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Task management and to-do list apps offer many benefits. They make it easier to plan your personal and work life and avoid missing important tasks. They remind you about crucial stuff you often forget about when juggling many duties.
Google Tasks is one of the most widely used task management apps, helped by its association with the world’s leading email and search engine provider. This app is completely free, unlike many rival tools that require monthly or annual subscriptions.
I tested Google Tasks to evaluate its pros and cons and help you decide if it’s worthwhile. Read on to learn what it offers and if it’s your ideal task management app.
Google Tasks: Plans and pricing
As mentioned, Google Tasks doesn’t cost a dime to use. You can download it or access it from a web browser for free. The only requirement is having a Google account, which you likely already have.
Google Tasks: Features
Google Tasks is one of the simplest and most intuitive task management apps I’ve tested. It doesn’t have the most advanced features you’ll find in some rival apps, but it fulfills its core purpose of enabling users to create effective schedules.
After downloading Google Tasks or logging into it via a web browser, you’ll see the prominently displayed “+ Create” button at the top corner. Clicking this button lets you create a new task.
When creating a task, you’ll fill in the title, description, date, and time. You can set the task to recur, e.g., repeating daily or weekly. After creating the task, Google will send you notifications at the scheduled time.
When using the mobile app, you’ll receive a push notification directly on your smartphone. You can also receive an email notification for the task.
After creating a task, you can create multiple subtasks under it. For example, you can create a task called “Attend work meeting” and a subtask titled “Remember to discuss [topic]” at the meeting. You will be notified about the main task and its subtasks at the scheduled time.
I liked that Google Tasks syncs seamlessly across devices. For instance, I created a task on a web browser and received a notification on the smartphone app. When you create or edit a task, it automatically syncs to any device or web browser you’re logged into.
Google Tasks also seamlessly integrates with other Google products. For example, you can access your task list within the Gmail app. You can also add, move, or delete these tasks within your Gmail dashboard.
Integration with Google Assistant enables you to create tasks via voice command. When you ask Google Assistant to set a reminder, it’s automatically saved as a task within Google Tasks. You can edit the reminder from your Google Tasks dashboard, and Google Assistant will alert you about the updated information.
I enjoyed setting reminders on Google Tasks and getting voice alerts on my Google Home Mini. It’s a fitting example of third-party integration making Google Tasks an intuitive to-do list app.
Likewise, you can access your saved tasks on Google Drive, Calendar, Docs, Chat, and many other tools. Integration enables convenient access to your to-do list, ensuring you don’t miss crucial reminders.
My main complaint is that Google Tasks doesn’t offer advanced collaborative features. For example, some to-do list apps let you share tasks with other users. On these apps, you can share reminder lists with your colleagues, friends, and family. Anyone can add reminders to these lists for the entire group, enabling seamless collaboration; however, Google Tasks lacks this feature.
Google Tasks is more of a personal task management app than a collaborative one. It works reliably for personal use, but is not the best for teamwork.
Google Tasks: Interface and use
Google Tasks features a straightforward interface that is easy to understand. There’s nothing complex in its interface, as it revolves around the core feature of creating tasks.
On the web browser, features are arranged neatly on the left, and the dashboard is on the right. The mobile app uses the same arrangement.
With a white background and a few other colors to highlight elements, you can easily navigate Google Tasks as a first-time user. The only learning curve might be accessing your tasks from other Google apps, but that is still easy.
Google Tasks: Customer support
Google Tasks: Customer support
Google provides detailed user guides and manuals about its Tasks app. You can visit the official help page and learn about Google Tasks’ features and how to navigate it. If you’re facing issues with the app, this page helps you troubleshoot and solve them.
Google doesn’t offer the best direct support for consumer apps, but Tasks is a simple and free solution that you’ll likely not need direct support for.
Google Tasks: The Competition
Apple Reminders is the main Google Tasks rival I’d like to highlight. I have tested both platforms extensively, noting their pros and cons in comparison to each other.
Apple Reminders is a more intuitive and collaborative task management tool. It allows you to organize your tasks better and share task lists with other iCloud users. It’s a free tool you can install on an iOS device or access from a web browser.
However, Apple Reminders has a drawback: there is no Android app, unlike Google Tasks, which is available on both iOS and Android.
Google Tasks: Final verdict
Google Tasks is an excellent app for managing your personal activities. It makes scheduling and planning your activities easy and keeps you alert about crucial tasks. It’s not the most advanced task management tool, but it excels at its core function. I wish Google Tasks had more collaborative features like some rival tools, but we don’t always get what we want.
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