To turn an email into a task, click Add to Tasks in Gmail, drag the message to the To Do tab in new Outlook, or drag it onto the Tasks icon in classic Outlook. Each takes seconds, and each only works for the emails you notice. Below are the steps for all three, what each one keeps, and the point where capturing by hand stops scaling.
Which method does what: Gmail, new Outlook and classic Outlook
Gmail and both Outlook versions make a real task from one email, but each needs you to start it. The table was built on October 24, 2026 from Google's and Microsoft's own help pages, plus the Nolario task page for the first column.
| Feature | Nolario | Gmail | New Outlook | Classic Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who starts it | Nolario suggests it | You, per email | You, per email | You, per email |
| How | One tap on the suggestion | Add to Tasks, or drag to the side panel | Drag to the To Do tab in My Day | Drag onto the Tasks icon |
| Where it lands | Task card, synced with Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do | Google Tasks | The To Do tab | Outlook Tasks, also shown in To Do |
| Due date | Suggested, with a free slot | You can add date and time | Not stated on the page | Not stated on the page |
Nolario: the task is suggested before you open the email
The part that leaks in the manual methods is the capture itself, and Nolario removes it. Nolario is our product, so weigh this pick accordingly. We list it first because it reads new mail from Gmail, Outlook and IMAP for requests and deadlines, and when a message asks you to do something it suggests a task with a free slot from your real calendar. You schedule it with one tap or leave it.
Every deadline comes with the sentence it was found in, so you can check it in a second, and the date is computed by code from that sentence and the day the mail arrived. "By Friday" in a Wednesday mail means this Friday. Tasks live in the task card on your dashboard and stay in sync with Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do if you connect either one.
The limits are plain. By default Nolario enters a task only after your tap, and you can allow it to enter tasks itself in Autopilot, with a daily limit and undo by tap. It skips Slack for deadlines, newsletters, your own mail and mail older than 21 days. Vague wording gives no date. It does not do the task and it never answers for you. It is a desktop web app and access is by waitlist. See the integrations and pricing pages.
Gmail: Add to Tasks
In Gmail, an email becomes a task in two clicks, and the task is saved to Google Tasks. Gmail Help, which we opened on October 24, 2026, gives the steps.
- Open the email.
- At the top, click Add to Tasks. If you cannot find it, click More, then Add to Tasks.
- Open the Tasks panel on the right side of Gmail to add a date and time.
Gmail Help also describes a drag option: show the side panel with Tasks, then drag the email onto it. It lists no limits. How-To Geek, in 2019, noted that Gmail Tasks has minimal options, which is worth knowing if you expect subtasks and priorities.
New Outlook: drag the message to the To Do tab
In new Outlook you create a task from a message while the My Day pane is open. Microsoft Support, whose page applies to Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024, Outlook.com and new Outlook for Windows, gives the steps, which we opened on October 24, 2026.
- Go to Mail in new Outlook.
- Open the My Day pane with the My Day button on the top toolbar.
- Find the message in the list.
- Drag the message to the To Do tab in the My Day pane.
One oddity: Microsoft's step 3 tells you to select the Calendar tab before the drag to the To Do tab, and the page does not explain why. Follow the steps in that order.
Classic Outlook: Tasks icon, flag or Quick Step
Classic Outlook has three routes, and only two of them make a true task. Dragging the message onto the Tasks icon in the navigation pane creates one: Microsoft Support says a new task containing the content of your email is created, and because Microsoft To Do syncs with Outlook, it also shows up there.
The Follow Up flag is different. Make Tech Easier, in an article published on March 10, 2023 and updated on March 29, 2023, says it creates a flag, not a task, although flagged mail appears on the Tasks tab. The third route is a custom Quick Step with the action "Create a task with text of message", which you set up once and can give a shortcut key. If you only need a reminder on a sent message, see how to track sent emails nobody has answered.
Why capturing by hand stops working
Manual capture costs one action per email, and it only catches the emails you read closely. How-To Geek's 2019 argument still holds: your inbox is not a to-do list, so an email should become a task and then leave the inbox. The weak point is the first step. A request buried in the fourth paragraph of a long thread never gets the click.
A routine that works with Gmail, new Outlook or classic Outlook: once a day, scan the top of the inbox for requests, turn each into a task with a due date, then archive. If that is the part you drop when the week gets busy, it is the part to automate. Start with how to keep Outlook and Teams from burying a deadline, priority rules in Gmail and Outlook and how to triage 200 messages a day. For the free helpers, see the tools page.
