Do you find it hard to track and then follow up on emails?
 
Microsoft Outlook has this very handy function that turns an email in your inbox into a task. No more having to mark an email as unread because you need to do something with it later. If you use Outlook as your email program, I encourage you to start using the follow-up-flag function to manage your emails better and be more organised.

1. First of all open the relevant email that has a related task. For example, maybe the sender is asking you for some more information about something and you need to respond with some flyers or other documents.

2. Next, click on the down arrow beside the red flag. You’ll be able to select when you want or need to complete the task by. A note will appear under the header section of the email you have open, showing when you’ve flagged the due date for.

Who wants to be more productive? Wouldn’t it be great to get more done in less time! We can all get overwhelmed with the many different responsibilities and tasks we have. How we organise or delegate them can make a real difference to our sanity. According to Women’s Agenda (Dec, 2021), a key theme that emerged from their Women’s Health@Work Summit, “people are feeling busier but not necessarily more productive”.
 
The pandemic has left many people feeling stressed and overwhelmed while trying to cope with the new environment we are doing business in. Small changes are easier to make than big changes. Small adjustments can also make a difference in the long term. One area that small changes can be made in is using technology to keep yourself organised. Pick one new app and start using it. These are my top 3 apps and software that I’m using in 2022:

1. Microsoft Outlook
Both the Outlook for Mac, Outlook Online (in the cloud) and the Outlook smartphone app are integrated. This means that if I update in one place, it updates in the others quite quickly. No matter where I go, I can access the calendar and make updates or view my commitments. Microsoft Outlook is part of the Microsoft Office 365 suite of software. The package includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and OneDrive and costs AUD$99/year or $10/month and includes 1T of storage. Both Outlook and email addresses with other domain names can be added to Outlook as an email program.
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2. Dropbox
Dropbox was founded in June 2007 by university students who kept forgetting their USB sticks. Dropbox provides cloud file storage. They’ve grown from a million users after just 7 months to 400 million users worldwide. Co-founder Drew Houston says that Dropbox not just “keeps files in sync but [it’s] keeping people in sync, keeping teams in sync, connecting people to their most important information at work”.
 
I have the app downloaded onto my MacBook and save all my documents, files and images into my Dropbox folder. This syncs with the folder in the cloud, and also with the Dropbox app on my smartphone. No matter where I am, I can access all my files and information.

3. LastPass
LastPass is a password manager. Do you still write down your passwords? Or are you still trying to remember them and the different versions you have? No need to do that anymore or go searching for where you stored or wrote down your password. LastPass will do that all for you and you can also store secure notes and credit card details. LastPass can be used on your desktop or laptop computer as well as an app on your smartphone. There is a browser extension for it too, which means that once it is installed and you enter or create a new password on a website, LastPass will ask you if you want to add it to their program. There have been countless times LastPass has saved me! If you’re worried about your information being secure, LastPass say they use industry best practices, regularly upgrade their systems, and encrypt data. Read this article for more info.
 
What apps or software are you using? What’s your favourite?