Creating a task out of an email with OSX Apple Mail and Goodtask

Hi All --

I am a die hard Todoist fan because of it's collaboration features, but my need for collaboration is not needed for the foreseeable future and I love GoodTask because it integrates with Apple reminders.

In my transition to GoodTask, this is only one thing I have not been able to replicate from my previous GTD setup and that is creating a task out of an email.

I currently use Apple map with a number of email accounts. With Todoist I could forward the email to a specially configured email address and the email would show up in my inbox as a task, which I could then tag and process as part of my GTD workflow.

As near as I can tell, this type of setup does not exist with GoodtTask. Is there a good way to do this with the standard OSX mail app and GoodTask? What I want is the contents of the email to form part of the task item, so I don't have to go looking for the email when I execute the task.

Many thanks!

Hi @docrameous, thanks for using GoodTask.

Currently easiest way to link email to a task on GoodTask would be simply drag and dropping email to GoodTask.

You can use services like IFTTT but I don't think the process of itself connecting Reminders and email is that good. :disappointed_relieved:

I use airmail rules to achieve this if it helps. Send to a dedicated tasks email address rule adds it to reminders then deletes the email.

Ian

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not sure if something changed or if I'm doing something different/wrong but now when I drag an email from Apple mail into Goodtask to create task/reminder, I get the subject of the email as text, but nothing else. I thought I previously got a link back to the actual email in my apple mail inbox.

Hi @rabner, thanks for the feedback. Normally it should still make a new task with link on Notes field. The link can be accessed via action button at the bottom or link on the main lists view.

Thanks!

Hi,
Dragging and dropping kinda worked. It created a task with a link back to the email, but the link is not quite right. The link created is something like this which doesn't work:
message:%3C1139393388331.1100685548215.1141425874.0.491422JL.2002@scheduler.constantcontact.com%3E

If I add two slashes after "message:" at the start of the link, like this, then it works:
message://%3C1139393388331.1100685548215.1141425874.0.491422JL.2002@scheduler.constantcontact.com%3E

Maybe a minor bug?

Hi @joeg3, thanks for the feedback. What macOS version do you use? Would you share some screenshots to contact@hahaint.com ? Thanks!

I would be interested to hear more about your GTD setup and how you have implemented/achieved this in GoodTask.

Hi @fuzzy_bummer, it's a work in progress, but this is what I do:
In GoodTask I have these lists:

  • Scheduled (Things I have to get done by a certain time, but are not recurring, all items in this list have a due date)
  • Recurring (Things I have to get done by a certain time, but are recurring, all items in this list have a due date)
  • Next (Non urgent things I want to get done, but don't have the bandwidth now, no due date, usually tagged with area of life like financial, personal development, health, etc.)
  • Someday (Someday/Maybe like from GTD, no due date, tagged similar to Next list)

There really isn't any difference between tasks in Scheduled and Recurring, just things I've gotta do by a certain time. Until a month ago they were all in the Scheduled list and I didn't have a Recurring list. But during my weekly review, I started tracking the number of tasks in each list because I was frustrated that the number of tasks were never going down. One reason that partly explains it is that I have a lot of recurring tasks, so I put them in their own list as an experiment and to just visually see how many there are. They partly explain why my number of tasks don't go down - they never leave my system.

The other big thing for me is to not be looking at a huge number of tasks everyday. For my Someday list, I review it every 2-3 weeks, and I trust that anything in there will not become a problem if I don't look again in 2-3 weeks. Same with the Next list, I only look in there on my weekly review and decide if I want to take one on (and give it a due date and switch it to Scheduled list).
Everything in Scheduled and Recurring have a due date, so I use Smart Lists to look at things due near term. I have a smart list for everything due in next 15 days that I look at on the weekend during my weekly review. I also have a smart list I call T&T for tasks with due date of today and tomorrow which is handy at the end of the workday to plan the next day (what I didn't finish today, what's due tomorrow)

For things that need time to do, like renew passport. If it expires June 1, I would have a task with a due date of April 1 that says "Start renewal of passport - expires June 1". This way, my looking only 15 days in advance every week doesn't let things slip through the cracks. I won't see that task for months or years, but it will show up in my weekly review eventually when April 1st falls within my 15 day window, and with it on my radar I can think about what I have to do and adjust the task at that time

  • A big thing for me is to only be looking at the tasks I need to in my review and my system ensures they'll come on my radar when they need to.
  • I remind myself to only use the pieces of GTD as necessary for my needs and keep it simple. I know many people more productive than me that have never heard of GTD.

Okay, I've spent way to much time typing here. Gotta get to work :slight_smile:

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