Google provides an application called Tasks, which is built-in to Gmail.

If you’ve got a favorite client that handles task creation really well, let us know in the comments, and we’ll take a look. You can use Gmail or Outlook clients, but they’re not much use if you want to synchronize your tasks from your phone to your Mac.īecause Gmail and Outlook are the cream of this particular crop, we’ll focus on those. The same as on a Mac, people who have an iPhone and want to use Apple Mail are not going to get much from the mobile app. In addition, when you install an add-in to Outlook, it automatically installs on the desktop client, and the mobile and web apps. So, if you manage your tasks in Trello and install the add-in to the Gmail or Outlook client, it’s automatically available when you open the corresponding mobile app, as well. Neither has the task creation tools of the web or client versions, but they both automatically carry over the add-ins to third-party apps. When it comes to mobile apps, both Gmail and Outlook work pretty much the same. Or you can send email to your third-party to-do list manager and manage them there. If you want to manage tasks on a desktop client, your best option is probably Thunderbird for Mac. Apple Mail does task management poorly compared to Gmail and Outlook. On a Mac, the picture is a bit less positive. If you already use a third-party to-do list manager, though, Thunderbird won’t cut the mustard.

If you can’t use Outlook for some reason, Thunderbird is a good alternative. Thunderbird does have some built-in task management features, and they’re not bad, but Outlook is much slicker and allows you to connect to myriad third-party apps. If you don’t want a desktop client, Gmail’s probably your best bet.įor Windows desktop clients, Outlook wins hands down. There’s even a keyboard shortcut to create a task straight from a mail-no mousing required. The Tasks application is built-in, and it’s easy to turn a mail into a task. There are many clients available for managing your email and, as you might expect, some are better than others for creating tasks.įor web clients, Gmail does the job very well. RELATED: Forget Inbox Zero: Use OHIO to Triage Your Emails Instead Some Email Clients Are Better for Task Creation Than Others Well, you can! And we’re going to show you how. What if you could cut those six steps down to four? Or three? No wonder you end up with emails cluttering your inbox. That’s six steps, just to add something to a to-do list.

Set the details, such as priority, due date, color code, and anything else you use.

Copy and paste the relevant parts of the email into the new task.

Open your preferred to-do list manager.

The manual process for turning an email into a task often goes something like this:

It’s tempting to leave emails in your inbox because it’s easier, but then tasks you need to accomplish are buried in the incoming deluge of email. Your inbox is not a to-do list it’s an inbox.

Manage tasks in outlook