If you’re still not using Microsoft Planner… well, you’re missing out.

It allows you to add tasks from a plan to your Outlook calendar by creating a publishing link. This allows anyone with the link to your specific event or meeting to easily import it into their Outlook calendar. This feature is great for a team planner, where everyone will be able to see when tasks are due for completion.

Add your plan to Outlook calendar

1. At the top of your Planner board, select the three dots ...

     

2. Select Add plan to Outlook calendar.

    

   Notes: 

   - If you don't see this option, the plan owner needs to publish the plan as an Outlook calendar
   
   - The plan is now public for all members of the plan.
    
   
   

   1. Select the three dots ...

       

   2. Select Add plan to Outlook calendar.

       

   3. Select Publish, and then select Add to Outlook. 

       

3. On the Subscribe from web tab, change the Calendar name if you like, and select Import.

For small businesses in every industry, being productive is literally the line between success and failure. Even at the most fun start-ups around, the reality is getting work done is the only thing that keeps the lights on. But productivity doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, and new ways of thinking continue to push the envelope about what it means to be productive – and how to get your team there.

When it comes to productivity, there’s no topic more globally connected right now than the idea of a four-day workweek. While great strides have been taken over the course of human history to keep workers safe and healthy, this new push is for a frontier many have ignored: Work-Life Balance. Ignored no longer, this concept has been the topic of countless surveys recently, and the findings are astounding.

Article 1

A four-day workweek pilot was so successful most firms say they won't go back | Washington Post

Key Takeaways: 

1. Companies that participated could use different ways to shorten their employees’ workweeks from giving them one day a week off to reducing their working days in a year to average out to 32 hours per week while still receiving 100% of their pay.
    
2. Of the 61 companies that took part, only three companies did not plan to carry on with any element of the four-day workweek.
    
3. 15% of employees who participated said that “no amount of money” would convince them to go back to working five days a week.

Generative AI is absolutely blowing up the internet right now (in a good way so far), as millions are actively testing out tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and image generator DALL-E. And with 85% of recent Microsoft survey respondents saying they wanted more AI tools that automate their daily tasks, there are plenty of great uses for generative AI in today’s workplace.

Article 2

7 AI apps beyond ChatGPT that can help boost your productivity | Business Insider

Key Takeaways:

1. Brain.FM
   Brain.fm uses AI to generate music designed "to help listeners focus, relax, and sleep," according to the company. The music, which is created by a team of scientists and composers, contains different versions of ambient noise designed for desired states of mind, whether that's deep work or relaxation.
    
2. Grammarly
   This writer’s favorite assistant, Grammarly helps catch mistakes of all kinds written in copy. The tool makes suggestions about everything from word choice to sentence structure, checking for plagiarism, generating citations, and reviewing essays.
   
   
3. Otter.ai
   The most adorably named AI we have found so far, Otter.ai is an AI-transcription tool that automatically generates a script from an uploaded audio or video recording.
    
4. For the rest of the applications, check out the complete list!

Read the full blog here: How to Use Planner and To Do to Crush Your Daily Tasks

Look around your work area a little bit. Are there notes of the sticky variety strewn about? Do you have a paper calendar that’s both useful as heck and useless because it’s buried and a month behind? Look, there are plenty of reasons you can pretend it’s all the most productive way to do things, but we all know there’s a better way: Microsoft Planner & To Do.

Planner vs To Do, What the Difference?

 

A good way to separate the two is to think about Microsoft To-Do as your personal task list. It’s useful to build intelligent lists and create automated processes that assist you in completing tasks, like auto-generating to-do lists from flagged emails. Microsoft Planner, on the other hand, is more of a lightweight project management tool. It's a kanban-based system that helps you organize and track where work is.

How Does Microsoft Planner Work for My Business?

That’s a really great question you’ve asked there, and for the full details, instead of continuing in this already long-form email, you should head over to our website and read the blog.

If you made it this far, we're guessing you read something you liked, so consider sharing this email with a coworker or a friend! You can also always give us a call at (864) 552-1291 and we'll help you evaluate your capabilities and options. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for plenty more updates and tech-related news!