How to Add Tasks to Google Calendar (Computer and Phone)

Meetings go in your calendar. Jobs usually end up on a sticky note, in your head or in a separate app you forget to open. Putting tasks inside Google Calendar means the things you need to do sit next to the time you've got to do them, which is where most to-do lists fall down.

Tasks in Google Calendar are Google Tasks underneath, so anything you add shows in both places and in Gmail's side panel too.

How to add a task in Google Calendar on a computer

1. Open Google Calendar.
2. Click an empty time slot on your calendar, or click Create at the top left.
3. Click Task.
4. Type a title, then set the date, start time and how long you expect it to take.
5. Add a deadline and description if it helps.
6. Click Save.

How to add a task on your phone

1. Open the Google Calendar app.
2. Tap an empty slot, or tap Create.
3. Choose Task.
4. Add the details and tap Save.

The catch: a task needs a date to appear on your calendar

This is why people think their tasks have vanished. Google says tasks must have a date to appear on your calendar. If you add a task from the Tasks panel or Gmail without a date, it's saved, but it lives only in your task list. Give it a date and it turns up on the calendar. The other reason tasks disappear is that the Tasks calendar has been unticked under My calendars on the left. Tick it and they come back.

Task settings worth knowing

Setting	What it does
Start date and time	When you plan to work on it, and for how long
Deadline	The date it must be done, shown in the All day section
Description	Notes, links or the details you'll need
Free or Busy	Whether the task blocks your time for other people
Do not disturb	Mutes chat notifications while you work (work or school accounts only)
Automatically decline meetings	Declines invites while you're busy (work or school accounts only)

Those last two are the hidden gem for anyone on a Google Workspace account. Turn a task into protected focus time and Calendar will decline meetings that try to land on top of it.

How to mark a task as done

1. Click the circle to the left of the task name on your calendar.
2. Click Mark completed.

Completed tasks stay visible with a line through them, which is oddly satisfying at the end of a week.

How to see every task you haven't finished

At the top of your calendar, click Pending tasks. Google shows tasks from the last 365 days that are still open, which makes it a useful weekly review: anything that's been sitting there for a month either gets a date this week or gets deleted.

Tasks or events: which should you use?

• Use an event when other people are involved or the time can't move, like a client call.
• Use a task when it's your own work and you need to tick it off, like writing a proposal.
• Use a task with a time when you want to block focus time for it, and set it to Busy so nobody books over it.

If you've been relying on separate apps for this, my roundup of productivity software is worth a look before you add another tool.

Making tasks a daily habit

1. Each morning, open Calendar and check today's tasks before email.
2. Give every task a realistic time slot, not just a date.
3. At the end of the day, move anything unfinished to a new date rather than leaving it overdue.
4. Once a week, open Pending tasks and clear out what no longer matters.

Turning an email into a task

Because Calendar tasks are Google Tasks, you can create them from Gmail too. Open the email that needs action and use the add to Tasks option in Gmail's toolbar or side panel. The task keeps a link back to the email, so when you open it later you can jump straight to the message. Give it a date, and it lands on your calendar alongside everything else.

This is the habit that empties inboxes. Instead of leaving an email unread as a reminder, you turn it into a task with a date and archive the email. Your inbox gets shorter and nothing gets forgotten.

Repeating tasks

For jobs you do every week or every month, like checking analytics, planning content or posting a newsletter, set the task to repeat when you create it. You'll find the repeat option in the task's date settings. Google notes one limit worth knowing: a task that has subtasks can't be set to repeat, so keep repeating tasks simple and put any checklist in the description instead.

My verdict

Adding tasks to Google Calendar is quick: click a slot, choose Task, give it a date, save. The two things that trip people up are tasks with no date, which never appear on the calendar, and the Tasks calendar being unticked. Get those right, use Pending tasks for a weekly review, and your to-do list finally lives next to the time you have to do it. For more help planning your week, see my time management tools.

Frequently asked questions

Can I create a Google Calendar task from an email?

Yes. In Gmail, add the email to Tasks, then give the task a date so it appears on your calendar.

Why don't my tasks show in Google Calendar?

Tasks need a date to appear on the calendar, and the Tasks box must be ticked under My calendars.

Are Google Calendar tasks the same as Google Tasks?

Yes. Tasks you create in Calendar are stored in Google Tasks and show in both.

Can I add a task on the Google Calendar app?

Yes. Tap an empty slot or Create, choose Task, add the details and tap Save.

How do I see all my unfinished tasks?

Click Pending tasks at the top of Google Calendar to see open tasks from the last 365 days.

Can a task block my time for meetings?

Yes. Set it to Busy. Work or school accounts can also turn on Automatically decline meetings.