selecting the task, going into edit mode, and then assigning it a new date and time.
Alternatively, you could simply drag and drop.
If you are on the day view, tasks that have been assigned a specific time can be moved to a different time slot. “All day” tasks will, however, require the old-school method in order for them to be rescheduled.
If you are on the week view, tasks that have been assigned a specific time can be moved to any time slot in that specific week. “All day” tasks can also be moved to a different day as long as it falls on that same week.
The rescheduling process becomes a little more rigid on the month view as things then become rather condensed. Tasks that have been set for a specific time and date cannot be moved to a different time slot on the same day and can only be moved to a different day (within the same month) while maintaining the same time slot. The same goes for “All day” tasks.
Receive Google Tasks Notifications
If you lead very packed days, you may want to activate notifications to facilitate your life and remind yourself when a task is due. If you have set a time for your task, you will receive a Google Calendar notification on your desktop at the scheduled time. Don’t worry if you happen to be away from your computer, as you will also receive a notification from the Tasks app.
If you have set a date but not time, you will receive a notification at 9 a.m. local time on the date the task has been set.
Only tasks that have dates set will appear on Google Calendar. These are synchronized automatically, meaning that any changes to its date, time, or details will be automatically reflected on Google Calendar. And vice versa.
Add Email as a Task
Have an important email to reply to that you simply didn’t get to when you received it? That may very well be the case if you are a successful entrepreneur with a jam-packed schedule. Fret no more, there’s now a simple solution to that.
One of the best features of Tasks is how easily it integrates with Gmail. Besides having an all-in-one view of both Gmail and Tasks on your desktop, you can now easily add emails to your tasks.
On Your Desktop Browser
- Go to your inbox
- Open Tasks from the right sidebar
- Drag and drop the email into your task list
If you are already in the email, click on the overflow menu of your inbox at the top and select “Add to tasks.” This works regardless of whether you have the Tasks sidebar opened.
If your list is sorted by date, the new task is added into the “No date” category at the bottom of the list. If you have it sorted by “My order,” it goes right to the top.
The task is automatically named as the email subject, and to facilitate matters, there is a direct link in the task to the email.
On Your Gmail App
- Open the email you want to set as a task
- Tap on the three vertical dots at the top right corner (next to the mark as read/unread option)
- Select “Add to tasks”
To view or edit the task, you simply click on “View” on the confirmation message that pops up immediately. However, this is only there for a few seconds.
If you miss it, simply open up the app to locate the newly tasked email. If you have your list sorted by date, you’ll find the task at the bottom under “No due date.” Otherwise, it should be the first task on your list.
Just like any other task, you can add details, subtasks, and set a date and time (as a reminder to yourself to reply, for example). And just like the desktop version, there is a direct link to the email at the bottom for easy access.
Sorting Tasks
You may sort your tasks by date or in any order you wish to have them. You can do this by pulling up the overflow menu and selecting between “My order” or “Date.”
Having your tasks sorted by date basically means tasks with the earliest scheduled due date will be listed at the top of your list and descend accordingly.
Note that you cannot rearrange your tasks if you have them sorted by date.
To bring in the “urgent versus important” debate here, the task that is due next obviously does not mean it is the most pressing task. So, you are welcome to sort your tasks yourself with “My order.”
By default, this is the order in which you have entered the tasks, with the newest addition at the top of the list. But you can rearrange the tasks however you wish.
It is worth noting that you can choose to have your tasks sorted differently in the app and desktop (e.g., by date in the app and by your own order on desktop or vice versa).
Keyboard Shortcuts
As if Tasks wasn’t already easy enough to use, Google introduced keyboard shortcuts to the desktop version to make it even more user-friendly.
Most of these shortcuts require the task to be first selected. You do so by clicking on it to bring up the cursor and then hitting the “escape” button twice. A task is selected when it has a grey shadow around its border.
Here’s a list of useful keyboard shortcuts:
Shift + Enter: Views/edits task details (task must be selected)
Esc: Exits task detail view or edit mode
Space: Marks a task as completed or incomplete (task must be selected)
Enter: Adds new task or enters task edit mode (any task must be selected)
Backspace: Deletes task (select the task you want to delete and hold down backspace as if you’re deleting the name of the task)
And a few more:
Alt + Up Arrow: Moves task up (task must be selected)
Alt + Down Arrow: Moves task down (task must be selected)
Ctrl or Command + ]: Adds an indent to a task
Ctrl or Command + [: Removes an indent from a task
Shift + T: Adds email as a task
G + K: Opens Tasks
And hey, we will make it easier for you, too. To get a full list of these shortcuts, simply open the overflow menu and select “Keyboard shortcuts.”
