Why Tasks is so underdeveloped?

[Peter_Bolkunov]

Tasks seem like such a good tool for managing day-to-day work in unison with email, however, it feels like it's missing core features related to task management.

First, it doesn't have its own interface. I know I can access tasks from Calendar, Gmail, and every other document app, however, there is no way for me to see a separate interface with all of my tasks on a single screen. This could be potentially very useful when sorting through tasks and categorizing them.

Second, and this may come off as a surprise for some people, there is no search in Google tasks. It's just not there. There is no way for me to search for a specific task by, say, a client name. If I have more than 30 it gets very difficult to manage them in a sidebar limited in height and with no search to help.

The fact that you can assign an email thread to a task cannot be undervalued. This is an incredibly useful feature, which makes it possible to pick Google tasks over any other task manager, just for the sheer convenience of that easy link. Sadly, that link is becoming close to useless just because I am not able to manage all those tasks properly without an interface and search.

I personally feel that Tasks has the potential for being the most convenient task manager and I am struggling to understand why those crucial features are missing from it. Might be that someone here can help me understand this.

[rahul_swamy]

You have Tasks, Keep & Calendar (Reminders) + Gmail Snooze... which have similar features... For a while it felt like Google  serious about Tasks, but due to the lack of individual page unlike keep.google com & calendar.google com, Tasks does not feel serious. Strange enough it has a mobile app but doesn't have a web progressive app. Reminds me of the Inbox app.

[bill_pier3]

assistant.google.com/tasks 

It's not great, but it is a webpage access to Google Tasks.

[AchrafElHousni]

I agree that this is very frustrating . I hope someone at Google sees this and get serious into making the development of the tasks app as a priority 

[Nolan]

Totally agree. Google Tasks needs to be updated and features added. IT should have better syncing between; calendars, gmail, and SPACEs/ Chats. Having the ability to see a dedicated web page like @rahul_swamy said would be great to see a task board or multiple task lists and rearrange and organize tasks like that would be very useful. Even being able to set up automated tasks, have reminders, multiple people assigned to tasks, more project management features. I wasn't sure where to request these features I have submitted a tone to the product feedback in Gmail, Calendar and the Tasks App with no prevail. So im just gonna start commenting on any forums I can so they can improve these features! I don't want to have to pay for a separate subscription to; Trello or asana for this I wish it would all just be synced in Google Workspace for tasks.

[QueendomEmpire]

Agreed. We use it in the business Google Suite and it has more features I highly recommend for work because of the Chat>Spaces option. Example each 'space' is a room for each client or department and then all tasks assigned in there have a tag for that client/department. The only thing I abhor in Tasks is it does NOT have a priority marking or assigning feature. Yes they say you can drag and drop higher or lower for priority indication, but if for example if I am assigning my team work Tasks in a space,  and one has a higher priority than another there is no way for them to see this populate in their personal sidebar task since their own sidebar is pulling from the space- yes they can see the space it came from and due dates, but would not be able to differentiate the priority in this space over another space. There is a star on ones personal bar, but it doesnt have this inside the Spaces.  I did run into GQueue integration app that does all kinds of things, for now we won't be using it as we cross our fingers google fixes this lack of priority issue and I don't want to have to teach my team a whole new thing, but it does look intriguing and adds a ton of other features you speak of here. It does look like google so may be an easier adjustment than I think. 

[wehaveatender]

I support this! Google Tasks needs an update. Sharing Tasks, Priority, Attachments etc.

[Nolan]

If they would make it more like Asana. I would 100% switch over to it. 

[MannyF]

To be honest I don't get the point of Tasks at all. Tasks should have all the options of regular Events (including notification options, formatting in Notes, etc). I tried to make Tasks work for a while but they are just not very useful, so I ended up using Events. I created a calendar named "To-do" and that works very well. I have configured it to send me an email notification by default so I don't miss any tasks that need to be done on or by a particular date. Some times I will set advance email notifications. For example, "🐱🐛Deworm cat" (yes, with emojis and all for easy visual identification) notifies me a week in advance in case I've run out of deworming pills. Or if I need to do my taxes I will get an email 1 month prior, then 1 week prior, then 2 days prior, then on the last day, to ensure I don't miss the report submission deadline. This is much more versatile than Tasks.

The only thing I'm missing is a "Delay by" function. Once I've dewormed the cat I'd like to delay the task by 60 days for the next deworming. I strongly dislike repeating events because they clutter my already busy calendar.

The other thing I don't like is regular notifications only work calendars that are visible. In the past this meant missed events. Luckily, email notifications work even the calendar is hidden, so I no longer use regular notifications because they can be unreliable.

[MannyF]

I currently just use regular Events for tasks. I have created a calendar named "To-do" and use that. Tasks are a functionally anemic version of Events. You can't set custom notifications, you can't set a custom color, you can't use formatting or hyperlinks in Task notes, etc.

[thapen]

I support this request, particularly the request for a Search function. That would significantly improve Tasks.

[JneEnj]

Google refuses to implement a sort feature in Gmail, instead forcing users to conduct searches... 

but then Google refuses to implement a search feature in tasks, forcing users to figure out out on their own (by looking at one big list of tasks, with no way to organize).

There are people at google who enjoy making a worse user experience. The proof is that the two realities above exist.  They should not exist, there is no reason for them to exist, but they do, and they have for years.