As you have probably noticed on our blog, we often emphasize the advantages of full integration between all Microsoft Office 365 tools. It is no different in the case of OneNote and Planner tools, which we write more about below.
OneNote is a unique notebook that you always have at hand. It's like a handy whiteboard, with Word and Excel in one little application. Why do we compare OneNote with such professional tools? Because it contains simplified functions of each of these applications.
What can you do in a OneNote notebook?
- You can use the application on any device: computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Automatic synchronization will give you access to your notes from anywhere and at any time.
- Using different colored markers, you can divide your notes thematically.
- Sometimes the keyboard is not enough to recreate your ideas. That's when freehand drawing comes to the rescue. You can "draw" all the ideas and highlight the most important ones using different colors and pens.
- You can draw a table.
- You can share the note.
- You can check who is working on the note and what changes have been made.
- You can scan handwritten notes over the phone.
- You will paste images and links into your notes.
- In OneNote, you can create math notations using the keyboard or by hand.
In our company, we often use OneNote during meetings when we develop an action plan. Each employee has a notebook open on their device and can enter their ideas at any time. At the very end of the meeting, we draw a common diagram in a notebook that helps us define a strategy for the future.
OneNote is the perfect notebook that is always at hand. It eliminates the need to transfer data between devices, which allows us not to waste time on technical issues.
In turn, Microsoft Planner is a tool similar to Trello or Asana. However, it is distinguished by full integration with other applications in the Microsoft Office365 suite.
What additional benefits does Microsoft Planner have and why is it an ideal tool for working in a company?
- The board in the Planner application is very clear and transparent, after looking at it you will immediately know which tasks have been completed and which still need to be tackled.
- You can assign tasks to a specific person or group of people in the company. This allows for teamwork to solve tasks and facilitates communication between teams.
- The planner has extensive task tracking options, which allows people involved in the task to reflect the status of its completion and allows the rest of the team to easily view its progress. The task status can be freely changed as it progresses
- You can set an end date for the task, which will make you receive notifications if it is not completed within the planned time.
- The planner has three views: a board with tasks, a chart with data (showing how many tasks have been completed and how many are still to be done) and a schedule (calendar).
The schedule view allows you to take a general look at the calendar and assess how busy your schedule is on a monthly or weekly basis. The task board makes it easier to sort tasks into more and less urgent ones. The chart, in turn, shows how effective our work is and how many tasks remain to be completed.
Tools such as OneNote and Planner are very useful in everyday work organization. These are small elements that create one large system of integrated work. The ability to plan your working day, share tasks and save your ideas in any way opens the door to increasing employee productivity. Additionally - as we wrote at the beginning - these are applications fully integrated with the entire Office 365 system, which provides the best conditions for effective work.
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