As an Office 365 subscriber, if you have only been using core Microsoft programs like Word and Excel for coordinating and presenting your work, and Outlook for managing your communications, then you are definitely not making the most of your subscription.
The Office 365 suite offers users a plethora of applications to explore and take advantage of for improving productivity and efficiency in work and communication.
Below are five creative and highly useful tips that we like to improve productivity using your Office 365 subscription:
Take better notes with Office Lens:
Office 365 provides users with a helpful tool, the Microsoft Office Lens application, for taking better notes, fast. The Office Lens is a camera that is built into the Office 365 OneNote application for smartphones. With this app, you can quickly take pictures of anything - from printed documents to whiteboards, and have it enhanced through sharpening and cropping until it transforms into a digital note, which you can then save to your note folder to be retrieved whenever you need it.
Sign documents digitally with Docusign:
The DocuSign application takes away the challenges that come with trying to get a physical signature appended to a digital document. Accomplishing this task often takes more time and effort as it requires you go through the process of printing and scanning to have it done. With Docusign, it all becomes significantly more simple as you can sign any document on Microsoft applications such as Word, SharePoint, and Outlook. On tablets and phones, you can also take advantage of "Sign on Screen" and have quotes, orders, and sign-off sheets easily signed while on-site with your client. Although this is a 3rd party application, it is one of our favourite productivity hacks!
Share documents from a desktop application:
The process of file sharing among co-workers is often long and tedious. Typically, it begins by you generating and sending an email to your colleagues. They receive it, add their feedback, then send it back. You then have to collate everyone's responses into a single sheet. With Office 365, you can either share saved files from your OneDrive account using the "share link" button, or directly from desktop applications like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and have the people you share it with work on the file in Office Online. All users in the same file at the same time!
Co-Author:
While this has been a feature of Google Docs for some time, document collaboration is now available in Office 365. This allows users to share files and documents with others instantly. It also enables the recipients to easily provide feedback, or make comments on the shared document. If your subscription includes OneDrive or SharePoint, you can save your files there and share them with others. This will allow you to simultaneously work on the files. One of the best features is the ability to track the changes made on the file as each user makes their changes. With control over the sharing permissions, edits and comments can only be made by users that you have granted privileges to do so.
Connect to Outlook Calendar:
The Office 365 Calendar is a useful tool for staying up-to-date and focused on your work obligations and schedules. If you are an Office 365 subscriber, you're most likely using Microsoft Outlook or the Outlook Web Interface. If so, you can use Outlook effectively by taking advantage of the Office 365 Calendar to increase your productivity and work efficiency. Easily stay organised and maximise time by staying in full control of your schedules and projects. The Outlook Calendar is also beneficial for ensuring productivity in a team environment. It enables team members to work in unison and coordinate agreed schedules with each member's obligations well mapped out.
Employing any or all of the above Office 365 hacks will help you (and your team) maximise productivity and accomplish more in less time. These hacks (and many others) can help you stay focused, organised, and efficient.
