Microsoft Tasks Too Confusing?

Microsoft Tasks - There are a lot of different ways to do tasks in the Microsoft ecosystem, so in this video, we're going to have a look at all of those options, the evolution of them, how they link together (or not), and what's the best thing to use right now in 2024.
00:00 Intro
00:17 Outlook Tasks
01:06 Microsoft To Do Tasks
03:16 OneNote Tasks
04:52 Teams and Planner Tasks
08:19 Microsoft Lists Tasks
10:30 Microsoft Loop Tasks
13:13 Office App Tasks Comments and Mentions
14:18 Viva Goals
15:09 Microsoft Project
16:42 Whiteboard Tasks
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[@MeeTime]

Thanks for watching. Remember to comment below and let me know what you think of the video or if you have any questions 😀 NEED MORE HELP? 🧑‍🏫 Join this channel to get access to perks: kzbin.info/door/M-5EIdBnBqkD2g6gEcLaDgjoin or ☎ Find out the specific benefits you can unlock with Microsoft 365! Get our Modern Working Assessment and Recommendations for your organisation (for 20 knowledge workers or more): www.meetimeservices.com/call 🧑‍💻 Improve collaboration by avoiding the mistakes 99% of organisations are making: www.meetimeservices.com/webinar MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE CHANNEL If you liked this video or it helped you out at all, then please consider either: 🙏 using Super Thanks above (just under the video) or 🍻 buying me a beer to help support the channel to keep making free content: www.buymeacoffee.com/meetime (it is entirely optional and only a one-off payment, no subscription is required) 🏎 Thinking of buying a Tesla? Use referral code: ts.la/gavin936501 ...and we both get credits towards free supercharging miles or other accessories ⚡ In the UK and want to get cheap, green energy? Switch to Octopus Energy using this code: share.octopus.energy/ore-wave-781 ...and we both get £50 towards our bill 🛜 Switch to Zen Broadband and get £25 voucher: zen.mention-me.com/m/ol/ur8cm-gavin-jones 📶 Switch to Smarty mobile and get £10 voucher: i.smarty.co.uk/xCyQJw

[@MeeTime]

Other videos mentioned in this one: Teams and SharePoint Integration: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnKblIalhLV4ftE Microsoft Planner For Personal Use: kzbin.info/www/bejne/paLNf6SZiJ6qZtU The New Microsoft Planner - Monday & ClickUp Killer? 🤯kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWGuaptoe9mbh8U How To Use Microsoft Loop For Work: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJ6XpJase7iBbqM Using Microsoft To Do and OneNote Together: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqGriWVvrsihias How To Make Microsoft Lists More Useful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4i2gXeHaKuAgbs How To Use Outlook And Microsoft ToDo: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3uwqo2Qp6iEqZI The Differences Between Comments And Conversations In Collaboration: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6uqo4eEl9-NZqM

[@zak7643]

Great overview of this complex system! To Do is my saviour where I can funnel everything into. Appreciate the automatic syncing from Planner and Loop, but with some simple setups like Quick Steps flagging, categorising and archiving emails or embedding workflows like creating tasks from actionable chat messages I can get a handle on all the incoming "stuff" predominantly within To Do. I use OneNote for project notes, sometimes flagging an action to push it to To Do. I also send photos of whiteboards or hand written notes to my Quick Notes so I can process later. The search picks up text in photos so if you've written "Actions" clearly you'll be able to find them quickly to process into To Do, or a Planner board for team actions. Challenges I'm working on now is reporting a portfolio of different kinds of projects where PMs use either Project, Planner, To Do, or some unsyncable format or completely separate system which is totally suitable for their individual projects, yet a nightmare to roll up into a portfolio report.

[@MeeTime]

Good luck, Zak, and some good tips 👍

[@mart2611]

@13:16 the ability to assign to self or others when collaborating docs, excel etc in 365 was a bit of a show stopper for me and the team We initially thought it would use the 365 task/to-do eco system. My current work around for these comments has been to create a quick step in DT outlook (where i spend most of my work day.) My dedicated quick step button once selected sets a task (text not attachment,) categorises the task. Naturally have to complete your own deadline but by choosing 'text it looks sweet in to do and carries the comment with link etc. No more missing these notifications that appear in outlook. That is until MS kills outlook tasks. Lets hope they fix the docs/excel/ppt missing bit in assigned to.

[@MeeTime]

There is always hope, Mart 👍

[@christopherdavis9137]

Wow, answer is yes! I thought it was confusing before I watched this video, now after watching I realize it’s a super hot mess. Also being on M365 GCC makes it worse. Think i am sticking with pad of paper and stickies until Microsoft gets this figured out 😂

[@MeeTime]

OneNote mostly works, especially as a substitute for pen and paper 📝

[@mart2611]

I suspect when Microsoft finally get it right I'll be nearing retirement. I'm just hopeful that come the day there's a sweep button to reassign all my unfinished tasks in one go. I'm looking forward to the spring update and eagerly await your review. Keep up the great work.