Alternatively, just hit Ctrl or Command + / on your Gmail or Google Calendar desktop view. Note that Tasks must be open for this to work.
Conclusion
Google Tasks’ easy accessibility and usability makes it an absolute delight to use. Google has a detailed guide published on its G Suite Learning Center. But it is honestly so straightforward that no training or guide is really needed to understand how to navigate your way around it.
In addition, its seamless integration with other G Suite features, particularly Gmail and Google Calendar offers a very user-friendly experience. Here is a quick summary of what this integration allows you to do:
- Copy Google Calendar reminders to Google Tasks to get a comprehensive overview of your schedule on either service
- View your tasks on Google Calendar to avoid having to switch back and forth
- Reschedule your tasks through Google Calendar for easy organization and/or reorganization
- Add emails from Gmail as a task to remind yourself to get to them later
- Use keyboard shortcuts from basic G Suite services for easy access and management of your tasks
Whether you are thinking of starting a business or already have one up and running, Google Tasks’ simple design and features are guaranteed to make your business’ task management hassle-free.
Want to Learn More?
Task management can become tedious when you are juggling between multiple tasks and multiple apps. It is more of a necessity to create to-do lists before you start missing out on your important to-do’s.
If you are an individual user or a small business owner, Google Tasks app is one of the best to-do list apps for you. Although for a small business, you need to club Google Tasks with other apps. In this article, we’ll go over every detail about Google Tasks – from how to use Google Tasks to how to integrate it with your work apps for better work management (and everything in between).
Ready? Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
- How to Access Google Tasks?
- Use Powerful and Native Features of Google Tasks
- Leverage the power of Google Tasks Integrations
What is Google Tasks?
Google Tasks is a simple to-do list that was launched way back in 2008. Back in those days, Google Tasks was literally overshadowed by Google’s other primary features. There was no direct way to access Google Tasks from either Gmail or Google Calendars.
Fast-forward to 2018, Google Tasks finally got the attention it deserved. To enhance the G-Suite experience, Google put Google Tasks in the forefront along with Drive, Hangouts, and other services.
In the same year, Google Tasks app made it to the app store as a standalone app and in one-year’s time, Google started testing integration with Google Calendars. It was very recently this year that reports revealed how some users may have started to see the integration already live on their Google Calendars app.
How to Access Google Tasks?
Access Google Tasks on Desktop (Gmail)
In 2018, Google made several design changes to Gmail like smart replies, smart conversations, email snoozing, and many more. Along with these changes came in one major update – Google Tasks icon was placed on the right-hand side of Gmail. It was prominent and easy to access. Infact, you will be able to locate it on the right-hand panel of Drive, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
If you are using Google Tasks for the first time, you will see “My Tasks” created as the default task list. Ofcourse, you can edit and modify it. However, you cannot delete it. If you don’t like it, just consider renaming it to whatever you like.
With Google Tasks, you can:
- Add or remove a task
- Create sub-tasks
- Add dates and times to each task – which are automatically synced to your Google Calendars
- Add emails as tasks
- Mark tasks as complete
- Delete completed tasks
- Have multiple task lists
- Create different task lists for different accounts
Google Tasks offers you everything you are looking for to create an effective to-do list. It has the most minimalistic design layout giving it a feel of using pen-and-paper, but with added benefits.
There is nothing complicated about Google Tasks, nor is it designed to handle complicated work projects. For that, you have advanced task management apps.
As Petra Odak from BetterProposals.io says –
The biggest benefit of using Google Tasks is how bare-bones it is. Compared to other project management tools that have tons of integrations, functionalities and options, Tasks is pretty minimal. Some hate it because of this, but I actually appreciate how lightweight it is. Just add your tasks, create a list, go through it when a task is done and that’s it.
You can, however, double the benefit of using Google Tasks by integrating with other apps (which we will discuss in this article a little later).
Google Tasks come with a handful of desktop shortcuts that you can use. It is available inside your Google Tasks – click on the overflow menu and select keyboard shortcuts to see what shortcuts are available.
Here are the available Google Tasks shortcuts that you can use. These shortcuts are only for the desktop version. The below screenshot is taken from a MAC OS. You may see slightly different icons if you are on any other OS like Windows.
