Managing My Time with the ‘Microsoft To-Do’ App

By Samina Aklas, Trainee Data Analyst

Working from home during the Covid pandemic has brought with it a reliance on technology and as the world of technology evolves and new applications emerge, it has had a bigger impact on our working lives now more than ever. To maintain a work/life balance time management has become crucial. A common tool to help is the ‘Urgent/Important’ matrix (Covey, 1999) which is helpful tool for visualising how and where your time should be spent. The tool helps organise yourself by helping with prioritisation of tasks.

The categories of the matrix categories the different levels of urgency and importance.

Figure 1 – Covey’s Urgent/Important Matrix

Microsoft (MS) ‘To-Do’ application reflects the principles of the urgent/important matrix. ‘MS To-Do’ is an application that has been integrated by MS Office 365, making it easy to work on tasks from anywhere and will help you to focus and plan your day. This application can be accessed to any personal device. The advantage of having this application installed can allow you to be productive and ensure your check list gets ticked off and refreshes every morning which helps easily prioritise tasks. Using this tool habitually could help you to feel mentally prepared to start the day. Categorising a list of tasks can be motivating to start ticking them off. Time management can usually get difficult when there are many tasks mentally pinned in your mind. However, the help of ‘MS to do’, can assist you to structure and manage your work effectively.

In Figure 2, you can see the app’s sidebar, displaying the main features of the app. The categories enable you to structure your tasks.

• ‘My day’ -this function helps to plan the tasks I would to complete for the day. Your day tasks are refreshed daily
•  ‘Important’ – this category displays tasks that are high priority
•  ‘Planned category’ – This permits you to plan your week, day or month, which is beneficial if you have a busy schedule ahead
• ‘Assigned to you’ – this displays tasks, which are assigned to you by others

Overall, you can find a list of all tasks under ‘Tasks’, an overview of all the tasks you have arranged.

Additionally, ‘MS To-Do’ gives you the ability to create a ‘new list’, which is a great way of keeping track of your personal work. Another exclusive technique the application delivers is syncing. This feature automatically syncs your tasks and allows you to access and manage them across different devices. This makes your time managing so much easier and practical!

 Figure 2 – Microsoft To-Do application side-bar

After finishing a task, a sound pings to confirm you have completed it – a satisfying feeling for anyone who enjoys ticking off their to-do list, encouraging you to stay motivated.

‘MS To-Do’ app has the potential to improve any team and manage their workload better. It can benefit team members individually but also has demonstrable, wider benefits for a team’s productivity and effectiveness. As, for some of us, the spaces we use to relax become our offices. For the rest, our workplace has become the space we spend more time than ever. If you decide to start to manage your time better today, add using Microsoft To-Do to that list!

 Figure 3 Displays the option to create a new list.

Covey, S., 1999. n.d. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People.