Office 365 is packed with powerful tools that can help boost your productivity. However, most users only scratch the surface of what’s possible with this versatile platform. In this blog post, we’ll explore five productivity hacks using Office 365 that can take your workflow to the next level.
1. Use Microsoft Teams for Streamlined Collaboration
Microsoft Teams is more than just a chat and video conferencing tool. By integrating other Office 365 apps, you can turn Teams into a productivity hub:
- Create Channels for Focused Work: Set up dedicated channels for specific projects, departments, or topics to keep conversations organised.
- Use @Mentions Smartly: Tag team members or specific channels using @mentions to get their attention and keep communication clear and concise.
- Integrate Planner and To-Do: Within Teams, you can integrate Microsoft Planner and To-Do to manage tasks and keep projects on track without leaving the app.
2. Leverage OneNote for Note-Taking and Organisation
OneNote is a powerful tool for organising notes, ideas, and plans. Here’s how you can use it more effectively:
- Create Notebooks for Different Projects: Use separate notebooks for different projects or clients to keep your information organised.
- Use Tags for Better Search and Organisation: Tag important notes with labels like “To-Do” or “Important” to easily find them later.
- Share and Collaborate in Real-Time: Share your notebooks with colleagues to collaborate on meeting notes or project plans in real time.
4. Boost Email Productivity with Outlook Tips
Outlook is a staple in Office 365, but are you using it to its full potential?
- Use Quick Parts for Common Responses: Save frequently used text snippets with Quick Parts to quickly insert them into your emails.
- Schedule Emails for Later Delivery: Write emails now and schedule them to be sent later at a more appropriate time.
- Set Up Rules and Filters: Automatically sort and manage your inbox with rules that move messages to specific folders or flag them based on criteria you define.
3. Automate Repetitive Tasks with Power Automate
Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is a hidden gem in Office 365 that allows you to automate repetitive tasks:
- Automate Email Sorting: Create automated workflows to sort incoming emails into folders based on specific criteria like sender or subject.
- Set Up Approval Workflows: Automatically route documents or requests for approval, saving time and reducing manual follow-ups.
- Integrate Apps Seamlessly: Connect Office 365 apps with other services like Slack, Trello, or Dropbox to create customised workflows.
5. Collaborate on Documents in Real-Time with Office Apps
Co-authoring in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint allows multiple people to work on the same document at once:
- Use Comments and @Mentions: Leave comments and tag colleagues with @mentions to request feedback or draw their attention to specific sections.
- Track Changes: Keep track of who made what changes, ensuring that you can review and approve edits before finalising a document.
- Version History: If something goes wrong, you can easily revert to a previous version with Office 365’s built-in version history.
