Can I get a daily email of today's tasks?
Turn on the daily summary in Task List by Zaweba and it emails today's tasks, overdue tasks and reminders at a time you choose, 07:30 by default.
Turn on the daily summary in Task List by Zaweba's Settings and you will get one email a day with today's tasks, anything overdue and the day's reminders. Choose the time it arrives; unless you change it, that is 07:30. It goes through your own email account to the address or addresses you pick.
It is the easiest way to see your day on a phone without the app being on the phone.
What you need
You need an email account that can send mail from a program, and Task List set up to use it. In Settings, the Email section takes the server, port, security, sign-in, From address and To address. Several To addresses can be separated with semicolons, which is handy if you want the summary at work and at home.
For Gmail, the Use Gmail button fills in smtp.gmail.com, 587 and STARTTLS, and explains how to make a Google app password, which Gmail requires for this kind of sign-in. The password is kept encrypted on your PC.
Switching it on
First press Send a test email and check it arrives. Then turn on the daily summary and set the time. That is all. The same email settings serve reminder emails, so once this works, any reminder with its email switch on will reach you too.
If the PC is off
Task List can only send while it is running. If the computer was off or asleep at the chosen time, the summary is sent once when the app next starts, so you still get it that day. If sending fails, Task List tries again three times over 15 minutes. Letting it start with Windows, which is offered the first time you open the app, keeps it running in the notification area.
Choosing a time
Early morning suits most people: the email is waiting when you first look at your phone. An evening time turns it into a look at tomorrow. If you start work at different times, pick the earliest; an early summary does no harm.
Getting the most from it
The summary reflects your dates. If it is crowded, too many tasks have today's date or the overdue list has grown. Spend a few minutes in the Overdue view moving or finishing late tasks, and give dates only to tasks that really have them. A short summary is one you will read.
Annual reminders show up on their day as well, so a birthday, an MOT, an insurance renewal or a tax date appears in the email alongside your tasks. Advance warnings for those reminders, from a month to a day before, give you time to act.
Your mail, your account
Task List has no account or cloud. The summary is sent only because you set it up, through your mail server, to your chosen addresses. Nothing else leaves your PC, and the email password is never included in an exported backup.
If you would rather not use email at all, the Today smart view gives the same picture inside the app, and pop-up reminders cover anything timed. The daily summary is simply there for the days when you want your plan before you reach the PC, and it can be switched off again in Settings whenever it stops being useful. Many people find that a quiet morning email is the one nudge they do not mind receiving.
