Can't answer it now? Press T.

Why emails make bad todo lists

Leaving an email unread so you "remember to deal with it" works until it doesn't. The message slides down the list, the unread count stops meaning anything, and the inbox turns into a to-do list that other people can write to.

The fix is old advice: if something takes longer than a couple of minutes, move it to a list and get it out of the inbox. The hard part has always been the friction of copying it somewhere else.

How it works in TopDock

1. Open the message from any inbox tile on the bar.
2. Press T. A small form opens with the title already filled in from the message.
3. Add a deadline if you want one, a date or a date and a time, and save. The todo links back to the message.
4. Archive the email with E. The todo keeps the link, so one click takes you back to it later.

Works with every tile, not just email

The same key works on an X mention you want to answer properly, or a Reddit reply that deserves more than a one-liner. Every todo remembers where it came from: a Gmail inbox, an Outlook inbox, X or Reddit.

Your todos stay on your PC

Todos are saved locally and never synced to a TopDock server, because there isn't one. A todo stores a link to the message, not a copy of it. If you disconnect an account, its todos stay, just without the link.

Already use Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do?

Both have their own email-to-task tricks. In Gmail on the web, an open message has an "Add to Tasks" button that sends it to Google Tasks. In Outlook, flagging an email adds it to the "Flagged email" list in Microsoft To Do. They work well if you live in one ecosystem.

TopDock's list is different in two ways: it covers Gmail, Outlook, X and Reddit in one place, and it sits on the bar where you'll see it, instead of in another app. If you want a full project manager, keep it. If you want a short list of "things my inbox asked of me", TopDock is enough.