How to group tasks from multiple apps in one place without migrating: GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and emails unified

Managing multiple clients or projects means constantly switching between apps: checking issues in GitHub, tasks in Asana, pages in Notion, urgent emails, and tickets in Jira. Each tool has its own workflow, notifications, and format, which fragments your attention and forces you to remember where everything is. The typical solution is to migrate everything to a single platform, but that involves rewriting tasks, losing context, or asking clients to change their tools. Grouping tasks from multiple apps in one place without migrating data is possible if you connect the original sources and view them in a single dashboard, without duplicating work. Here’s how to do it step by step, using Foco Plus to avoid constantly switching between apps.

Why centralize tasks from multiple apps without migrating

When working with multiple clients, each one uses their preferred tools: a development team might assign you issues in GitHub or Jira, a corporate client manages tasks in Asana, and another shares documentation in Notion. If you try to migrate everything to a single app, you face three problems:

• Loss of context: When copying a task from Jira to another tool, you lose links to the original issue, comments, or attached files.
• Client resistance: Asking them to switch tools just for your convenience rarely works; they prefer to stick with what they already know.
• Double maintenance: If you update a task in two places, you end up with out-of-sync versions and more manual work.

The alternative is to group tasks from multiple apps in one place without migrating: connect the original tools and view their tasks in a single dashboard, without touching the original data. This way, you keep the context, avoid duplicating work, and don’t depend on clients changing their workflows. Foco Plus is designed for this: it automatically brings tasks from GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and other services into one place, without needing to copy anything manually.

Step-by-step: How to connect GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and emails in Foco Plus

1. Set up your workspaces (clients or projects)

Before connecting tools, organize your workspaces in Foco. Each client or project is a workspace with a name and a color. For example, you can create a workspace called "Client A - Development" (blue) and another "Client B - Design" (green). This way, when Foco brings in tasks from GitHub or Asana, you’ll see them with the color of their workspace, helping you identify them instantly in Panorama mode (where all tasks are displayed together).

2. Connect your tools with OAuth

Foco Plus integrates with GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and MCP servers via OAuth, meaning you don’t need to share passwords or configure complex APIs. Go to Settings > Connections and select the tool you want to connect. For example, for GitHub, Foco will ask you to log in and authorize access to your repositories. Once connected, choose a destination workspace:

• Automatic: Foco uses AI to decide which workspace each task belongs to, based on the content (for example, if a GitHub issue mentions "Client A," it assigns it to the corresponding workspace).
• Fixed workspace: All tasks from that tool will always go to the same workspace (useful if a client uses only one app).

Repeat the process for each tool. For example, connect Asana for the client using that platform and Jira for the development team. Each connection is independent, so you can have multiple tools linked to different workspaces.

3. Capture tasks from emails without manual forwarding

Emails with requests or deadlines often get lost in your inbox. With Foco Plus, each user has a unique email capture address (format u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com). Forward an email to that address, and Foco will automatically extract a task with the subject as the title, the email body as an attached note, and—if it detects dates or deadlines—add them as a due date or scheduled date. For example, if a client emails you "I need the design by Friday," Foco will create a task with a due date of Friday and attach the original email.

4. Review and organize automatically imported tasks

Once the tools are connected, Foco will bring in the tasks assigned to you in each platform. For example:

• GitHub: Issues and pull requests where you’re mentioned or assigned.
• Jira: Issues assigned to you in the projects you authorized.
• Asana: Tasks assigned to you in the connected projects.
• Notion: Pages or tasks where you’re mentioned or assigned.
• Emails: Tasks created from emails forwarded to your u-xxxx@in.heyfoco.com address.

In Panorama mode, you’ll see all tasks together, each with the color of its workspace. If you prefer to focus on a single client, switch to Focus mode and filter by the corresponding workspace. Use the List view to group tasks by date (Today, This Week, Later) or the Kanban view to organize them in customizable columns (e.g., "To Do," "In Progress," "Blocked").

5. Complete tasks in Foco and sync with the source (optional)

When you mark a task as done in Foco, you can choose whether to update it in the original tool as well. For example, if you complete a GitHub issue in Foco, you can configure the connection to automatically close it in GitHub. This avoids having to update two places and keeps the data synchronized. To enable this, go to the connection settings and check the "Complete also in the source" option.

Comparison: Foco Plus vs. Asana for managing multiple clients

Asana is a powerful tool for managing projects, but it has limitations when working with multiple clients or external teams. Here are the key differences:

• Collaboration with clients: In Asana, the free plan only allows up to 2 users, making it impractical to collaborate with multiple clients without paying. The Starter plan costs 10.99 USD/user/month (billed annually) and requires a minimum of 2 seats, so you’d pay 21.98 USD/month even if you work alone. Foco allows unlimited collaborators in the 4 EUR/month plan (no minimum seats) and the Plus plan (20 EUR/month) includes all AI features and connections.
• Native integrations: Asana integrates with GitHub, Jira, and other tools, but automatically imported tasks don’t always retain the full context (e.g., links to issues or comments). Foco Plus brings tasks with all details and attaches the original element as a note, so you don’t lose information.
• Flexibility for freelancers: Asana is designed for internal teams, with features like portfolios or workload management that are useful for companies but not for freelancers managing multiple clients. Foco is built to group tasks from multiple apps in one place without migrating, with a focus on simplicity and centralization.

This doesn’t mean Asana is a bad option: it’s ideal for internal teams that need to manage complex projects with dependencies or automations. But if you’re a freelancer or small team working with multiple clients and external tools, Foco Plus offers a more flexible and cost-effective solution for centralizing everything without migrating data.

Tips to get the most out of centralization

Use tags to filter by task type

Even though tasks are already grouped by workspace, you can add tags to filter by type. For example, tag GitHub issues as #bug, tasks created from emails with invitations as #meeting, or Notion pages as #documentation. This way, in the List view, you can filter by tag and see only pending bugs from all your clients.

Take advantage of voice capture for quick tasks

If you receive a request via call or voice message, use Foco’s voice capture. Say something like "Review pull request for Client A by tomorrow at 10 AM, urgent, tag #code-review," and Foco will create the task with the date, time, priority, and tag already filled in. In the Plus plan, the Burst feature lets you dictate multiple tasks in a row and review them before saving.

Set up the daily briefing to stay on top of everything

Foco Plus’s daily briefing (part of the Copilot) sends you a summary at the time you choose, with what’s due today, tasks that need attention, and updates from your calendar. It’s useful for starting the day with a clear view of what you have pending across all your tools, without having to check each one separately.

Centralizing tasks from multiple apps in one place isn’t about replacing the tools you already use, but about preventing your attention from fragmenting between them.

Conclusion: Fewer app switches, more time for what matters

Grouping tasks from multiple apps in one place without migrating is the most efficient way to manage multiple clients without duplicating work. With Foco Plus, you connect GitHub, Jira, Asana, Notion, and emails in a single dashboard, keeping the original context and avoiding constant switching between tools. The key is to set up the connections once and let Foco automatically bring in the tasks, so you only have to organize and complete them.

If you work with multiple clients or projects, try centralizing your tasks in Foco and compare the difference: fewer scattered notifications, fewer oversights, and more time for what really matters.