In my chaotic daily life, I need a "second brain" to keep everything in check. This usually takes the form of a to-do app, where I can note down things I want to do and create reminders so I never get stranded in information.

Microsoft has its own version of its to-do app, called, well...Microsoft To Do. And I've given it a go, but ultimately, I'm going to go back to my old favorite, Google Tasks. Here's why.

Google Tasks automatically adds my events to Google Calendar

It's really quite nice

As part of my "second brain" setup, I use Google Calendar to keep track of everything that I, my family, and my work are up to. Whenever I want to plan something or see what's coming up ahead, I open up Google Calendar and everything is there for me.

One of the big advantages of Google Tasks over Microsoft To Do is that if you're already using Google Calendar, Tasks will build on that. Whenever you make something in Google Tasks and set a date for it, it'll also appear on your Calendar. Similarly, if you make a task within Calendar, you can then review and edit it in Tasks. I adore the fact that I don't have to dart between apps to keep everything in check and that I can just look at Calendar to see what's up.

Google Tasks reminders can hit every Android device I have

No missing important issues

Another part of creating a "second brain" is ensuring that there's absolutely zero way my actual brain can miss its reminders. An app can have the best reminder system available, but if I'm too busy playing games or watching something when it goes off, I'm going to miss it.

Fortunately, there's no way I'm missing a Google Tasks reminder. When one fires, it's hitting both my phone and my Google Home device to let me know what's going on. And because I have my phone's notifications mirrored to my PC, there's zero way I'm getting away from it. This setup has saved me from countless missed appointments and meetings to the point where I can't see anything replacing it

Google Tasks are just simpler to set up

I don't need the knitty-gritty

This is the part where we really get into the "your mileage may vary" territory. Google Tasks has a very simple UI without many extras, while Microsoft To Do lets you micromanage your tasks with categories, deadlines, and the like. For some, the simplicity of Google Tasks will leave them frustrated and wanting; for others, they'll find themselves equipped with a ton of tools with Microsoft To Do but will never use the app for anything more complicated than a grocery list.

I'm firmly in the latter camp. My most involved tasks are reminders that I'm leaving the house to go somewhere, and a checklist of all the stuff I need before I go so I don't forget them. That's it. That's all I really need. I don't need to organize the task into a category, add a deadline, or use any of Microsoft To Do's in-depth features. I don't want to faff with those things; I just want to make a list, tell the app when to yell at me about it, and go about my day. And while I respect the depth you can go in Microsoft To Do, it's not for me.

It's Google Tasks for me

That's not to say that Microsoft To Do is bad; it's really not. However, when you take into account my needs and the kind of digital ecosystems I'm a part of, Google Tasks is just a no-brainer. I can imagine that if I were more invested in the Microsoft side of things, this story would have been flipped the other way. However, as it stands, I'm going to ditch Microsoft To Do and keep trucking with Google Tasks.