Google Tasks Keyboard Shortcuts | ||
General | Enter Details View | Shift + Enter |
Mark Complete/Incomplete | Space | |
Enter Inline Edit Mode | Enter | |
Delete | Delete | |
Move Tasks Up/Down | Control+ up/down arrows | |
Indent | Command + ] | |
Unindent | Command + [ | |
Inline Edit Actions | Exit Edit Mode | Esc |
Add a Task | Enter | |
Add a Subtask | Command+Enter | |
Details View | Exit Detail View | Command+Enter |
Application | Undo (If Possible) | Command + Z |
Open Shortcuts | Command + / | |
Jump to Main Panel | Command + Control + , |
Access Google Tasks on Mobile (iOS and Android)
The Google Tasks desktop version and mobile app are pretty much the same in terms of design and layout. There is just one point of difference –
The overflow menu is located on the top right on the desktop and in the bottom right on the mobile app. The right-hand overflow menu in the mobile version of this to-do app lets you import reminders, rename lists, delete lists, and set up new themes for your Google Tasks app.
The left-hand bottom overflow menu lets you create new lists, show you the existing lists, and has a link for support.
Efficiently organize your work with Google Tasks
Just like with all other G-suite features, Google Tasks app and desktop versions are synced automatically.
Having said that, let’s get started with how you can use Google Tasks for your work. I will walk you through the native features of Google Tasks and how it can be used for marketing, team collaboration, and productivity (along with other apps).
Use Powerful and Native Features of Google Tasks
1. Add Tasks, Sub-Tasks and Recurring Tasks
You can simply add tasks to your Google Tasks to-do list, add a sub-task to it, and put a date and time.
You can add sub-tasks to each task in a simple click, be it on desktop or mobile app. Sub-tasks help in breaking down your work into sections.
For instance, below ‘My Tasks’ is your Task List, ‘Send Article Outline’ is your task title, ‘Send wireframe to the editor’ is your task description that is visible at a glance on your task list, and the remaining pointers are your sub-tasks that are visible only when you expand your task in the view mode.
When you add a date and time, you can set it to recur every day, every month, or year. If you are wondering how to create recurring tasks, then here it goes – when you add a date and time to your task, click on the Repeat option.
Now you can set this task to recur every day, month, or year as per your requirement.
If you create a recurring task, you will see this flow icon on that task indicating that it’s recurring.
2. Create multiple tasks lists for different projects
To create multiple task lists, simply click on the drop-down arrow beside ‘My Tasks’ and create a new task list, as shown below. Add a new name to your task list.
You can also use multiple Gmail accounts to create different task lists. This means you can juggle between your tasks by switching accounts in a click.
3. Use reminders for your tasks (or import from Google Reminders)
When you create a task, you automatically receive notifications on your email as you’d do for a calendar event. This is simply because any task that you add is automatically added to your calendar. Google has now clubbed Calendar, Tasks, and Reminder with one another. So its all interconnected and hassle-free. ?
Before we look into ways in which a new task can be added, let’s first see how using Google Calendar Reminders and Tasks together may impact your work management.
- Import Google Reminders to Google Tasks easily
If you’ve been using Google Calendar reminders and Tasks, it makes more sense to put everything in one list for easy viewing and access.
Google Calendar Reminders work pretty much the same as Google tasks. It helps in putting everything into one view without having to go back and forth.
To put everything into one single list, open Google Tasks. Click on the overflow menu beside My Tasks (or the task name that you have set up) and select the last option – Copy reminders to Tasks.
If you have any reminders created and you open the Tasks, you will automatically see a popup at the bottom to copy all reminders to tasks.
Note: When you import your reminders to Tasks, it is a one-time activity. When you make changes to the reminders or you add new ones after the import is done, the updates are not synced automatically on Tasks. To sync any new updates, you have to edit inside Tasks manually. Once you start to import, you can also choose to delete all the reminders in Google Reminders. A small pop up shows up when you initiate importing reminders to tasks like this –
Now, let’s get on with different ways in which you can add Tasks to your Task list.
4. Add Task from Google Calendars (and vice-versa)
When you add a task with date and time directly on Google Tasks, it is automatically visible on Google Calendars. The trick is to ensure that you have selected the Tasks option in your Google Calendar.
Google has added specific tabs like reminders, tasks, appointment slots, out of office, and events. When you add a task from Google Calendar by opting for the Task option, you specifically tell Google to treat it as a task. You choose to show it on a calendar or not. All I can is, it is part of segregating and organizing your work and to-do’s better.
You can create tasks in Google Calendar as well. To do this, open Google Calendars. Add a date and a time slot for when you want to create a calendar event. When the event editing box opens, simply select Tasks to create a task.
Once you have added all the details you need, just click on Save. Now this task appears in your task list on the right.
5. Add Google Tasks from Gmail in one-click
You can create tasks directly from your Gmail.
This is ideal when you quickly want to add an email to your task list because opening the task list and manually adding everything may take time. Same with going to your calendar and then adding a task can take up time. This is your quick option to get it listed in your task list. You can then come back and add details to it.
