How to Manage Your Work Using Microsoft Outlook Calendar

How to Manage Your Work Using Microsoft Outlook Calendar

If you are looking for an easy and convenient way to organize all your activities in a single space, the new Microsoft Outlook calendar has got you covered. Microsoft 365 ensures that your data is safe, so you can still organize your events, appointments, and other work schedules in one place without the fear of exposing your data and information to hackers.

The calendar not only makes it easier to view all your activities with just a click of a button, but also lets you complete any pending activities on time, while also allowing you to share your calendar with others. If you are wondering how this new calendar works, this is what you need to know.

How Does The Microsoft Calendar Help Me Organize My Work?

The Microsoft calendar comes with features that optimize its usage, giving you an improved platform where you get to organize all your schedules and events. Whether you want to organize your daily, weekly, or monthly tasks or you just want to have a better way to organize all your future events, the interactive Kanban board lets you achieve this and much more. Additionally, the package has a platform that lets you create or view appointments in one place, and also integrates email and contacts, letting you share your calendar with others.

In addition to allowing you to view your workflow, the Kanban board also lets you manage all your activities in a more convenient way. As a result, you get an improved business continuity plan that allows you to handle any issues that may arise along the way.

However, you must have a paid Microsoft 365 account to access the board view. Alternatively, you can use your Outlook.com account, which is offered for free, and enjoy an easy and efficient way of planning and managing your tasks and events.

How to Use the Kanban Board View to Organize Your Work

With the Kanban board view, you get a visual representation of your tasks. This lets you have a clear view of the tasks in progress while also letting you view the number of completed and pending tasks.

This interactive board also allows you to update your Microsoft Calendar as your work progresses. As a result, you can manage your work by tracking dependencies and also use the platform to assign tasks to your team members. Whether you own a small business or manage a large organization, the Kanban board can help you optimize your business projects, thus improving productivity. To use the Kanban board view, you must connect to a project and be added to a team or project. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use the Kanban board to organize your work.

1. Launch the Outlook Home screen and click the calendar icon
2. Click the Month button and select Board to open the board interface
3. On the upper left corner of the board, click Add to Board and select the type of card you want to create

You can add as many cards as you want and pin them to your board. This lets you navigate through your tasks and schedules and also helps you manage and keep track of all your activities.

The Kanban board also allows you to invite your friends and colleagues to contribute. You simply email the URL of the Kanban board to selected people and invite them to join your project.  Depending on key metrics, you can then discuss how your team can collaboratively improve delivery and realize your digital transformation goals.

In addition, the Microsoft calendar allows you to send calendars to your contacts via email. You can also email your calendar to IT consultants and seek professional help as you seek to realize your digital transformation goals.  You can control what the recipients can access through the internet calendar. But, how do you share your Outlook calendar with your friends, IT consultants, and colleagues at work?

How to Share Your Outlook Calendar with Others

Sharing your Outlook calendar is only possible if you have an Outlook.com account, an Exchange account, or a paid Microsoft 365 account. Any of these accounts allows you to share your Outlook calendar with others making it possible for them to view your calendar in their calendar checklist.

Besides the default calendar available in any Outlook profile, you have the option of creating additional calendar folders and choosing which one you want to share with your friends. Most importantly, the shared calendar can be modified, but only if you grant your colleagues or friends the permission to do so. Here is the process of sharing your Microsoft calendar with others.

1. Open your calendar folder on the home menu and select share calendar
2. From the drop-down list, select the calendar you want to share
3. Under Calendar Properties, select Add
4. Add user to the Add Users dialog box and click OK
5. In the Calendar Properties dialog box, select the level of details you want to share, and click OK. In this section, you can specify if you want your recipient to view all details or even give them permission to edit the calendar
6. Your recipient then receives a sharing invitation via email and can access the calendar in their calendar checklist. With the shared calendar, you give your team an opportunity to interact and share their ideas. This helps your organization to check what’s working and what areas need to be improved in order to enhance productivity

The Bottom Line

While the Microsoft calendar lets you organize all your activities in one place, it can also be a great tool to help your team improve their productivity. In addition to helping you and your team identify any bottlenecks, the Microsoft calendar also helps your organization monitor workflow as well as the lead time. As such, teams can avoid time wastage by following the standards set in the calendar, and this results in an increased delivery speed.

Are You Stuck and in Need of Professional Help?

If you need to improve your business productivity but don’t know where to start, 360 Smart Networks has got you covered. We can help you tailor your Microsoft calendar to meet your business goals and also help you create a business continuity plan. Contact us today to learn more.