Outlook tip: show your personal tasks right in the inbox

Would you like your tasks to show up right next to your inbox? In both the new and the classic Outlook this takes just a few clicks. I will show you both routes and how to turn an email into a task in seconds.

Showing tasks in the new Outlook

If you are using the new Outlook, the pane is called My Day. It shows your events and your tasks from To Do in a column on the right, wherever you are in Outlook.

1. Select the My Day icon at the top of the window, next to Notifications.
2. Choose the To Do tab. If the calendar appears first, simply switch tabs.
3. Use Add a task to create a new task right in the column.
4. If you need more detail, open the full To Do view with Manage all tasks.

These steps come from Microsoft’s guide to My Day.

Showing tasks in the classic Outlook

If you are still using the classic Outlook, the column is called the To-Do Bar:

1. Choose the View tab at the top.
2. In the Layout group, choose To-Do Bar.
3. Choose Tasks. In the same way you can also show the calendar and people, one at a time or all three.

Your tasks are now shown directly in your inbox, in the right-hand column. To hide the bar, take the same route and choose Off (Microsoft’s guide).

Working with the column day to day

In the new Outlook, My Day offers a few small moves that make a big difference:

• Select the star to mark a task as important.
• Tick off finished tasks right in the column.
• Change the order by dragging a task up or down by its dots.

My practical tip: in the morning, move your three most important tasks to the top. That way you see them next to your inbox all day, even when new emails arrive.

Bonus tip: turn an email into a task

Is there an email you cannot answer straight away because it needs some time? Then turn it into a task and clear the email out of your inbox. In the new Outlook you simply drag the email into the To Do pane of My Day.

If you flag emails, they also appear in Planner under My Tasks, in a separate view for flagged emails. From there you can open the email again with one click (Microsoft’s guide). How to use Planner and Outlook together in 2026 is covered in Microsoft Planner 2026: tasks in Outlook and Copilot.

Conclusion

With a task column next to your inbox, you see what really matters today every time you read an email. Open My Day or the To-Do Bar now, drag the next email that means work into your tasks and file the email away.