There is a ‘add to task’ icon on the top of your inbox along with icons for archive, report spam, mark unread, etc. When an email is selected, these icons show up.
To add an email to Tasks, simply select that email and click on the ‘add to tasks’ icon. The Task creator will open and you can add your task with all the details. The email subject line is automatically added as the Title in your Task, which of course can be edited.
For instance, when I add this email to my Tasks, it takes up the subject line “Follow up from Facebook” as the title in my Tasks. Also, you will see a small mailbox icon indicating that this task is added directly from the email. You can click on the edit icon to add details to this task.
You can add tasks when viewing an email. It isn’t necessary to always select an email from your inbox and add it to Task. You can do it when reading that email as well. When you open your email, you will find the same set of icons to add your email to your task list.
In case you are viewing from your mobile device, simply click on the overflow menu as shown below and add your email to Google Tasks.
6. Create tasks on the go with Google Tasks’ Chrome Extension
This is more of a cross-platform Google Tasks app on Desktop. This Chrome plugin can either launch as an independent app or open in a new tab. Along with adding daily to-do’s, you can:
- Expand the sidebar to wider or fullscreen
- Use it independently in a separate window or tab and not just as a Gmail add-on or Google calendar add-on.
- Export or print your task list
- Do general Google Task functions like sort lists
- Work offline on Google Tasks
This plugin will simply give you a flashback of Google Tasks Canvas from the old days. If you want to take Google Tasks offline, then this plugin is for you. Otherwise, the online add-on version with Gmail and Calendar is way more efficient.
Using Google Tasks as a Gmail add-on is surely the most effective way to add tasks. The tiniest problem is, you have to do it manually; all of it.
What if I tell you there is another alternative to your manual work – that which is automated? Sounds nice, isn’t it? You can integrate Google Tasks with Gmail and Google Calendars to automate adding tasks, adding labels, creating new emails from tasks, and so much more.
Leverage the power of Google Tasks Integrations
Google Tasks sync perfectly with Google Calendar and Gmail. However, when used with other apps, it perfectly synchronizes your work for you.
You can integrate Google Tasks with your email marketing apps, marketing automation tools, productivity tools, CRM, and live chat supports. Integrating Google Tasks with other apps lets you add tasks automatically.
Google Tasks App
There are over 100 apps with which you can sync Google Tasks for hassle-free task management. Let’s look at some use cases that you can try.
1. Set up Marketing Task Management with Google Tasks
If you are a marketer, you know the amount of to-do’s you have. You are juggling between the email marketing tool, marketing automation tool, CRM, as well as internal messengers. And you make sure all are linked with one another for a 360-degree view of what’s going on where.
Check out some integrations you can give a quick try –
1. Integrate Google Tasks with an advanced marketing automation tool like Hubspot to keep your marketing activities on track.
2. Sync Google Tasks with your CMS, like WordPress to put task creation on auto-pilot.
3. Try integrating Google Tasks with a CRM like Salesforce and sync your sales pipeline and to-do list.
You can integrate Google Tasks with a host of other marketing tools like form builders, landing pages, email marketing tools, and more.
2. Use Google Tasks for Productivity and Team Collaboration
Google Tasks app definitely improves your productivity personally by being an amazing to-do list app.
Rex Freiberger, CEO of GadgetReview says,
We use Google Tasks in combination with Google Calendar to manage our editorial calendar and pass out assignments to our staff. Each day we review content that needs to be produced and add to or create new lists to sort it. Mostly these are sorted into reviews, previews, how-to’s, and news. We also have a catch-all miscellaneous list.
Each piece of content is made as a task and sorted to a list, as described. Those tasks are then assigned to a member of our staff and added to the calendar with a due date for editing and publication date for the piece. Once the content is created, it’s moved off of the corresponding list so everyone knows it’s no longer needed.
However, you can quickly loop in your team (not by sharing but making sure that the smallest task does not escape your notice). Integrating Google Tasks with your productivity and team collaboration apps can help you stay on track with your work.
Check out some integration options with some of the popular productivity and collaboration tools.
1. Try integration Slack and Google Tasks to automatically send out Slack messages when a new task is added or updated, or a task is completed.
2. Integrate Google Tasks with Trello to put your team collaboration and task management in sync automatically.
3. Use Google Tasks with Microsoft Teams to collaborate and manage tasks efficiently, both for your teams and your personal task lists.
Task List Google Calendar
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Print Google Task List
In Conclusion
Google Tasks Pc
Whether you are working on your desktop or from your mobile, adding tasks has never been this easier. Google Tasks’s simple interface and features are on-spot for your business and personal needs. Integrate Google Tasks with a host of other apps to leverage the full potential of this simple task management tool.