How to Get the Most Out of Your Microsoft 365 Subscription

Are you looking to get the most out of your Microsoft 365 subscription?

There is functionality in Microsoft 365 where you might be leaving value on the table.  With a few tweaks, you can supercharge your productivity and enhance your user experience.

Optimize Your Outlook

Email is one of the most-used business apps.  That means optimization can pack a big productivity punch.

Use Focused Inbox to prioritize important emails.  Set up rules to organize incoming messages automatically.  The Focused Inbox in Microsoft 365, particularly in Outlook, is a feature designed to help you manage your email more efficiently by sorting your messages into two tabs: “Focused” and “Other.”

• Focused: This tab contains emails that Outlook’s algorithms determine are most important to you. These are usually messages from people you communicate with frequently or those that are considered high-priority based on your email habits.
• Other: This tab includes emails that are not deemed as urgent or relevant. It can contain newsletters, promotional messages, or other less critical correspondence.

You can switch between these tabs to view and manage your emails. The idea is to help you focus on the messages that matter most while keeping the less important ones accessible but out of the way. You can also move emails between the tabs, and the system will learn from your actions to better categorize messages in the future.

This feature aims to improve productivity by reducing the time spent sorting through less important emails and highlighting those that require immediate attention.

Use OneDrive Smartly

Sync your files with OneDrive for seamless access across devices.  Take advantage of the Files On-Demand feature to save storage space on your local device.  The Files On-Demand feature in OneDrive offers several key benefits:

• Storage Efficiency: It allows you to see and access all your files in OneDrive without having to download them all to your device. This saves local storage space on your device because only the files you actually use are downloaded, while others are available online.
• Instant Access: You can view and manage all your files from File Explorer (on Windows) or Finder (on macOS) as if they were stored locally. When you open a file, it downloads automatically, so you can work with it as if it’s stored on your device.
• Reduced Sync Time: Since files are not fully downloaded until needed, the initial synchronization process is faster. This can be especially beneficial if you have a large amount of data.
• Offline Access: You can choose to make specific files or folders available offline. These files will be stored locally and accessible without an internet connection.
• Automatic Updates: When files are modified online, those changes sync automatically to your device if you’ve accessed them recently, ensuring you have the latest version.
• Space Management: Files On-Demand helps you manage your local storage more effectively. By keeping only frequently accessed files on your device, you free up space for other uses.

Overall, Files On-Demand enhances the usability and flexibility of OneDrive by balancing online and offline access while managing local storage needs.

Streamline Teams

Customize Microsoft Teams notifications to stay updated without feeling overwhelmed.  Use channels to organize conversations and tabs to keep important documents handy.

 Customizing Microsoft Teams notifications can significantly boost productivity in several ways:

• Reduce Distractions: By tailoring notification settings to prioritize only the most important alerts, you minimize interruptions from less critical messages or updates. This allows you to focus better on your tasks without being constantly disrupted.
• Improve Focus: Customizing notifications helps you stay concentrated on your work. For instance, you can choose to receive notifications only for direct messages or mentions, rather than all activity in a channel, which can reduce noise and increase your productivity.
• Streamline Communication: Adjusting notifications based on your role or workflow ensures that you’re alerted to the most relevant conversations and tasks. This can help you stay on top of key discussions and decisions, enhancing collaboration without feeling overwhelmed.
• Efficient Task Management: By setting notifications for specific channels or projects, you can keep track of important deadlines and updates more effectively. This helps in managing your workload and staying organized, as you receive reminders and updates on what matters most.
• Better Work-Life Balance: Customizing notifications allows you to set boundaries between work and personal time. For example, you can mute notifications outside of work hours or adjust settings to reduce after-hours disruptions, leading to improved work-life balance and reduced burnout.
• Enhanced Team Collaboration: Customizing notifications for different teams or projects help ensure you’re engaging with relevant conversations and contributing effectively to team goals. You can also set different notification preferences for various teams or projects, aligning them with your priorities.
• Increased Responsiveness: By prioritizing notifications for urgent or high-priority items, you can respond more quickly to critical issues or requests. This agility can improve your overall efficiency and the responsiveness of your team.

In essence, customizing notifications in Microsoft Teams allows you to tailor the flow of information to your specific needs and preferences, which can lead to more focused work, better time management, and a more balanced work experience.

Using Microsoft Teams channels to organize conversations and Tabs to keep important documents handy offers several productivity benefits:

• Channels for Organizing Conversations: Focused Discussions: Channels allow you to categorize conversations by topic, project, or department. This organization helps keep discussions relevant and focused, reducing the likelihood of important messages getting lost in unrelated chatter.
• Improved Collaboration: By having dedicated channels for specific teams or projects, team members can easily find and contribute to discussions pertinent to their work, fostering better collaboration and ensuring everyone stays on the same page.
• Efficient Information Retrieval: Channels make it easier to locate past conversations and decisions. When discussions are organized by topic, you can quickly search within a channel for specific information, saving time compared to sifting through a disorganized message history.
• Role-Based Access: Channels can be set as private or standard, allowing you to control who has access to specific conversations. This helps in maintaining confidentiality for sensitive discussions and ensures that only relevant team members are involved.
• Reduced Email Overload: Channels centralize communication, reducing the need for email threads and minimizing email overload. This helps streamline communication and keeps everything in one place.

Using Tabs for keeping important documents handy can provide the following productivity benefits:

• Quick Access: Tabs allow you to pin important documents, files, or tools directly within a channel. This ensures that critical resources are easily accessible to all team members, reducing time spent searching for documents or tools.
• Enhanced Collaboration: By integrating tools like SharePoint, Excel, or Planner as Tabs, teams can collaborate more effectively on documents and projects. Members can work on files directly within Teams, ensuring real-time updates and reducing version control issues.
• Organized Workspace: Tabs help keep your workspace organized by consolidating frequently used documents and applications in one place. This organization reduces the need to switch between multiple applications or windows, streamlining your workflow.
• Increased Visibility: Tabs provide a visible and accessible location for important information and resources, making it easier for team members to find what they need without having to ask around or search extensively.
• Centralized Tools: Tabs can integrate with various apps and services, allowing you to bring together different tools and resources within Teams. This centralization helps in maintaining a cohesive workflow and enhances productivity by reducing the need to jump between different platforms.
• Real-Time Updates: With Tabs, any changes made to documents or tools are updated in real time. This ensures that all team members are working with the latest information and can collaborate effectively without dealing with outdated versions.

Overall, using Teams channels to organize conversations and Tabs to keep important documents handy enhances team collaboration, improves information management, and streamlines workflows, leading to increased productivity and efficiency.

Leverage OneNote

Set up OneNote to capture and organize your notes effectively.  Use tags, sections, and notebooks to keep your thoughts structured and easily accessible.

Explore Copilot

Use Copilot for Microsoft 365 to save time creating PowerPoints, summarize Teams meetings, and more.

There is a lot of productivity-boosting to be had from this AI powerhouse.

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