Game-Changing M365 Tips and Tricks You Didn't Know About
January 7, 2025
As a business owner, you're juggling a million things at once—tight deadlines, team management, customer satisfaction, and, of course, staying competitive in your industry. You’re constantly searching for tools that will streamline your workflow, cut down on repetitive tasks, and ultimately help you get more done. Sound familiar?
What if I told you that the solution you’ve been searching for might already be at your fingertips? The Microsoft 365 suite is more than just a collection of apps—it’s a powerhouse of tools designed to simplify daily tasks, enhance seamless collaboration, and even offer AI-powered features that boost productivity.
Whether you're looking for ways to make your spreadsheet work smarter, send a focused inbox email without clutter, or optimize your team's remote working setup, these M365 tips and tricks are here to transform the way your business operates. Let’s dive into some actionable insights that’ll not only save you time but also ensure your business stays ahead of the curve.
Introduction to Microsoft 365 productivity
When it comes to Microsoft 365, many people think of it as just the basics—Word, Excel, and Outlook. But here’s the thing: this productivity suite is packed with features that can completely revolutionize how you work. From smarter document creation to automating repetitive tasks, Microsoft 365 tips can help you simplify your day-to-day operations and eliminate unnecessary headaches.
Imagine this: You’re running a growing business, and time is of the essence. Your team needs to collaborate effortlessly, stay organized, and meet deadlines without technical hiccups. That’s exactly where the hidden gems within Microsoft’s suite come in. Tools like OneDrive for Business, PowerPoint’s AI features, and Outlook’s Focused Inbox feature are built to help you stay on top of your workload.
General M365 tips and tricks
If you’re not using Microsoft 365 to its full potential, you’re leaving productivity on the table. Let’s change that. Here are some simple yet powerful 365 tips to streamline your work and save valuable time:
Use OneDrive for seamless file sharing and backups
No more emailing yourself files. With OneDrive for Business, you can sync documents across all your devices, making it easy to access important files from anywhere. It also ensures you always have up-to-date information, even if your team is spread across different locations.
Automate repetitive tasks with Power Automate
Tired of doing the same tasks over and over? Use Power Automate to create workflows that handle routine processes, like sending email reminders or updating spreadsheets. This feature eliminates the need for manual effort and lets you focus on higher-value tasks.
Collaborate effectively with Teams meetings and shared documents
Need to quickly align your team? Teams meetings integrate directly within your workflow, allowing real-time edits on shared documents. This ensures everyone in your organization is on the same page, reducing miscommunication and boosting productivity.
Save time with keyboard shortcuts
Memorize a few essential shortcuts, like Ctrl+Shift+V to paste without formatting or Alt+Tab to switch between open apps. These small tricks can add up, helping you work faster and with fewer interruptions.
Optimize your email management with Focused Inbox
The Focused Inbox feature in Outlook automatically separates important emails from the clutter, helping you stay organized and focused on what truly matters.
Outlook 365 tips and tricks
Your Outlook inbox doesn’t have to be a chaotic mess of unread emails and missed opportunities. With these practical Outlook 365 tips and tricks, you’ll be managing emails like a pro and reclaiming valuable time:
Turn on the focused inbox
The Focused Inbox feature automatically prioritizes important emails, separating them from less critical ones. This way, you’ll always spot that urgent client message without digging through endless promotional emails.
Use rules to automate email sorting
Create custom rules to sort incoming emails into specific folders. For example, set a rule to move all invoices directly to your “Accounting” folder. This feature helps you stay on top of critical communications without manual sorting.
Schedule emails to send later
Working late but don’t want to bother a client at midnight? Use the “Delay Delivery” feature to schedule your email for a more appropriate time. This ensures timely communication without compromising your professional image.
Quick Steps for repetitive actions
Use Quick Steps to automate common email actions, such as forwarding messages to your team or moving emails to a designated folder. With one click, you can handle tasks that would normally take several steps.
Set up email templates
Save time with reusable templates for frequently sent emails, like client follow-ups or project updates. Templates ensure consistency while cutting down on repetitive typing.
SharePoint tips and tricks
If your team isn’t fully utilizing SharePoint, you’re missing out on a powerhouse tool for seamless collaboration. Here are some actionable SharePoint tips and tricks to help your team work smarter:
Create Team Sites for better organization
Setting up a dedicated Team Site for each project or department ensures all relevant files, discussions, and updates are centralized. This makes it easy for team members to find the information they need without sifting through a cluttered folder system.
Integrate SharePoint with Microsoft Teams
Boost your collaboration within your organization by integrating SharePoint with Teams. You can share files directly within your chats and work on them simultaneously with your team, ensuring smooth and efficient project execution.
Version control to track changes
Ever made changes to a document and wished you could go back? SharePoint’s version history feature allows you to view and restore previous versions of your files, so you’ll never lose critical information.
