Axtio vs Google Tasks: a list for your day, a board for your projects
Google Tasks is about as simple as task management gets. It lives in the side panel of Gmail, Calendar and Docs, lets you turn an email into a task, set a due date and tick it off. It is free, it syncs everywhere you use Google, and for a personal to-do list it is genuinely good.
The question is what happens when your work is not a list.
What Google Tasks does well
- Built into Google Workspace: Gmail, Calendar and Docs side panels
- Email to task in one click
- Due dates that appear in Google Calendar
- Free and fast, with mobile apps
- Assigned tasks from Google Docs and Chat spaces show up in the list
Google's Tasks help centre covers the details.
Where a list runs out
A list treats every item the same: something to do. Real projects have a different shape:
- Some items are yours to do now
- Some are waiting on someone else
- Some are next, but not yet
- Some are done
In a list, "waiting on the client" and "my job today" look identical. You end up re-reading the whole list to work out what you can actually do.
Where Axtio differs
Axtio is a 2D board: projects are rows and columns are Mine, Other, Next Steps and Done. Waiting items live in Other, show how long they have been waiting, and get flagged when they need chasing. You see every project and every handoff at once. See the death of the vertical list.
Which fits which job
Use Google Tasks for:
- A personal daily to-do list
- Quick tasks from email
- Reminders that show in your calendar
Use Axtio for:
- Several projects at once
- Work that depends on other people
- Seeing what you are waiting on, and for how long
Using both
Many people use Google Tasks for the day's small errands and a board for projects. That split works well as long as each project's actions live on the board, not scattered across both.
Privacy
Google Tasks lives in your Google account. Axtio's free version keeps everything in your browser's local storage, with no account. See offline-first productivity.