Productivity is an issue that concerns us all, both professionally and academically, and it seems that there is never enough time to tackle all the tasks pending. Luckily, technology lends us a hand and, among the many tools designed to speed up productivity, stands out Microsoft ToDo.
We are going to see some simple tricks with which you will be able to get even more out of this application. If you put them into practice, you will notice that your work or study time begins to make much more sense.
What is Microsoft To Do?
In case you don't know it yet, this is an application specialized in management of tasks and lists of things to do. YesIts objective is to help us organize our daily responsibilities and keep track of them, for which it has reminders and to-do lists.
Among its most notable features are the following:
- Custom lists. You can create your own lists with pending tasks. Organized by themes, projects or areas.
- Views and filtering. It allows you to see your pending tasks grouped based on different criteria such as due date or priority.
- Reminders. To make sure nothing falls through the cracks, you can create your own reminders and set due dates for your tasks.
- Integration with Microsoft 365. This tool integrates with other Microsoft365 applications and services such as Outlook or Planner. This way you can better manage your pending tasks between different platforms and devices.
- Collaboration. It allows you to share lists with other people, streamlining teamwork.
- Intuitive interface. It is very simple to use. Once you use this tool a few times, you'll be ready to get the most out of it.
And now that we know this application a little better, it's time to review some simple tricks that will boost our productivity.
Use the system of tasks and steps
Through the function “Add a task” you are configuring your to-do lists. In order to reach be even more productive and be able to concentrate on work When the time comes to do it, you can add steps within each task.
It is about creating subtasks within the main task. You can cross them off as you complete them and thus control your progress.
For example, if you are a journalist and you have to write an article on a certain topic, the steps could be:
- Find title alternatives for the text.
- Find documentation sources.
- Examine whether the competition has addressed that issue.
- Locate images for text.
- Write the draft.
- Correct the draft.
- Upload the final text to the publishing platform.
Use color codes
In Microsoft To Do you can create lists made up of multiple tasks that are integrated within the same project.
To speed up the search for information when you have several lists, there is nothing simpler than establishing a color code for each one. To do this, click on the desired list, and in the pop-up menu that you will see, choose the option “Change topic.” Assign a color, and you're done.
This way you can quickly differentiate between projects or lists that belong to different areas of your life.
Send emails from Outlook to To Do
As we said before, this application can be synchronized with other Microsoft applications, and among them is the Outlook email.
If you receive an email that is related to a task in progress, you can send it to To Do to take into account its content when the time comes to face that job.
To achieve this, enter the email in question and in the menu at the top click on "Tick". It will appear directly in To Do in the section “Email flagged.”
Use Microsoft To Do shared lists
Collaborative lists are a great idea when it comes to managing work that involves multiple people. It's as simple as creating a list, assign tasks and share it with interested parties.
If you want to keep the list you have shared as private as possible, you can activate the option “Limit access to current members”. This way, you will be the only person with the ability to decide which participants are added to the collaborative list.
Drag and drop elements
Whether you use Microsoft To Do on your mobile or computer, you can drag elements from one window to another and create tasks based on them. This greatly speeds up the creation of lists.
To use this functionality you have to use split screen mode, Drag the text you are interested in and take it from one place to another.
Use emojis to put icons on tasks
This tool allows us to use emoticons in task lists, such as way to quickly identify them. Although it does not have the same system regarding tasks, this does not mean that we cannot use it.
Edit the name of the tasks you have created and add an emoticon using the keyboard. The added advantage of this system is that you are not limited to emojis that To Do incorporates by default, you can use the one you like the most.
Use the htag system
To speed up the location of tasks, you can use hashtags. This way, when you search for the word used, All the content you have marked will appear with that label.
You can create your own hashtag system and use it to manage your tasks instead of resorting to the categories offered by Microsoft To Do.
Create due date notices and reminders
It is of little use to you to organize all your tasks if you do not know when each of them should be finished. To avoid delays, make the most of the reminder and due date system that this application offers you.
Every time you create a task, set to set an expiration date and add a reminder Let me warn you a few days before.
Being more productive is a little easier with Microsoft To Do. Immerse yourself in this tool and in no time you will be an expert at managing time to tackle each pending task.