Have you ever missed out on replying to an important email? Well, most of us have been there. Fortunately, Gmail allows you to add emails as Tasks and easily access the added tasks right from your Gmail Inbox.

When you add an email as a task, the email subject line is mentioned as the name of the task, and a link to the email is also added to it for your convenience to refer to the email.

Moreover, after adding an email as a task, you can add more details to it, set a deadline for it (the task will appear on your calendar), add a subtask to it, and even organize the email tasks efficiently by creating multiple lists.

Using the 'Add to Task' Shortcut in Gmail

The easiest way to add an email as a task is to use the 'Add to Tasks' shortcut in Gmail.

  1. Open the email you want to add to Tasks from your Gmail inbox.
  2. Click on the 'Add to tasks' button in the toolbar above email subject line.
  1. The email will be added as a task and will appear in the 'Tasks' pane on the right edge of your Gmail screen.

Gmail will automatically populate the task name from the email subject line and also add a link to the email in the task entry for easy reference.

You can also add multiple emails at once to Tasks. Go to your Gmail inbox, select desired emails using the preceding checkbox on each email and then click on the 'Add Tasks' button on the toolbar.

Drag and Drop Emails into Google Tasks Pane

If you quickly want to add an email to task while you're scrolling through your inbox, you can also simply drag n drop the email directly from the inbox into the Google Task pane on the right edge of the screen.

  1. Open your Gmail inbox.
  2. Click on the 'Google Task' icon on the right sidebar. This will open and stick the Google Task panel on the right edge of your screen.
  1. Simply drag the email you wish to add to tasks and drop it inside the Tasks panel.

You can also select multiple emails using individual checkboxes beside each email, drag them and drop into the Tasks panel to create tasks for each of the email.

Edit Details, Mark as Done, or Delete the Added Task

You can use the 'Details' section to specify actions to be taken for the task. If the email is time-sensitive, add a deadline for the task using the 'Date/time' option. If you wish to re-read the email, click on the link to open the email right from the task panel.

To set a deadline for the task, click on the Date/time option and select the date using the calendar. Click on the 'Set time' option to set a time for it. The task will appear on your Google Calendar.

To mark a task as completed, click on the 'radio button' preceding the task to mark it as completed.

To delete a task, click on the 'ellipsis' icon and select the 'Delete' option.

Tips and Tricks to Get More Out of Tasks

Google Tasks allows you to create multiple task lists, which you can use to organize tasks of various categories. You can also add a 'sub task' to a main task which could be a necessary action to be performed. You can also 'star' to highlight important email tasks first.

Creating a New Task List

  1. To create a new task list, open the 'Tasks' panel. Then, click on 'My Tasks' and select 'Create new list' option from the expanded menu.
  1. This will bring an overlay window on the Task Panel. Enter a name for the list you wish to create and click 'Done'.
  1. You can access the new list using the 'My Tasks' drop-down menu on the Tasks panel. With multiple lists, you can organize your email tasks according to the category and prioritize tasks much more efficiently.

Adding a Subtask

Open the Task Panel and navigate to a Task. Click on the ellipsis icon and select the 'Add a subtask' option.

This will create an indented task under the main email task you had previously added. You can use the 'Sub task' feature to define tasks that must be completed simultaneously, before or after the main task.

Marking important tasks with a Star. To mark a task as important, you can simply navigate to the task and click on the 'Star' icon next to the title of the task.

Add Emails as Tasks in Gmail on Mobile

The Gmail mobile app also supports adding emails to tasks. Though it's not as direct as it's on the desktop, it's handy nonetheless. You'll have to install the Google Tasks app as well for this to work on mobile.

  1. Launch the Gmail app on your mobile device.
  2. Open the email you wish to add as a task in Gmail.
  3. From the email screen, tap on the 'ellipsis' icon in the toolbar.
  1. Select 'Add to Tasks' from the overflow menu.
  2. The Gmail app will then open the 'Google Tasks' app on your device if it is installed. Else, you will be redirected to the respective app store to download & install the 'Google Tasks' app.

If your work routine involves receiving tasks via email or performing actions based on the said emails, adding emails to the task list can be a very helpful and convenient feature for you to make sure you do not miss out on tasks.

In addition to that, people who tend to have a separate time to read and reply to emails to maximize productivity during the day can also benefit highly from using this feature.