Microsoft has refused to add a task management integration to its calendar app, Microsoft Outlook. This is likely because the company doesn’t want users using other apps to compete for their business.

If you want to keep your work and personal lives separate, there are a few cloud-based services that can help. Google Calendar and Microsoft To Do both integrate with Zapier, which makes it easy to connect the two. ..

What’s Zapier?

Zapier is a cloud automation service that lets you automate activities between nearly all of your online accounts. It makes it easy to get started with the service, and it offers a variety of features to make your life easier.

You can use triggers from one service, like Gmail or WordPress, to activate actions on other services, like Twitter or Google Calendar. The integrations are really limited only by your own imagination. ..

There is a free Zapier account that gives you 10 “Zaps” and 2,000 tasks per month. Each Zap is an automation, and each task is how many times it can be triggered each month before reaching your limit.

If you need more work, there are plans that range from less than $20/month for 3,000 tasks a month up to just over $100 for 50,000 tasks a month.

Integrating Zapier with Microsoft To Do

Once you create an account with Zapier, select Make a Zap in the upper left corner to get started with creating your first Microsoft To Do Google Calendar integration.

To get started, you’ll need to find the Microsoft To-Do app in Zapier. Once you have it installed, you can start using it to manage your tasks. ..

  1. Click the Microsoft To-Do icon.
  2. On the Microsoft To-Do home screen, click the New Task button.
  3. Type a task name in the Name field and then click the Add button.
  4. In the Description field, type a brief description of your task.
  5. In the Due Date field, type a date by which you want your task to be completed.
  6. In the Priority field, type a priority for your task (low, medium, or high).
  7. Click the Add button to add more details about your task (such as due date and contact information).
  8. Click the Finish button to create your task and return to the home screen. ..

This will open the Microsoft To-Do events list. To see the available events, select Show 3 more events.

This will show all available events from Microsoft To Do.

  1. Add a new event to your Google Calendar
  2. Edit an existing event
  3. Add a contact to your Google Calendar

Whenever you create a new task, create a new list of triggers. Whenever you complete a task, create a new trigger.

You can use any of these events to update your Google Calendar. And this is where your creativity comes in. You can choose to add new events, or update existing events.

Integrating Microsoft To Do with Zapier

Zapier lets you easily add Google Calendar events to your Microsoft To Do list. You can add events by selecting them from the list of events, or by using the search bar to find events you want to add. You can also add multiple events at the same time, and Zapier will group them together if they have similar start times or end times.

To create a new calendar entry, select New Task from the Choose an Event drop-down menu. Then select Continue.

If you haven’t connected Microsoft To Do with Zapier yet, you’ll need to sign in to Microsoft To-Do to continue. ..

To customize an event, connect to your Microsoft To Do account and select Continue. Under Choose value, select the list you want to trigger the event on. ..

This will load all of the tasks in your Microsoft To Do account and limit the event to tasks you create in that list.

Zapier discovered a new task in your Microsoft To Do account. If the connection is successful, you’ll see that Zapier has connected to it.

Continue to move on.

Integrating Google Calendar with Zapier

Now that you have the connection between Zapier and Microsoft To Do working, and firing a trigger every time you create a new task, it’s time to make the connection to Google Calendar.

  1. After you’ve found the Google Calendar app, open it and click on the blue “Add to Calendar” button.
  2. Enter your name and email address, and click on the “Add to Calendar” button.
  3. You’ll now be able to see your calendar for the next few weeks!

To create a task in Microsoft To Do, you’ll need to tell Zapier what you want it to do. Zapier will show you three more events in Google Calendar, so you can see the entire list. ..

In this example, we want to create a detailed event in Google Calendar using Microsoft To Do tasks. So, select Create Detailed Event and continue to move on to the next step.

You’ll need to select the Google Calendar account you want to use, or make a connection to your existing one. You will only have to do this once, as Zapier saves all connections you make.

Zapier has been able to pull in a lot of information from your Microsoft To Do task, such as the task’s subject. This makes it easy to create a Calendar Event Summary that reflects the content of the task. ..

-The list of tasks that you have completed -The due date for each task -The amount of time remaining on the task -The associated notes and images -The associated video or audio recording

Due, start, completed and reminder date and time. Current task status. Who the task is assigned to. Importance level. Completed date.

Google Calendar offers a variety of options for event content, including: -Date and time -Location -Description -People involved -Interests/activities ..

Google Calendar and Microsoft To Do both offer the ability to set a reminder date. However, it’s best to make the reminder date the same as the event date in Google Calendar so that you’ll remember to start the task before it’s due, rather than the date that it’s due. ..

When you’re finished configuring which Microsoft To Do data will go into your Calendar Event, select Continue. ..

If the integration works, you should see a status message like “Test was successful.”

Zap completed the integration.

Creating Microsoft To Do Google Calendar Integrations

When you consider just how many Microsoft To Do task data you can pull into Zapier (and into Google Calendar events), the number of integrations you can do is impressive.

  1. Get organized.
  2. Make a to-do list and stick to it.
  3. Set goals and work towards them.
  4. Take breaks and relax! ..

Create a new Google Calendar event when you create a new task.Update a Google Calendar event when you update a task.Delete a Google Calendar event when you complete a task.Create a recurring Google Calendar event when you create a new Microsoft To Do list.

With this level of automation between the two, it really doesn’t matter if Microsoft To Do hasn’t added Google Calendar integration by default. Although it comes with a price, at least Zapier lets you accomplish this with not too much effort.