How to group tasks from GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and emails in one place with Foco Plus

Juggling multiple projects—whether as a freelancer, solopreneur, or small team—means constantly switching between tools: checking GitHub issues, tracking Jira deadlines, responding to Asana or Notion tasks, and keeping an eye on urgent emails. Grouping tasks from multiple apps in one place doesn’t just save time; it ensures nothing slips through the cracks. With Foco Plus’s Connections, you can centralize everything in a single dashboard without leaving your existing tools or duplicating work. This guide walks you through the setup step by step, with practical examples for each integration.

Why centralize tasks in one dashboard (and why generic apps fall short)

Using a notes app or spreadsheet to group tasks from multiple apps in one place might seem like a quick fix, but it fails in three critical ways:

• Lack of context: A note or cell doesn’t show the real status of a task (is it assigned to you? does it have a deadline?), nor does it let you update it without opening the original tool.
• No automatic sync: Manually copying tasks is tedious and error-prone. If a GitHub issue updates, your list becomes outdated.
• Hard to prioritize: When mixing tasks from different projects, there’s no way to filter by client, deadline, or urgency without a structured system.

Foco solves this by automatically pulling tasks from each tool and displaying them with the necessary context: the project’s color, due dates, priority, and even attached notes. Plus, when you mark a task as done in Foco, you can close it in the source tool (e.g., Jira or GitHub) with a single click.

Prerequisites: what you need to get started

• A Foco Plus account (€20/month). Connections are only available in this plan.
• Admin access or permissions to connect integrations in the tools you want to sync (GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, or an MCP server).
• Your login credentials for each platform (you’ll need to authenticate via OAuth).
• A few minutes to set up each connection (2–5 minutes per tool).

Step-by-step: how to set up Foco Plus Connections

1. Access the Connections section

Open Foco on desktop or mobile and go to Settings > Connections. Here, you’ll see the list of available tools: GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and MCP servers. Each has a "Connect" button.

2. Connect GitHub: sync issues and pull requests

Practical example: You’re a freelance developer working on two GitHub repositories for different clients. You want to see all issues assigned to you in one place, without opening each repo.

• Click "Connect" next to GitHub and log in with your account.
• Select the repositories you want to sync (you can choose all or just some).
• Choose the destination project in Foco: you can assign all issues to a fixed project (e.g., "Client A - Development") or let the AI decide automatically based on the issue content.
• Enable the "Complete in source tool" option if you want tasks marked as done in Foco to close automatically in GitHub.
• Save the setup. Within seconds, you’ll see the issues as tasks in Foco, with the project’s color and original details (labels, comments, etc.).

3. Connect Jira: centralize issues assigned to you

Practical example: You work in a team that uses Jira for sprints but also have personal tasks in another project. You want to see all your issues in one dashboard, grouped by client.

• Connect Jira from the Connections section and log in with your account.
• Select the Jira projects you want to sync (you can filter by issue type or status).
• Assign a destination project in Foco for each Jira project (e.g., "Team X - Sprints" and "Personal Project").
• Enable "Complete in source tool" if you want tasks resolved in Foco to update in Jira.
• Save. The issues will appear in Foco with their priority, deadline, and original description.

4. Connect Asana: bring in tasks assigned to you

Practical example: You’re a project manager using Asana to coordinate with clients. Each client has their own workspace in Asana, and you want to see all your tasks in one place without switching tabs.

• Connect Asana from Foco and log in.
• Select the workspaces or projects in Asana you want to sync.
• Choose a destination project in Foco for each Asana project (e.g., "Client B - Marketing").
• Enable the "Complete in source tool" option if you want tasks marked as done in Foco to update in Asana.
• Save. The tasks will appear in Foco with their due date, assignees, and attached notes.

5. Connect Notion: sync pages and tasks where you’re mentioned

Practical example: You use Notion to document projects with clients, and you want pages where you’re mentioned or assigned tasks to appear automatically in your to-do list.

• Connect Notion from Foco and log in.
• Select the databases or pages you want to sync (Foco will automatically detect mentions and tasks assigned to you).
• Assign a destination project in Foco for each Notion database (e.g., "Client C - Documentation").
• Save. The tasks will appear in Foco with a link to the original page and the context of the mention.

6. Set up email capture: turn emails into tasks

Practical example: You receive an email from a client with an urgent request. Instead of copying it manually to your task list, you forward it to Foco, and it becomes a task with the email attached as a note.

• Go to Settings > Copilot > Email Capture in Foco.
• Copy your personal forwarding address (format u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com).
• Forward the email to that address. Foco will automatically extract the subject as the task title, the body as a note, and detect dates or deadlines if present.
• Assign the task to a project in Foco (e.g., "Client D - Support").

