How to use Google Calendar tasks

Create tasks, set due dates, add subtasks, and get them to show up on your calendar, on the web and on your phone.

To use Google Calendar tasks, open Google Calendar or the Tasks side panel, click Create (or an empty slot), switch the entry type to Task, give it a title and a due date, and save. Any task with a date then appears on your calendar on that day, as long as the Tasks layer is turned on.

Tasks and events are two different things in Google’s world. An event reserves a block of time and can have guests. A task is a personal to-do with a due date and no set length, so it sits at the top of the day rather than filling a slot. Here is how to work with tasks across the places Google puts them.

Create a task on the web

You can make a task from the calendar grid or from the side panel.

1. In Google Calendar, click an empty spot on the day you want, or click the Create button in the top left.
2. At the top of the box, switch from Event to Task.
3. Type a title, add an optional time, and pick which task list it belongs to (for example “My Tasks” or a list you made).
4. Click Save.

The other entry point is the Tasks side panel. Look for the Tasks icon on the right edge of Gmail or Calendar (a blue circle with a check). Open it, click Add a task, type the title, then use the date button or the edit pencil to give it a due date. A task without a date stays in this panel and never reaches the calendar.

Set due dates and repeats

Due dates are what move a task onto the calendar, so this step matters.

Open any task and click the date or “Set date/time” control. Pick a day, and optionally a specific time if you want it to land at a point in the day instead of the all-day row. From the same spot you can set a task to repeat (daily, weekly, monthly, or a custom interval), which is handy for recurring chores and reviews. Save, and the task shows up on that date.

Add subtasks

Subtasks let you break one to-do into steps without cluttering your list.

In the Tasks side panel or the Tasks app, open a task and use its menu (commonly a three-dot icon, or an Add subtask option) to nest items beneath it. You can also drag a task slightly to the right to indent it under another. One caveat worth knowing: subtasks do not carry their own due dates onto the calendar, so only the parent task appears on the grid. Check off subtasks as you finish them, and the parent stays until you complete it.

See tasks on your calendar

Tasks only appear if the layer is on. In the left sidebar of Google Calendar, find the “My calendars” list and make sure Tasks is checked. Dated tasks now show on their day. Click one to mark it done, edit it, or drag it to a new date. Completing a task from the calendar checks it off everywhere it syncs.

On your iPhone or Android

Google splits this across two apps. Use the standalone Google Tasks app to add, date, and organize tasks, including subtasks. Use the Google Calendar app to view those dated tasks on the day they are due (open the menu and confirm Tasks is enabled in your visible calendars). The Calendar app is the better place to see tasks in context next to your events.

Where tasks stop and planning begins

Here is the honest limit. Google Tasks is a good list with due dates, but a due date is not a plan. A task marked “due Thursday” still does not tell you when on Thursday you will actually do it, and it will not protect that time from meetings.

That is the gap ClaroCal fills. It connects to your Google Calendar with two-way sync and turns your task list into a realistic, time-blocked day, reflowing the plan when a meeting moves or something runs long. If you would rather build the plan by hand first, start with our time-blocking template or compare tools in the best time-blocking apps.

Last reviewed June 2026.