ForumsQuestionsHow create Toodledo tasks via Google Assistant / voice?


How create Toodledo tasks via Google Assistant / voice?
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medouneu

Posted: Sep 02, 2022
Score: 1 Reference
It is very important to me that I be able to add a task, anytime and anywhere, and hands-free (like if I'm driving). For years, I've used IFTTT to get Google Assistant to play nice with Toodledo, in spite of Google's best (or worst) efforts to thwart me. Now, it seems they've beat me with their latest "update" that makes IFTTT's Toodledo applets useless. I know it's not the fault of Toodledo or IFTTT, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

To combat this, I've started experimenting with Ultimate To Do's voice feature, but Google Assistant doesn't appear to play nice with it either (unless I missed something?). I'm also trying (again) to figure out how to get Zapier to work, but it's much more complicated than IFTTT; besides, it seems like it takes a minimum of 2-3 interactions instead of 1 like I'm used to.

It seems like my alternatives are 1) allow Google to dictate my choice of task app based on whether it will play nice with it or not, or 2) give up on ever having any kind of hands-free options that are actually useful to me.

Any suggestions?
Scott Florack

Posted: Sep 06, 2022
Score: 0 Reference
I don't know that this will specifically help since I primarily use Alexa and not Google Assistant, but maybe you can get something out of it.

I use AnyList for building grocery lists and creating those hand-free tasks, and they sync to Alexa's shopping and to-do list, respectively. I then go into the web based Alexa app and paste tasks into Toodledo.

Not ideal if you create a ton of tasks hands-free, but for those moments of tremendous epiphanies, it's nice to have.
brill

Posted: Nov 05, 2022
Score: 1 Reference
I've also been trying to resolve this problem, with no success.
Slowaxe

Posted: Dec 18, 2022
Score: 0 Reference
Anyone brilliant come up with a viable workaround yet? Been trying, unsuccessfully...

This message was edited Dec 18, 2022.
calvinbes

Posted: Dec 29, 2022
Score: 0 Reference
For Android I have been using "ToodleTask". I have been using it for years. I have an action on my phone to bring it up via a swipe action. Then I use the voice button to capture my item (voice to text feature). It doesn't fill out all the metadata but I can hit the button to put it in "today" or "tomorrow". there are a couple other things you can configure in the app. For me, I use this app all the time. Hope you find some value in my comment.
oliver.wiesner

Posted: Jan 05, 2023
Score: 1 Reference
I'm also incredibly frustrated with the change of Google Assistant. Adding tasks was SO awesome before.

So I tried a lot and this is the workaround I have found and am using. It's not elegant, but it works for me (for the time being):

1. I set up the Toodledo integration with a Google Calendar.
2. I add this calendar to my Google Account
3. In the Google Assistant settings, I set the Toodledo-Calendar as the default Calendar for new appointments.
4. If I want to create a task with Google Assistant, I know use the command for creating an appointment:
"OK Google, make an appointment tomorrow at 09:30 for half an hour, the name is Do my laundry"
Google now creates the Appointment in the Toodledo - Calendar, which is then synced to a task.
Like half an hour later I will find the task "Do my laundry" in my Toodledo for tomorrow, 09:30-10:00.

This has some disadvantages:
1. You can not create an appointment in your Google Calendar easily
(I mean, you can still do, you just have to change the calendar in an app later, so it gets taken out of the Toodledo sync).
2. I takes a while until you will find the Task in Toodledo, as it has to go through two syncs before it's in Toodledo.
3. You can not add specifics like Folder, Context, Priority, ...

But I hope, this will only be a temporary solution.

What I could not implement, but might be a better solution is, if you add a Google task via Google Assistant and have your task transferred to Toodledo via IFTTT. Anybody been successful with that?
brill

Posted: Mar 12, 2023
Score: 0 Reference
I have a different workaround. It stopped working for a while but is working well now:

1. I set Any.Do as my default tasks app under Google (Google allows a limited # of apps for this)
2. I added a task list to Any.Do called 'Personal"
3. I set up a Zapier Zap that syncs Any.Do with Toodledo

Now, I speak, "Ok Google, add xxxx to my personal list".

It takes a few minutes, but once Zapier syncs it shows up in Toodledo.
medouneu

Posted: Jul 08, 2023
Score: 1 Reference
Posted by oliver.wiesner:

What I could not implement, but might be a better solution is, if you add a Google task via Google Assistant and have your task transferred to Toodledo via IFTTT. Anybody been successful with that?


At the time you posted this, no, this was not possible, but as of a month or so ago (May or June 2023), yes, you can use IFTTT to copy Google Tasks over to Toodledo. It's not great, but it's better than nothing. Usually tasks pop up in Toodledo in 0-2 minutes... but not always (sometimes takes half hour or more).

Setting up the applet in IFTTT is straightforward enough. Figuring out the best command to use with Google Assistant that involves the least pain-in-the-ass-ness? That took a while. Part of the problem is that Google Assistant insists on setting a date and time for Google Tasks, even though Google Tasks doesn't require them. I got annoyed at having to go through more than one prompt, which sometimes results in an infinite loop:

"Hey Google, remind me to do laundry."
"Okay, when do you want to be reminded?"
"Tonight at 7."
"Okay. What's the reminder?"
"Take out the trash."
"Okay, when do you want to be reminded?"
"AAAAaaaagghhhhhhh!"
"That's not a valid time. Oh, my, you appear to have burst a blood vessel. On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate my response?"

So, to avoid a similar fate for yourself, here's the verbiage I recommend using:
"Hey Google, remind me tonight _____________."
The actual timing doesn't matter for me - it could be "tomorrow morning" or even "next week" instead of "tonight" - because I only have IFTTT copy over the task name.


This message was edited Jul 08, 2023.
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