How to organize synced tasks in Foco

1. Use Panorama mode to see everything at once

Panorama mode shows all your tasks in a single dashboard, each with the color of its project. It’s ideal for getting a bird’s-eye view of what’s pending. For example, you can quickly see if you have more GitHub issues than Asana tasks or if one client has tighter deadlines than another.

2. Filter by due date or completion date

In List view, you can group tasks by completion date (when you’ll work on them) or due date (the deadline). This helps you prioritize without losing sight of deadlines. For example, if you have 3 free hours today, filter by "Today" to see which tasks you can tackle in that time.

3. Assign priorities and tags

Each synced task retains its original priority (if the source tool has one), but you can adjust it in Foco. Use tags to add context, like #urgent or #review. For example, a high-priority Jira task might get the tag #blocking to remind you it’s holding up other work.

Foco vs. Asana: why Foco wins for managing multiple jobs

Asana is a powerful project management tool, but it has key limitations for those who need to group tasks from multiple apps in one place:

• Free plan limits: Asana’s free plan only allows 2 users, making it impractical to collaborate with multiple clients without paying. Foco, on the other hand, offers a permanent Free plan with unlimited projects and tasks, perfect for getting started at no cost.
• Minimum 2 seats in paid plans: Asana’s Starter plan ($10.99/user/month) requires a minimum of 2 seats, forcing you to pay double even if you work alone. Foco Plus costs €20/month per user, with no minimums.
• No native GitHub or Jira integrations: Asana doesn’t automatically sync GitHub or Jira issues as tasks, something Foco does with one click. It also doesn’t convert emails into tasks or offer a daily briefing summarizing your pending work.
• Single-project focus: Asana is designed to manage individual projects, not to mix tasks from multiple clients or jobs in one dashboard. Foco, however, lets you see all your tasks in Panorama mode or filter by project with Focus mode, which is essential when juggling multiple fronts.

That said, Asana is a better option if you work in a large team with advanced needs like workload management or task dependencies. But if you’re a freelancer, solopreneur, or manage multiple projects at once, Foco gives you what you need: grouping tasks from multiple apps in one place, without duplicating work and with tools designed for the chaos of managing multiple fronts.

Real-world example: a day in the life with Foco Plus

Imagine you’re a freelance developer and project manager. At 9:00 AM, you open Foco and see the following in Panorama mode:

• Client A (GitHub): 2 urgent issues (red, high priority).
• Client B (Asana): 1 task due today (yellow, medium priority).
• Client C (Notion): 1 page where you’re mentioned to review a document (blue, no deadline).
• Client D (Email): 1 task created from a forwarded email (green, due tomorrow).

You filter by completion date and see you have 3 free hours today. You assign 1 hour to the urgent GitHub issue, 1 hour to the Asana task, and leave the Notion review for later. When you finish the GitHub issue, you mark it as done in Foco, and it closes automatically in GitHub. At 11:00 AM, you receive a daily briefing email summarizing what you’ve accomplished and what’s still pending. All without opening any other app.

Centralizing tasks isn’t about having less work; it’s about spending less time switching contexts and more time doing what matters.

Conclusion: how to get started today

If you want to group tasks from multiple apps in one place, follow these steps:

• Sign up for Foco Plus (€20/month) and go to the Connections section.
• Connect at least one tool (start with the one you use most, like GitHub or Asana).
• Set up the destination project for each connection and enable the "Complete in source tool" option if you want two-way sync.
• Forward a test email to your u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com address to see how it becomes a task.
• Explore Panorama mode and Focus mode to see how they fit your workflow.

If you manage multiple projects or clients, centralizing your tasks in Foco will give you something no generic app can offer: clarity in the chaos. And if you want to dive deeper into techniques for organizing multiple jobs, check out how to use time blocking for multiple jobs without losing focus or the best to-do list for freelancers with GitHub and Jira projects.

FAQ

Can I sync tasks from Trello or ClickUp with Foco?

Currently, Foco only supports connections with GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and MCP servers. If you use Trello or ClickUp, you can forward tasks via email to your u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com address to turn them into tasks in Foco.

What happens if a task updates in GitHub or Jira after syncing?

Foco doesn’t sync changes in real time, but you can manually update tasks from the app. If you enable "Complete in source tool," marking a task as done in Foco will close it in the original tool.

Can I assign synced tasks to other team members in Foco?

Yes, but only to members you’ve invited to that project in Foco. You can’t assign tasks to people who don’t have access to the project in Foco.

Do Foco Connections use AI credits?

No. Connections are a separate feature from Copilot and don’t consume AI credits. Only voice capture, Burst, and the daily briefing use credits.

Can I use Foco to manage personal tasks alongside work tasks?

Yes. Foco is designed to mix tasks from multiple jobs, personal projects, or even household chores. Each can go in a separate project with its own color.