Google Tasks is the small checklist that sits next to your inbox. It lives inside Gmail and Google Calendar. You can turn an email into a task, add a date so it shows on your calendar, and tick things off. For small tasks that come out of your inbox, it is a solid choice.
Next Moves Lab looks at the bigger picture. You write down everything on your mind, and it hands back one task to do now, the reason it was picked, and a small first step. You stop scanning a long column to decide where to start.
The short version
- Google Tasks is a solid pick if you spend your day in Gmail and Google Calendar and want a simple checklist beside them.
- Next Moves Lab is the better fit if you work for yourself, your task list has grown long, and you want something to decide what comes first.
Side by side
Price
- Google Tasks
- Free with a Google account
- Next Moves Lab
- $9.99 a month, 30-day money-back guarantee
Who decides the order
- Google Tasks
- You
- Next Moves Lab
- It does, and shows you the reason
What you see
- Google Tasks
- Your lists and their tasks
- Next Moves Lab
- One task and a small first step; the rest waits in Later
Rules for your day
- Google Tasks
- Kept in your head
- Next Moves Lab
- Set once, like "admin on Fridays", and followed every day
Size of the day
- Google Tasks
- Whatever is on the list
- Next Moves Lab
- Sized to the time and energy you have
Follow-ups
- Google Tasks
- You add them
- Next Moves Lab
- Suggested from what you finished; tap Yes or No
When Google Tasks is a solid choice
- Your work starts in your inbox. Turning an email into a task, right inside Gmail, is quick and handy.
- You want it simple. There is very little to learn. Add a task, tick it off.
Where Next Moves Lab wins
- Order by what matters, not by where it sits. Google Tasks keeps the order you set. Next Moves Lab ranks your tasks and hands you one, with the reason it won, such as a deadline, your goal for the week, or a client waiting. You can swap the pick.
- Starting is easy. Each pick comes with a first step of a couple of minutes.
- Your week has a point. Set one goal for the week, and tasks that move it rank first.
- Your rules are followed every day. "No calls before 10" or "admin on Fridays" are set once and respected every time it plans.
- Today fits the day you have. Tell it your time and energy, and it sizes today to fit. At most three tasks are in play; the rest wait in Later, with no limit. Nothing turns red and there are no streaks.
- Follow-ups come to you. Finish an invoice or a quote and it suggests the follow-up. You tap Yes or No. It never sends anything for you.
Using both
Keep Google Tasks for small things that come out of your inbox or belong on a certain date. Use Next Moves Lab for the bigger question of what to work on. Copy the tasks that matter this week and paste them in, and it gives you a first pick.
Common questions
Can Next Moves Lab turn my emails into tasks?
No, but pasting a few lines from an email works fine, and it turns them into tasks.
Do I have to keep my list in order?
No. Add tasks in any order, in plain words. Next Moves Lab decides what comes first each time it plans, and only you remove a task.