Organise your time effectively

You may sometimes find yourself overwhelmed with many different things to focus on at once, balancing your time between different meetings, projects, emails and online calls with little time to get your work done in-between. The top tips below offer some advice for using digital tools to help organise your time and use it efficiently.

Tips for organising your time

Make a list of what needs doing

Take the time to list all of the things that you're working on to help identify what tasks you're spending the bulk of your time on, as well as ensuring that nothing is missed when you're planning your time.

It can help to divide your work into big projects and smaller weekly or daily tasks. For big projects, break them down into smaller, achievable tasks and review weekly to keep on track.

You could use Microsoft OneNote to keep a written list with additional notes or Microsoft To Do to keep a checklist of your own, individual, short-term tasks.

Microsoft Planner is useful for managing group projects. It enables you to collaborate with others to track tasks and assign different priorities and due dates to each.

Mind mapping software such as Mindjet MindManager can be useful to create a visual representation of your ideas, or can be used to create a Gantt chart.

Avoid distractions

Make the most of the time you have scheduled to work by avoiding distractions. Turn off or snooze notifications from certain apps - particularly the ones that tempt you most!

Turn off email notifications in particular and instead only check your email every few hours so you aren't getting interrupted. If possible, try to work in an environment where you're less likely to get distracted. Some people find that noise cancelling headphones can help them to focus in a noisy or busy environment.

If you struggle to focus whilst working on a task, there are techniques designed to help you to maximise your focus. Consider looking into the Pomodoro Technique to get your tasks done in manageable chunks of time (setting a 25 minute timer to accomplish a task without distractions, then give yourself a mini break before the next task). Use your phone or laptop to set a timer, this is usually found by searching for Clock in your apps.

Create a schedule

Use your Outlook calendar to set out your schedule of tasks, where you can block out time for the work you need to do as well as the meetings you need to attend. Setting time limits on tasks in this way can prevent spending too long on one task and getting behind on others.

Plan time to focus

As well as filling your calendar with meetings and tasks, it is a good idea to set yourself some time to focus or catch up on important tasks. Microsoft Viva Insights can automatically schedule 'Focus Time' in your calendar, which will automatically set your online status to 'Focusing' to limit interruptions from Microsoft Teams calls.

Think about what times of the day you are at your best. Perhaps you have more energy in the mornings? If so, plan to focus on important tasks during this time and leave more routine tasks for another part of the day to maximise your efficiency.

Work out the best time to meet

If you are trying to arrange a meeting with a number of colleagues, it can be difficult to find a time that everyone is free. Try using Scheduling Assistant within Outlook calendars to quickly see what times are available when everyone is free. Check out the Managing email and calendars with Microsoft Outlook online course for more tips.