Microsoft To-Do
Service available for: Full-time Faculty & Staff
On this page:
- Using To Do
- Creating Tasks and Steps
- Flag emails to create tasks
- Create and share task lists
- Tasks from Planner
- My Day
- To Do Apps
- Access Tasks on Teams, Outlook Desktop, Webmail
Using To Do
To start using To Do, you can go to To Do directly or view the list of available apps on Office.com and click on To Do. You can also download the app on iOS, Android, Windows and MacOS.
Once you’re in To Do, you can navigate to your daily list, tasks (assigned to you and created by you), flagged emails and shared lists on the left:
Creating Tasks and Steps
Once you’ve logged onto To Do, you can view all tasks and lists you have created yourself or that have been assigned to you.
Create a new task
Go to the Tasks menu item on the left and then click on Add a task and give it a name.
Add details to your task
Click on a created task and add or update details on the details pane that opens to the right. Here you can add Steps, Reminders, Due dates and Repeat options.
Note: Reminders show up as a desktop banner on the To Do desktop app, as an event pop-up on Outlook desktop, and as a notification on the To Do mobile app. They do not show up on Outlook calendars.
Add Steps to your task
Steps allow you to break up a task into different checkpoints so that you can check off your progress through the task without needing to mark the whole task as complete.
To add steps to your task, click on Add Step in the task details window and keep clicking on Next step to add as many checkpoints as you need. Check off any step that has been completed and it will get crossed off on the list.
Repeat your task
Under task details, click Repeat and select repetition option. To delete a previously set recurrence, hover over the recurrence detail tab and click x.
Delete your task
Right click on the task in your main Tasks list and select Delete task in the menu
Mark as Important
Prioritize specific tasks by clicking on the star icon to the right of your task to mark it as important and have it show up in the Important tab from the nav options on the left.
Flag emails to create a task
You can flag emails to automatically create tasks. Flagged emails will show up on the Flagged Emails nav item in To Do and you can then assign them due dates and steps the same way you would for any Tasks you create on To Do.
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Click on the Flag icon on an email you would like to flag and add as a task
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View task under the Flagged emails nav section and assign due dates etc. You can also open the original email by clicking on the Open in Outlook link.
Create and share lists
The Lists feature allows you to create task lists that can be shared with other people, unlike normal tasks that are private. You can create a new group to collect similar lists under, or you can simply create new lists and share them with whoever you want to collaborate on those tasks with.
- To create a list, click on the New list link and give your list a name.
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Share the list by clicking on the Share icon on the top right corner of the list view
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Click on Create Invitation link
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Choose either Copy link and share it over a messaging app, or click on Invite via email, which will open up an Outlook message with the link in it that you can email to people
- Once they join, you will see them in the list members section.
List Groups
If you would like to group similar lists for better organization, you can create them and then drag lists inside the new group. You can’t share groups, only lists within it individually, so groups are for your own organizational purposes.
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Click on the Create group icon to the right of the New list link
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Create a list with the New list link, or use an existing list and drag it within the Drag here to add lists space to add it into the new group
Tasks from Planner
All tasks assigned to you on Planner will automatically show up on To Do as long as the Planner app is connected.
Connect Planner
Make sure Planner tasks show up on To Do by confirming that it is connected.
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Click on the settings icon on the top right corner in To Do and click on To Do Settings
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Make sure Planner is enabled under Connected Apps
Check Planner Tasks
Click on Assigned to Me to view all tasks assigned to you, which includes tasks assigned on Planner. Any tasks assigned via Teams or Planner directly will allow you to view the task/task list in the original view in the task details pain with an Open in [x] link.
My Day
My Day is a manual way to create each day’s to-do list. This will automatically reset each day to provide an empty slate for each day’s priority list. Click on the Suggestions option on the top right to view suggested important tasks to start off, but you can add any tasks from your Tasks and Flagged emails list to add to My Day for your day’s custom list.
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Click on My Day on the left nav and find suggested tasks by clickin on the Suggestions option on the top right
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Click on a task in the Tasks, Flagged emails or Lists view to get the Add to My Day option on the details pane on the right
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View marked task by clicking on My Day on the left nav
- Remove items from the My Day view without deleting them by hovering over Added to My Day and clicking on the x
To Do Apps
To Do Apps are available for iOS (App store), Android (Google Play Store) and Windows desktop (Microsoft Store).
Instead of accessing it on the web, you can access it on your mobile device, or as a stand alone app on your desktop that doesn’t require a web browser. The app is similar to the web interface, with some design customization options built in.
Reminders set on tasks in the desktop app will pop up on the right corner of your screen and allow you to complete the task or snooze it within the notification.
Accessing Tasks
Tasks on Teams
View all Planner and To Do tasks on Teams either by clicking on the three dots below the main nav on the left on your Teams window, or by clicking on Apps below that to search for Tasks by Planner and To Do
Tasks on Outlook Desktop
View all tasks added on To Do or flagged on webmail or desktop by going to the Tasks tab on the navigation pane on Outlook desktop
Tasks on Webmail
View all upcoming tasks on webmail from the Calendar tab and drag tasks into the calendar to assign them dates if needed.
- Open O365 webmail
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Click on the Calendar section (top left) > My Day icon (top right) > To Do tab (right of Calendar tab) to view all upcoming tasks, My Day tasks etc, and go to To Do by clicking on Manage all tasks