Google launched their new tasks feature last night. It feels like an early google product. Clean, simple and...unfinished. It's a very lightweight task manager. Those of you using Remember The Milk will not like it. Those of you that don't rely to much on a task manager might. I've been using labels and superstars in Gmail to manage tasks lately. It's not ready for me to move from that simple setup yet, but it's a start. Here are my first impressions on the new task feature:
You can set up multiple lists. I started by creating one list for multiple projects (indenting for sub tasks, etc). But it got busy real quick. So I decided I would try a separate list for each project. Unfortunately I had to retype all my tasks, because there does not appear to be a way to move a task from one list to another (which can be an issue when a task on one project turns into a full blown project of it's own and I want a separate task list for it).
So I retyped them into 3 lists. Gave each task a due date and added some notes where needed. Unfortunately the due date does not generate anything on your calendar. It would be nice if whenever a due date was added, it added an entry to a calendar of your choosing. I would probably set up a new "task" calendar for everything to go to.
Another problem is that now my tasks are spread around 3 lists. What I would like is a "master" list that combines all of the task pads into one list ordered by due date. I would not want to live on this list, but it would be nice to start there each day. I can then get full top down view of what is going on and what needs to be done (ordered by due date not task), before drilling down to the specific project lists. Being able to color code the different lists would be great when looking down on all lists from the top. If the tasks went to the calendar you could look at an agenda view to start the day. A possible quick fix, but not ideal.
You can create a task from an email quickly which is good. But it adds the task to your active list (or the last one you were on if your list is not currently open). And since you can't move a task from one list to another you have to navigate to the correct list before creating a task off an email. If you work off one list, it's a nice feature. If you are running on multiple lists - it's more of a pain.
The email to task feature is limited. You can't create a task then attach emails to it. You also can't add an email to an existing task. And - there is no task to email feature. I would like to be able to email a task to someone else.
The last thing that really stands out it that it lives in a gmail chat like window in the lower right of gmail (over the top of gmail). You can pop out the mini task into it's own window (which is really the only way to work with it if you have more than a couple items on the list) but it would be nice to get it to appear in the body of the page, where email is. Contacts takes over the screen when I select it from the left hand nav, I see no reason tasks can't as well.
Obviously this feature is not ready to handle a project that is very complicated yet. It's great for creating a static list I would imagine. One that outlines simple steps to accomplish something. While you can move tasks around and edit things like the due date, it's not made for a fluid project that is changing direction, sprouting new projects, or has a hiccup along the way. And it is not for working on a project with other people. There is nothing in this task list that lets you share or collaborate with anyone. I can't move a task to a shared calendar, I can't email a task to someone, and I can't share a task list with anyone. That's the strangest part really. In a time when everyone is trying to create software that allows us to share and work with each other more (and google does some good things in this area) it seems a little odd to come out with a new feature that does not allow any collaboration.
It sounds like I am disappointed in the new feature, but I'm not. It's early, and hopefully google has some bigger plans for it. I'm glad they're doing something in this area. I really want my tasks inside gmail. I know there are tons of add ons for firefox to bring in more robust task managers like Remember the Milk. But I'm tired of add ons and I don't need to go as far as RTM really. Hopefully they keep this going. I think it's a nice start.
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