[@MeeTime]

Thanks for the kind words - I don't know how old you are but I am imagining even a 20-year-old is not confident this will get sorted out by retirement at this point😆 I am hopeful but not optimistic about the spring update... I think it may just be a rebranding of project on the web into Planner Premium to start with, without much additional functionality for bog-standard Planner - but happy to be wrong, and look out for the video 👍

[@mart2611]

@@MeeTime I'm 57 and work for a registered provider of social housing, have always had very keen interest in IT and efficient working. I don't work in IT but am usually the goto middle man to give IT/consultants a summary of operational needs, workflows and skills/understanding of the workforce. When computing was in its infancy I was a subscriber to computer weekly and from there on self educated in everything. I come here to keep ahead so that I can be the bridge that can relate and communicate with our IT to make sure they turn on new bells and whistles through MS administration

[@MeeTime]

@@mart2611 Good man 👍

[@MartinBeld]

Thanks for the video Kevin! I hope when planner & todo melt together it will make GTD happen in the new Outlook. Then MS Loop can be the overall project management tool for us. ;-)

[@MeeTime]

It's Gavin, but maybe auto captions missed my mumbling 😆 I can still get GTD to work just in To Do (see here if you've not already - kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKrLgpeEoLJmd6M). Not sure about Loop yet - needs better integration into Teams channels IMHO

[@MartinBeld]

​@@MeeTime Hi Gavin, my bad! 🙂 I did check your video and in my 10 years as a GTD practisioner and trainer/coach in New Time Management we finetuned the work method to fit with our Dutch knowledge workers. The biggest flaw at this moment is that after making a task from an email (select text and make task) in the New Outlook, everything works fine... But after archiving the e-mail the link in the todo task is not working anymore. Why??? Are you familiar with this or can you suggest an efficient and effective workaround? Thanks for lending your brain. :-)

[@MeeTime]

@@MartinBeld Seems to work on Outlook webapp for me - might be a workaround for you?

[@MartinBeld]

@@MeeTime Through the webapp I also get the message in ToDo that the message cannot be found...

[@IAmBoredToo]

I miss Wunderlist. Thanks for trying to explain all the "lists". Still confused. At least I have a list of places to check when someone says they can't find the tasks they made. Yes, the integration could be way better.

[@MeeTime]

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Microsoft said a few years ago that they wanted one way of doing tasks across the ecosystem in whatever app you were in... They seem to be making very slow progress towards this aim

[@issiewizzie]

I guess its all about Loop & Todo

[@MeeTime]

Close, Issie

[@kingman.mp4]

To Do may look nicer, but it still doesn't have the functionality of Outlook Tasks

[@MeeTime]

True, but I think it Outlook tasks are dying a slow death regardless

[@jezlawrence720]

When ms stop developing like this it means it IS going. Clinging to old functionality you'll eventually have to give up is just postponing your frustration and meaning you'll have to reinvent your whole workflow all at once in a hurry when the rug is pulled. Needlessly stressful and anger inducing.

[@MeeTime]

@@jezlawrence720 True, Jez - like it or not Outlook tasks are on the discard pile

[@nickharling3902]

This is hugely relevant to me. I have tried to make GTD work in the MS ecosystem, and it’s close but no cigar. The web version of Todo allows tags (or labels or categories) but the app version does not (very annoying). Those same tags can only be edited in outlook. It’s also very difficult to tag items en masse in outlook. I’m looking now at working from a Teams Plan as it integrates with teams and mass tagging is much easier. However my frustration is that if I filter and only want to see tasks that have two specific tags, it will still show me all the other items that have one of those tags. Very annoying

[@MeeTime]

Hi NIck, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment - have you tried just using # in To Do rather than categories? You can then do the double tag filter as you describe. I made a video here - let me know if it helps - GTD in Microsoft To Do: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKrLgpeEoLJmd6M

[@nickharling3902]

@@MeeTime thanks for your reply. Yes I have but manually inputting hashtags into each task is too much work for me. I like to select multiple tasks and then tag them with a right click

[@MeeTime]

@@nickharling3902 Fair enough - I just use the hashtags at the point of writing the task, or from reviewing my task inbox before it becomes a concrete task, at which point I want to know the context, how long etc. that I use tags for. 👍

[@christophergambino3878]

I've watched several your Teams, Planner, and Tasks videos. I've learned a lot---which was needed having just moved from a Google Suite & Slack-based organization. Here's my current issue: I don't keep planner up while working in the teams environment (I'll go there and plan, but it's not in my face). I do keep Outlook online up. And, Outlook online has right side bar with ToDo. However, it doesn't bring in tasks in planner that have due dates or things I've assigned to myself. Is there a way to have ToDo side bar have those planner tasks show up? They show up as planned if I open ToDo.

[@MeeTime]

Depending on the version of Outlook you are using, you might be able to change the default list shown in the ToDo sidebar. This is available on Outlook web. Alternatively you could bookmark the web-view of Planner if just using one main plan

[@barking_mad6649]

What annoys me is the inability to categorise or move anything that's 'assigned to me' even if I'm the person (in loop) who assigned it. Also creating a task from email only opens up that email inside todo, even if replies are added to the original later on. Which means you have to go back into Outlook and find the latest one. Microsoft eh?

[@MeeTime]

🤷

[@GregStimpson101]

But how does one manager keep track of the progress on tasks of all of their direct reports? There is a workaround involving planner, power automate, & power BI but it is not simple to implement or maintain. Hopefully, the Spring 2024 update will provide a useful interface for managers.

[@MeeTime]

I've not heard anything about other reports for managers, Greg. Shame that MS have not borrowed the concept of "following" a task from Trello where you can stay updated on a task that is assigned to someone else - then it would be easier to implement a function that "auto-follows" all of your own team members.

[@zak7643]

Greg, is there any resources explaining this workaround? I had not thought of a PowerBI integration for reporting Planner boards.