put the next step in your microsoft to do list

the promise you made on a call deserves better than a sticky note. tell the bot the next step and the microsoft to do list it belongs in.

by the dusk bot team · checked 12 november 2026 · how we made this

it can add notes, source links, categories, dates and reminders. give real deadlines when you have them; leave the date blank when you never agreed one.

pixel art: a blue pixel bot, a pink pixel bot and a mint pixel bot beside the Outlook mark on a white tile, a notebook and an alarm clock and a calendar, on a lilac hill in front of a birch wood under purple hills, one saying "give it a next step"

what it does

keep the promise and the email behind it together. give the bot a task title and list name. it looks up the list before creation, so you can distinguish lists with the same name.

you can add categories, source links and low, normal or high importance. dates and reminders need a time zone. due dates and reminders are separate choices; request both when you need both.

when you would use it

keep a supplier promise. capture the follow-up you accepted on a call.
keep the fault report handy. link it from a repair task.
keep errands out of work. name your personal list when that is where the task belongs.
remember a real deadline. request both the due date and the reminder you need.

try it

paste this into a chat with your bot

every weekday at 18:15, read outlook emails i flagged today for quillstone books. find concrete next steps i accepted in those threads.

- compare them with existing tasks in "shop follow-ups"
- show new task titles, source email links and stated dates here
- leave missing dates unset
- ask me before you change anything

after my ok, create only the tasks i choose. never invent deadlines or high importance. do not repeat a task after an unclear result; look for the task in the list first.

when: weekdays at 18:15
needs: outlook connected with read and write; allow reading email and existing to do tasks, plus task creation

what comes back looks like this (an example)

quillstone books task preview
list: shop follow-ups
title: request the revised delivery slip
due: no date in the email; leave unset
source: flagged supplier email
ready to create after you approve this task.

set it up

connect outlook for the job. allow read and write for this bot.
find its home. ask it to show which follow-ups list it found.
preview one task. confirm its title, dates and time zone before creation. task writes do not wait on email send approval.
inspect it in to do. then set the routine’s closing-time schedule.

what it needs from you

input	required	what it is
`title`	yes	The title of the task.
`todo_task_list_id`	yes	The unique identifier of the task list where the task will be created.
`body`	no	Task body content with content type.
`categories`	no	A list of category labels to organize the task (e.g., tags for filtering or grouping tasks).
`importance`	no	The importance level of the task.
`dueDateTime`	no	Date/time with timezone information for task due dates and reminders.

from composio's catalog for Outlook (action OUTLOOK_CREATE_TASK, read 12 november 2026⁴). your bot fills these in from what you tell it.

how dusk bot handles it

dusk bot counts Create To Do task as a change: it alters something in Outlook, and the sending setting does not cover it. a bot you allow only to read can never call it.

the permissions Outlook asks for to run it: Tasks.ReadWrite.

where it stops

list names can repeat. confirm which one should hold the task.
due and remind are different choices. request both if you need both.
leave room for a deadline you have not agreed yet. keep the date blank when the source gives none.

try it in 2 minutes

connect outlook with task write access
ask it to find your chosen to do list
give one task and its source email link
preview the date and reminder before creation

what it looks like

invented example: hugo turns a supplier email into a task.

before

the supplier asks for a revised delivery slip. hugo agrees in an email but gives no deadline.

after the bot

hugo gets a task linked to the supplier email, with the due date left blank. the delivery-slip request is in the follow-ups list instead of buried in the thread.

an illustration with made-up names and numbers.

mistakes people make

turning "soon" into friday

leave the date blank or ask for a real deadline.

retrying after an unclear reply

look for the task in the list before creating another.

questions

does this put an appointment on my calendar?

no, it creates a to do task. use calendar scheduling for an appointment.

can the task link to its source email?

yes, keep the source with the task. linked resources can hold an email or document link and a readable name. get the real link first.

sources

dusk bot docs: files and apps
dusk bot docs: routines
dusk bot docs: a bot's computer
composio, Outlook toolkit (catalog version 20261104_00), checked 12 november 2026

drafted with ai help from the dusk bot docs and the sources listed on this page, then checked against them. if something here is wrong or out of date, write to [email protected].