In the dark art of project management, the greatest time-saving strategy, that for some reason all project managers keep to themselves, is to use Microsoft OneNote for EVERYTHING.
Like me, you probably didn’t know what to make of OneNote, it seems a bit too flexible at first. However, I’m going to show you that this flexibility underscores OneNote’s power to make order out of chaos (i.e. save you loads of time). I hope you’re ready to learn how to organize your content like a boss, because after reading this, your life will probably never be the same.
Time-saving tip #1: Organize documents quickly
A project manager’s primary role is herding documents: PowerPoint presentations, Excel files, Word docs, etc. To attach a document, simply drag and drop it onto the page and either Attach File or Insert Printout. This helps you easily organize important project documents so you can spend more time getting stuff done, not herding documents.
Time-saving tip #2: Track items with tags
Throughout a project you can tag line items by clicking Tag on the OneNote ribbon. Note, in the screenshot below there is tag for EVERYTHING.
So, now that you have tagged everything up the wazoo, let me show you how to impress your nerdy friends. Click Find Tags. Now…take a deep breath…from this one central location, you can sort all your tagged items. You can even search through all of your OneNote files, or just the location where you are currently working.
BOOM! I’ve just saved you 5 hours of work a week. *Mic drop*
But wait, there’s more…
Time-saving tip #3: Take and share meeting notes with ease
Chances are, if you’re a project manager you get to be in loads of “exciting” meetings. Seriously, it’s like being a part of one TED talk after another… NOT. Anyway, I digress, since you cannot be on Instagram in meetings, one thing that helps pass the time is taking notes. OneNote easily lets you take notes and then share them with attendees. Click on Meeting Details and select the meeting you are taking notes for.
During your meeting, take notes and tag items.
And when you are done, click Email Page at the top of the screen and send it to anyone and everyone.
Now, take this knowledge and rock your project management world!
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