Is Google tasks just too basic for you? Are you frustrated that you can't add tags, you can't attach files, you can't block time on your calendar and you can't assign tasks to others? Well get ready for a to-do list upgrade because I'm going to show you an app that does all of this and more, and it's made just for Google users.
Hello everyone. Scott Friesen here at Simpletivity helping you to get more done and enjoy less stress.
Problems with Google Tasks
And don't get me wrong, Google Tasks is fine for millions of users. However, sometimes there could be some features that we are missing, which really impedes our ability to get things done.
For example, here, I need to review last month's website stats. I would love to be able to attach a PDF or link to the file where I keep those website stats, but I can't do that here within Google Tasks. Another complaint that I hear all the time is that even though we can put our tasks directly on our Google Calendar, we can't stretch them out to fill up the time needed here. I want to spend some time following up with prospects, but I want to do it for the full hour, not just this half hour. No matter how I drag it, it's only going to show up as sort of this small reminder.
Advanced To-Do List for Google Users
I want to block out time on my calendar. Well, you can say goodbye to those limitations with GQs, and yes, that G stands for Google because GQs is built specifically for Google users who want to integrate with Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and all of their favorite Google products.
Let me give you a quick tour. Here I am within my GQs account, and right off the bat, I love that it's a very clean interface. In fact, I really love that the tasks themselves are big and bold. If I jump back to my Google Tasks, everything just sort of blends in together. But within GQs, it's very easy to see my tasks as I manage and reprioritize them as well.
On the left-hand side, perhaps the first thing you'll notice is that not only can you manage multiple task lists, which GQs calls queues, but you can also manage multiple folders. So for example, here I've got some personal to-dos that I'm managing, and maybe I want to separate my big goals for the coming year. I also have a big project, which is separate, where I have some important tasks and some things I need to get done right away.
Now, you can have as many folders as you like and then have as many queues. Remember, that's our list here within those folders, so you can manage much more and categorize them and organize them any way that you want.
Now, taking a closer look at the tasks themselves, let's explore some of the best features that you simply can't do within Google Tasks.
Number one, you can see that you can order them any way that you like. You're not just limited to sorting by due date or by starring certain items regardless of what the due date is. Here on the right-hand side, I can drag things up to the top. I can rearrange things here, so if I need to prioritize them in the way that I like, I can do so right here.
And beside the big add task button, you can see that I can reorder and sort in a variety of different ways, including by date, date created, by title, and yes, tagging. We'll get to that in just a moment.
Attach Files & Drive Integration
The other thing I think that you'll recognize is that here I have my attachments. They're big, they're clear, and they're just one click away. So if I want to jump into this spreadsheet data, I can do so and attach multiple files to any one of my tasks.
Now, how easy is it to attach a file? Well, if we come over here to the right-hand side, we can click on that attachment. Not only is it easy to attach a file, but we can also easily select it directly from our Drive account, or we can start to create a new Doc, Sheet, or Slide directly here from within GQs, so I don't have to be bouncing around between different tabs.
If I select this first option here, I'm presented with a dialogue, and I can go and find the file that I want to attach. If that's not what I'm looking for, I can also create a brand new document. Again, without even leaving the tab in front of me, I just need to add a name here, and I can proceed with creating a new document, which will be attached to this file.
Last but not least, of course, if you want to upload something from your computer, you just need to find it. Let's go ahead and drag it and drop it on that particular task. Here it is going to upload that PDF, so no matter what or how many items you'd like to attach to a task, you can do so right here within GQs.
Let's continue down and look at some of the other features we have available at the task level. Now, tagging, again, is something that we cannot do within Google Tasks, but you can see here already that I've added a number of tags. I've got a few things tagged for email, this is going to be a phone call, and this one is design-related.
By selecting that tag option here, we can add or search for a tag or simply check the boxes down below. By now, you've probably already realized that even the design and feel of GQs are in line with Google. Everything from the active and archive sections to the settings and search tasks, which, yeah, that's another big no-no; we can't even search tasks within Google Tasks, but we certainly can right here within GQs.
