How to Use Microsoft To Do: A Complete 2026 Guide
Microsoft To Do is the free task app that comes with a Microsoft account. It’s the successor to Wunderlist, and it’s quietly the task list that most Microsoft 365 users already have without realizing it, because it’s the same store behind Outlook’s tasks and flagged emails.
Most people use maybe a quarter of it. This guide covers the parts that actually change how it works.
1. Lists and groups
Everything lives in a list. Click New list in the sidebar, name it, press Enter.
Once you have more than a handful, drag one list on top of another to create a group. Groups collapse, which is the entire point: a “Clients” group holding one list per client keeps the sidebar to a screen instead of a scroll.
You can also change a list’s theme color and background from the three-dot menu, which sounds cosmetic but is the fastest way to know where you are when you’re switching lists all day.
2. Tasks, steps, and notes
Click Add a task, type, press Enter. Clicking the task opens the detail pane on the right, where the useful fields live:
- Steps break a task into subtasks with their own checkboxes, using Add step
- Notes hold longer context at the bottom of the pane
- Files attach directly to a task
- Add to My Day pulls the task into today’s view
Steps are the feature people skip and then miss. A task called “onboard new client” that sits untouched for a week usually just needs four steps, because the reason it isn’t moving is that “onboard” isn’t an action.
3. Due dates, reminders, and recurrence
These are three separate things and conflating them is the most common mistake.
- Due date is when it’s meant to be finished. It drives the Planned smart list.
- Remind me is when you get a notification. This is separate from the due date, so a task due Friday can remind you Wednesday morning.
- Repeat makes the task recur daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or on a custom pattern. Completing it generates the next instance.
A task with a due date and no reminder will not notify you. That surprises people who assume the deadline triggers an alert.
4. My Day and the smart lists
My Day is the only list that empties itself. It clears every night, which is what makes it a plan rather than a backlog. Adding a task to My Day doesn’t move it, so it stays in its home list as well.
The lightbulb icon opens Suggestions, which surfaces tasks that are due, overdue, or recently added, so you’re choosing from candidates rather than remembering.
The other smart lists are automatic views rather than places you put things:
- Important collects everything you starred
- Planned collects everything with a due date, grouped by when
- Assigned to me collects tasks assigned to you in shared lists and in Planner
- Flagged email collects emails you flagged in Outlook
- Tasks is the default catch-all list
You can turn individual smart lists on and off in Settings, which is worth doing. A smart list you never open is just sidebar noise.
5. The Outlook connection
This is where To Do earns its place over a standalone app if you live in Outlook.
Flagged emails become tasks. Flag a message in Outlook and it appears in the Flagged email list in To Do. Complete it in To Do and the flag clears in Outlook. It’s a genuine two-way link, not a copy.
Outlook tasks and To Do are the same data. Tasks you create in Outlook show up in To Do and the other way around, because both read the same underlying store.
My Day appears inside Outlook. The My Day panel in Outlook on the web and new Outlook shows your To Do list next to your mail, so you can drag an email onto it.
If you want the full set of routes for creating tasks from mail, we covered those separately in how to create a task in Outlook.
6. Sharing lists
Open a list, click the share icon, and create an invitation link. Anyone with the link who signs in with a Microsoft account joins the list and can add, edit, and complete tasks.
Two limits worth knowing before you plan around it. Sharing is per list, so there’s no way to share a group in one action. And assignment inside a shared list is basic compared to a project tool: you assign a task to a member, and that’s the extent of it. There are no boards, no buckets, and no progress views. If you find yourself wanting those, you’ve outgrown To Do and want Planner.
7. Getting tasks in without typing them
The ceiling on any task app is capture. Tasks that never get entered don’t get done, and the moment you notice a task is usually the moment you’re least able to stop and type it.
To Do’s built-in answer is the Outlook flag, which is good for the specific case of “this email is the task.” It doesn’t help when the task is buried in the third paragraph of an email, mentioned on a call, or implied by something that just happened in another system.
That’s the gap Carly fills. Its event-triggered workflows fire when something happens, such as an email arriving or a meeting ending, and an AI agent can read the content and decide what the task actually is rather than matching a keyword. Workflow steps are free, and AI agents start at $35/month.
Worth being precise about the connection: Carly does not have a native Microsoft To Do connector today. To Do is reachable through the Microsoft Graph API with your own credentials, which you paste on the integrations page, and Carly can also connect through Composio. If you’d rather have a first-class connector, that’s a reasonable thing to ask for on a call with the team.
FAQ
Is Microsoft To Do free?
Yes. It’s free with any Microsoft account, personal or work, and doesn’t require a Microsoft 365 subscription. Some connected features, such as Planner tasks flowing into “Assigned to me,” depend on having those services.
What is the difference between My Day and a list?
A list is permanent storage for tasks. My Day is a daily plan that clears every night. Adding a task to My Day doesn’t remove it from its list, and the reset is what stops it from silently turning into a second backlog.
Why isn’t Microsoft To Do reminding me about a task?
A due date and a reminder are separate fields. Setting a due date alone will not produce a notification, so you need to set “Remind me” explicitly.
Can I share a Microsoft To Do list with someone?
Yes, per list, using the share icon to generate an invitation link. Recipients need a Microsoft account. Groups of lists cannot be shared as a unit.
Does Microsoft To Do sync with Outlook tasks?
Yes, and it’s the same data rather than a sync. Tasks and flagged emails appear in both, and completing an item in one clears it in the other.
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