Set alerts for important updates
Stay in the loop by setting up alerts for file or folder updates. Whether someone adds a new file or modifies an existing one, you’ll receive a notification right away, ensuring you’re always informed.
Use metadata for quick file searching
Assign metadata, like tags or categories, to your documents. This helps your team quickly locate specific files without endless searching, making your workflow more efficient.
Microsoft Excel tips and tricks
For many business owners, Excel is an indispensable tool for managing data, tracking performance, and generating insights. But are you truly getting the most out of it? Here are some Microsoft Excel tips and tricks to help you work smarter:
Use conditional formatting for quick insights
Highlight important data points by using conditional formatting. For instance, you can automatically color-code cells based on their values to quickly identify trends or outliers, making your Excel data visually intuitive.
Master the VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP functions
Searching for specific information within large datasets? The VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP functions can save you hours of manual searching. These functions pull data from other parts of your spreadsheet, keeping your work efficient and organized.
Create dynamic charts with pivot tables
Pivot tables allow you to summarize large data sets with just a few clicks. Whether you need a quick financial report or a breakdown of sales by region, pivot tables can give you the insights you need at a glance.
Use data validation for clean data entry
Ensure your spreadsheets remain error-free by setting up data validation rules. For example, you can restrict a column to accept only dates or numbers, which helps maintain consistency in your reports.
Leverage Excel’s Flash Fill feature
Entering repetitive data? Flash Fill can detect patterns in your input and fill in the rest for you. This trick is perfect for tasks like splitting first and last names or reformatting phone numbers.
More tech tips for office workers
Whether you're a small business owner or managing a growing team, these practical tech tips for office workers can help streamline your operations and improve day-to-day efficiency:
Organize your desktop with virtual desktops
Stop juggling multiple open windows on a cluttered screen. Use Windows’ Virtual Desktops feature to separate workspaces—for example, one for emails and another for ongoing projects. This keeps you focused and boosts your productivity.
Sync calendars across devices
Avoid missed deadlines by syncing your Outlook calendar with your phone and other devices. This ensures you’re always aware of important meetings, even when you’re on the go.
Take meeting notes with OneNote
Ditch the paper notebooks and use OneNote to capture meeting notes and ideas in one place. You can organize your notes with bullet points, tags, and even embed links to keep everything tidy and accessible.
Use Teams for quick internal messaging
Skip long email threads and opt for Teams chat to keep internal communication fast and efficient. Whether it’s a quick question or sharing a file, Teams can reduce response times and help maintain smooth workflows.
Optimize your web app usage
Access Microsoft apps through their web versions for quick edits and real-time collaboration without needing to install software. It’s a great way to work flexibly, especially if you’re switching between devices.
Final thoughts
Running a business comes with enough challenges—your tech setup shouldn’t add to the stress. By applying these M365 tips and tricks, you can optimize your workflow, enhance team collaboration, and focus on what truly matters: growing your business. Whether it’s leveraging SharePoint for better organization, mastering Outlook’s Focused Inbox feature, or using Excel to gain insights from your data, small changes can lead to big results.
If you’re ready to take your IT and productivity to the next level, there’s one trusted name to consider: Sterling Technology Solutions. With over 20 years of experience and a customer-first approach, our team ensures your technology works for you, not the other way around.
Frequently asked questions
How can PowerPoint enhance business presentations?
PowerPoint is a game-changer for creating professional-looking presentations. It offers tools like design suggestions, animations, and transitions to give your slides a cohesive look. You can also use 365 tools like Copilot to automate tasks such as generating slide content, ensuring you deliver impactful presentations without wasting time.
What’s the best way to manage chats within Microsoft 365?
The chat feature in Outlook and Teams enables real-time communication and file sharing, eliminating the need for lengthy email chains. You can integrate video calls and file collaboration directly within the Microsoft 365 suite, making it easy to stay connected while minimizing disruptions to your workflow.
How do I use my mouse efficiently in Microsoft 365?
Learning to use your mouse strategically can save time. For example, in Excel, double-clicking cell borders navigates large datasets quickly, while hovering over dropdown menus reveals formatting options in tools like Word and PowerPoint. These tips can streamline tasks and improve productivity.
How do data types help in Excel?
Data types in Excel allow you to categorize and format information for better analysis. For example, financial data can be formatted as currency, while dates and times can be automatically calculated. These Excel data tools help you make sense of complex datasets with minimal effort.
How can Microsoft 365 help me make document creation easier?
Microsoft Word simplifies word document creation with features like templates, grammar suggestions, and formatting tools. Using Copilot, you can generate content summaries or fine-tune fonts and layouts for a polished result. This ensures that your documents reflect your brand’s professionalism.
Why should businesses use Microsoft 365’s integrated tools?
The power of using M365 lies in its ability to connect tools like Outlook email, Teams, Excel, and SharePoint seamlessly. This integration ensures smooth collaboration within your organization, reduces the chance of errors, and helps you make your work more efficient, whether you’re handling a sent message or scheduling tasks.