Google Calendar Integration
Now, of course, GQs wouldn't be a viable alternative if it didn't integrate with all of our other Google products, just like Google Tasks does, but better. So let's jump into our Google Calendar and see how that works.
Here on the left-hand side, you can see that it automatically creates a new calendar when you set up your GQs account. Now, of course, I could rename this if I wanted to, but what it's showing me here in this example is that this rewrite proposal is actually a task within GQs.
That's right, it's not a meeting, it's not an event; it's actually a task, meaning I can use it for time blocking. It's not going to show up as just a tiny little reminder like we're used to with Google Tasks, but it's going to fill up whatever time that you give it because each task can have both a start time and an end time.
If I click on this, not only am I just one click away from viewing the full details of this task, but with the GQs extension, I can access all of that information here as well. This includes not only the date and time and duration, but we can also set an additional reminder, add tags, assign others, add comments, and edit everything that we need to here without having to jump into our GQs account.
So whether you're reviewing an existing task or if you want to create a new task directly from within Google Calendar, you can do so here as well.
Gmail Integration
Now, that functionality continues within our Gmail account. For example, let me open up this email here, and maybe there's something I need to accomplish with this. You're already familiar with the ability to come up here and add it to your Google Tasks, but with GQs, not only is it simpler, we can add a lot more information as well.
If I open up the side panel, I've got everything I need here, including the ability to assign it to a particular list. Here are all of my lists that I can choose from. I can set the due date, tags, assignments—everything that I would need to do directly here within my Gmail account. I can also choose if I want to attach the current email and/or link the email as well.
So let's go ahead and create this task just to see what this looks like within our GQs account. Here within GQs, you can see that I've got a new task, which has been added to my inbox, and yes, I've got direct access to that email.
Because I said I wanted to attach it, not just link it, I can review and view that email right here within GQs without having to open up another tab. You don't always need to reply or respond to the email; maybe you just want to use it as a reference, so I have access to it here as well.
Beyond Calendar and Gmail, GQs also links directly with Drive and your contacts, so you can get the most out of your task manager while we're here within the inbox.
Task Inbox Workflow
This is a great way to show how easy it is to manage your incoming tasks because maybe some of these are coming from my calendar. Maybe some of these are emails like the one that you see here. Just like any good task management system, once they're in the inbox, we want to assign them to something a little more appropriate. So all I need to do is just drag it into the appropriate list. This is a part of the big project. This is more of my personal list. I can quickly empty my inbox, keep this nice and clean, and put things in the correct order, but it doesn't stop there.
Teams & Task Assignments
You'll notice below my queue section, there is something called team queues. And yes, this is an area where we can collaborate with team members, freelancers, clients, or really anyone that you like. Here, I've created a team folder called Content Creation, and then within that, I've got a number of different lists that we need to work with.
Within this section, I can manage all of my team settings. For example, I can add as many members as I like and give them different editing abilities. I can import and export information and manage specific tags for this particular team group. But best of all, when you create and edit your team here within GQs, it will create a new calendar within Google Calendar for you and add all of your respective team members. That's right; you don't have to do anything special here within Google Calendar.
If I go into my settings for this content creation—remember that's my team queue—and I click on settings, you'll see that I have my team members here already. I didn't have to manually add them. I didn't have to invite them to a new Google Calendar. As I add more or edit my team members here, they will stay in sync within Google Calendar. So, this is one more way to make it that much easier for us to manage our projects.
Whenever you're ready to add or assign a task to someone else, it's as simple as clicking on the assignments. Here, you can see that I'll have my team members ready for me, but I can add other email addresses if I want to. Yes, I can even search from my Google Contacts.
Pricing
Now, as for pricing, you can get started with their free Forever option, or you can get GQs for just $3 a month or GQs for business at just $4 a month. To get started, go to gqs.com or click the link in the description down below.
If you have any further questions about GQs and how it integrates with your Google system, be sure to let me know in the comments down below.
Thank you so much for watching today's video, and remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.
