Using Outlook tasks with Microsoft To Do

Outlook and To Do are essential tools for communication, organization, and getting things done. Learn how you can integrate Outlook Tasks and To Do to streamline your task management.

Outlook Tasks and To Do are helpful for your personal projects or work projects. Both Tasks and To Do can help you visualize what you need to complete. They can also give you reminders to stay on top of tasks.

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If you’re a student or a professional, submitting projects late can have major consequences. Even your day-to-day personal tasks may have deadlines. Learn how you can make Tasks and To Do work together.

Syncing Tasks with To Do

To Do is automatically integrated with Outlook, so any items that you put in your To Do list will also appear in Outlook. However, you’ll need to use the same Microsoft account in both Outlook and To Do to streamline them. If you use one Microsoft account for Outlook and a different one for To Do, you won’t be able to see the items on both platforms.

How to find Tasks and To Do in Outlook

To find Tasks and To Do in Outlook, open Outlook and click the three dots towards the bottom left of the screen. Next, click Tasks. This will open both your To Do list and Tasks.
If you’d like, you can also pin Tasks and To Do to the top ribbon of Outlook. This will make it easier and faster to access them. To add Tasks and To Do to the top ribbon of Outlook:

Right-click the ribbon.
Click Customize the Ribbon.
Under the dropdown, choose All Commands.
Click New Group and name the group.
Select Tasks, then add it to your new group.
Select To-Do Bar, then add it to your new group.
Click OK. To Do and Tasks will now appear in your Outlook ribbon.

What’s the difference between Tasks and your To Do List?

There aren’t many significant differences between Tasks and your To Do List. You can easily create reminders, set due dates and priority levels, and update how far along the project is using percentages in both Tasks and your To Do list. If you’d like, you can use Tasks for work-related projects and To Do for personal projects, or vice-versa. This can help keep your important projects organized.

The main difference between Tasks and your To Do list is that when you flag an email in Outlook, it will automatically be added to your To Do list, not Tasks. However, if you want to make an email a task, you can select it and drag it into the Tasks icon.

Tips for organizing your tasks

At the end of each week, go through any old or completed items and delete them. Having too many items in your To Do List will make it harder to stay organized and create visual clutter.
You can create categories for each of your task items. To set a category, right-click an item on your list, then click Categorize. You can use different categories for home projects, work projects, and more.
Set different priority levels for your To Do items. If they are all high priority, this can cause unreasonable stress or make you indifferent towards items that are genuinely urgent.
Set reminders for each of your tasks a few hours or days before they are due to keep you on track. To set reminders in Outlook, double click a To Do or Tasks item. You’ll need to set a due date in order to set a reminder. Select your due date for the item, then check the box next to Reminder. You can use the calendar to choose when you’d like to receive a reminder.
To set a reminder in To Do, simply click the task, and then click Remind me. You can choose a time and date to receive the reminder.

Adding items to Tasks and To Do will help you stay on track toward meeting your goals. Explore more ways to stay organized with Microsoft 365.