How do I get organized in new job? Keep track of projects etc.

November 16, 2022 8:00 AM

In my old job I was using an online database-compatible (like it let you build databases) system, but now I don't think my new employer would like confidential notes in someone else's cloud. I need to keep track of projects, to do lists (including keeping separate lists for each project that will somehow merge into a master list and be filter-able by ...anything ) meetings, calednar, deadlines and documents. We use Microsoft 365. How do I do this and how do I learn to do it?

I think I have to use outlook? Does outlook do this? We don't have MS project (but I don't know if that's the right thing anyway). Is there a Linkedin Learning course I could take to become a power-user of OUtlook? I imagine if there were software that were very obviously legit, I could request to install it on my computer. I have been able to install browser extensions but not actual software.

Alternatively, something bullet-journal- like, but with hyperlinking? I mean i really need something that has database-like functionality. I don't want all the fidliness of setting up bullet journal pages.

I am open to solutions that are hybrid electronic/paper, but I'm worried that with paper stuff gets lost in the shuffle (Even if attached to a notebook) and missed. Also, I can barely read my own writing. It's gotten very bad with all the dis-use.

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Work & Money (13 answers total)

Have you looked at Microsoft OneNote? It's part of the Office 365 suite of products. It's a note taking app, but you can organize things with tags, etc. I can't remember offhand if it does links between pages or not, but given what you've said here, I'm pretty sure you can make it do something that resembles what you need.
posted by cgg at 9:04 AM on November 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

Can you check which 365 subscription you have? It'll be under your account settings. That'll affect what your options are.

Microsoft To Do combined with Outlook may be sufficient for what you want. It has a browser based version, but also a desktop app. I would try installing the desktop app, as your IT may allow installation of Microsoft stuff. If not, I would contact them to permit it. I would create one list per project, and then you can still see your tasks in one master list. I also usually name my tasks with the project name included. The tasks sync to Outlook.

You can have it so that emails flagged in Outlook show up in To Do and you can rename them as desired and move them to your project lists.

To Do does allow attaching documents to it, but this is a finicky feature I don't recommend. For documents, I'd use OneDrive and have your folder names match your project names used elsewhere.

If you want to get more customisable and still Microsoft based, you can essentially create a database in Microsoft Lists, which is probably best used with SharePoint. You could create your own personal SharePoint site to organize things. It would be more complicated to set up, though.

I would try the To Do option first and see if it meets your needs.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:06 AM on November 16, 2022

Forgot to add, To Do does have a notes section you can use to put your notes as well, in which you can put hyperlinks. Tasks have subtasks. You can export the list in a decent printable format.

OneNote might be a good choice if you prefer a more freeform set-up.

For connecting documents and tasks, I would either copy the path to (if you only use one machine) or get a sharing link for documents in OneDrive and put that link in the notes section of tasks.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:09 AM on November 16, 2022

If you have the full Microsoft suite, then you likely have One Note. I was the same in my new position, and I had never used it, but it’s quite intuitive. Organized much like Evernote, which I do use for personal stuff. One notebook per client for me, then one folder per year, one page per meeting. I’m sure I don’t optimize quick keys as much as I could, but there are options for inserting checkboxes and such. I also Windows + shift + S all the time for quick screenshots and markups that I then post into my OneNote. Good luck in the new gig!
posted by AnOrigamiLife at 9:09 AM on November 16, 2022

Well, I use Notepad++ for this. I'll stop short of recommending it to you.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:29 AM on November 16, 2022

Response by poster: I guess what I'm missing in all these solutions is a way to create dashboards. Like i would like to click on the page (or whatever) for a project and see a table listing all the meetings associated with that project (with links to those meeting pages) and the people associated with the project (with links to the people pages), and a list of tasks for that project (with links to the task page, if it exists, which might have relevant documents or emails attached). Then if I were to click on a meeting, I want the meeting page to have notes from that meeting but also a list of projects discusses at that meeting (with links to those projects) and the people there (with links to the people there). And of course I would want the dashboards to self-populate. So if I create a new meeting page and list the people there and the topics discusses, I want that meeting to automatically appear on the people's pages and the project's pages. If I create a new task in my main to-do list and I mark it related to a project, I want it to appear on the page for that project.

Am I asking too much? Maybe I really do just need to use whatever database software comes with Office?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:35 AM on November 16, 2022

Do you have Microsoft Teams? If you set up Teams channels for projects you can get most of what you're describing, especially if you use "channel meetings" instead of regular Outlook meetings.
posted by synchronia at 9:42 AM on November 16, 2022

Office's database program is Access and it certainly has a learning curve. If you know T-SQL, you can create and use an Access database. If not, I would not reinvent things inside a database. Maybe people have created something and you can copy it, but you will still want to tweak things.

I would go with OneNote where you can tag things, but know that none of this will automatically populate and you will need to copy or tag things manually unless you can find some decent automation options. Outlook and OneNote and Teams are supposed to work well together. Sometimes they do and other times they really don't. There are tags/categories in both OneNote and Outlook.
posted by soelo at 9:48 AM on November 16, 2022

There are people who use the open-source tool Obsidian to set up project management for themselves. YouTube has a wealth of videos on the topic. It requires some configuration but one of the advantages is that the content is all stored on your local computer, not in a cloud-based service like Notion (though you probably want to think about how the content will be backed up).
posted by neushoorn at 10:27 AM on November 16, 2022

Another Microsoft 365 option is Planner. It has a way to organize lists of tasks, assign people to them, show a dashboard in various styles. Available in some 365 subscription levels but not all.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 10:38 AM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Check out Microsoft Planner. Also part of the 365 suite
posted by armoir from antproof case at 11:22 AM on November 16, 2022

Based on your reply, I think you are right that Outlook is the best place to start looking in to this, and I bet a combination of Outlook and OneNote or Teams will end up being part of your solution. What were you using before? It sounds slick.
posted by mjcon at 11:23 AM on November 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Teams is also a more friendly front end to Sharepoint. (IMHO sharepoint is not very much fun to use, but it may have some of the features your are looking for). There's also a fair number of users out there who use Excel for project management / Excel. IMHO Sharepoint and Excel are not super ideal project management tools, but you could probably kludge something together if you were so inclined...

You can build a wiki in Teams. You might want to build a workflow using Power Update.

It's hard to post a suitable link without knowing which office version you are running, but you are probably looking for some combination of Outlook + Teams + OneNote integration.

Turn Outlook Into a Project Management Tool With OneNote Integration.

How to Increase the Functionality of OneNote With OneMore Add-In
posted by oceano at 4:56 PM on November 16, 2022