Convert email into task without losing details: practical guide with Foco

When you manage multiple jobs or clients, being able to convert email into task without losing details is essential. Losing key information like deadlines, assignees, or priorities during the transition can disrupt your workflow. Foco solves this with its email capture feature, which automatically extracts essential data and turns it into an organized task within the project you choose.

Why converting email into task without losing details is a common challenge

Using generic apps or standalone lists to convert email into task often leads to manual errors: forgetting attachments, losing the original email’s context, or failing to assign the task to the correct project or client. Foco prevents these issues by processing the entire email, attaching it as a note, and extracting dates, priorities, and other details to populate the task fields automatically.

Step-by-step: how to forward an email to Foco and turn it into a task

• Open the email you want to convert into a task and click 'Forward'.
• In the 'To' field, paste your personal Foco email address (found in Settings > Email Capture).
• Send the email without modifying the subject or body. Foco will process the content and create a task with the email subject as the title.
• Open Foco and review the newly created task. You’ll see the original email attached as a note, along with any automatically extracted fields (dates, names, etc.).
• Assign the task to the relevant project or client by selecting the target workspace (or let the Copilot decide if you have the 'Automatic' option enabled).
• Add tags, priority, reminders, or duration if Foco didn’t detect them automatically. All these fields are available in the task editing view.
• Save the task. If the email included a deadline or reminder, Foco will have set it up for you.

What details are preserved when converting email into task with Foco

• The original email is attached as a note, including all attachments and the message body.
• Dates and times mentioned in the email are extracted and assigned as due dates or reminders (e.g., 'by Friday' becomes a due date).
• Names of people are detected and suggested as assignees if they’re invited to the project in Foco.
• Keywords like 'urgent' or 'important' trigger the corresponding priority level in the task.
• If the email includes recurring instructions (e.g., 'review every Monday'), Foco sets up the recurrence automatically.

Advantages over alternatives like notes or manual lists

If you use a note-taking app or a spreadsheet to convert email into task, the process is manual and error-prone: you must copy the text, attach files separately, and remember which project each task belongs to. Foco automates this by extracting relevant data from the email, attaching the full email as context, and letting you assign the task to a specific project with one click. Plus, since it’s designed for managing multiple jobs at once, each task appears with its project’s color, preventing confusion when reviewing your to-do list.

What to do if Foco doesn’t detect a detail automatically

• Review the task in Foco and manually edit any missing fields (e.g., add a tag or adjust the date).
• If the email contains ambiguous information (e.g., 'next week'), Foco may not assign a specific date. In that case, select it yourself from the task’s calendar.
• For very long or complex emails, use the option to attach an additional note with a summary or specific instructions.