Does planning and organising really float your boat? 

OR…do you live in unorganised chaos, but long to kick-ass at organising? 

Either way, you might be surprised about how Microsoft tools can help you!  

In this blog you will learn: 

• How to use Microsoft’s simple list app – To Do 
• Why To Do is a simple but perfect tool for planning (especially if you’re just getting started with getting organised) 
• How To Do can even help remind you of what your tasks are and keep you organised 

What is Microsoft ToDo?

To Do is a simple list-making application. In it you can create lists, tasks (and subtasks) on those lists and tick them off. 

Sounds simple right? That’s because it is! 

If you use other Microsoft tools, you’ll likely have access to To Do. Just go to https://to-do.office.com/ 

You’ll see a bunch of default lists on the left hand side, plus the option to set up a new list, with a title you choose. 

Here I’ve created one for my son’s 4th birthday party as an example: 

It’s really simple to add tasks – plus you can drag them around to change the order if you want to later.

If you click on a task, you also get the option to add subtasks, as well as set reminders and due dates: 

If you click around you can also find a load more options, like sorting the items differently or changing the colour theme. 

Why To Do is great for planning

If you’re a list-maker, you’ll love To Do. It’s clean and simple, and makes a really satisfying ‘ding’ when you tick items off. 

If you struggle to plan and be organised, I think To Do is great to get you started, because it encourages you to break things down into small, manageable chunks, which is the secret to tackling really any project. Even mountains are climbed just one step at a time. 

Start with the end in mind; what is it you’re working towards? What’s the finished picture? What does success look like? (You can even make that your list title!) Then, use To Do to list out allllll the steps you will need to get you across the finish line. 

It might be as simple as my ‘bake a cake’ example. Baking a cake sounds like just one job, but to get to the finished cake you need to: 

1. Choose a cake to bake / find a recipe 
2. Buy the ingredients 
3. Check you have all the right cooking equipment 
4. Find a time to bake and decorate the cake 
5. Make sure you have something to store it in 
6. Bake the cake 
7. Decorate it 

So you see, that one job is actually seven smaller jobs, and could be broken down further. 

Of course, having a plan is fine, but actually doing the tasks on the plan is sometimes the harder part. To Do won’t do your work for you, but it can help to hold you accountable to your own plan.  

How To Do can help keep you on track 

The beauty of Microsoft apps is that they all link together if you’re using the same account. 

So, if you set up a list for a work project in To Do, you can access the list right from Outlook, where you’re probably checking your emails. 

Here’s how you can see your To Do tasks in the Outlook web app – you get a handy view that is right inside your inbox window itself, so that you can always have your list in view:

If you give your tasks a due date, they will automatically show up in the My Day list when that date rolls around. 

You can also set reminders that pop up in the same pop up window as your Outlook calendar reminders, which is handy if you use those regularly:

There’s also a mobile app for To Do that you can download (check your organisation’s mobile devices policy if you’re using your work Microsoft account first though!) and you can set notifications for the app to come through on your phone too.

So many ways that you can keep your To Do list in front of you and top of mind, and have it help you to remember to stay on track with your tasks. Perfect if you need a little extra help with getting organised. 

Bonus Points

If you’re really in it to win it… 

You can also turn Microsoft Teams chat messages into To Do tasks with just a couple of clicks, and without having to copy and paste! 

Click on the three dots for the message you want to turn into a task, and choose create task (it might be hiding under more actions the first time you do this) 

Then you can create your task in To Do right there: 

When you look at the task in To Do – it has a link straight back to the chat message, so you don’t have to go scrolling about to find it either. Sweet. 

If you liked this, give me a post in the comments!