How Our Culture Editor Uses Microsoft 365 to Manage Her Busy Schedule

Ask any editor and they’ll tell you: Being organized is a must. (It’s second only to knowing how to properly use semicolons.) On the job, I can keep up with emails, meetings, calls, and stories with ease. It’s outside the 9-to-5 that things start to get tricky.

As I searched for a way to stay on top of my social commitments and grocery lists, an idea dawned on me. I decided to apply the same Microsoft 365 tools that keep on my track all day at work to my personal life. Here’s how I did it.

No-brainer scheduling with Microsoft Outlook.

At work, I use my Outlook calendar to schedule meetings, check-in calls with my other editors, and interviews with celeb talent. I also use it to track work events like movie screenings, concerts, and networking happy hours and dinners.

Using another folder in my calendar labeled “Personal,” I add all my outside appointments: medical check-ups, dinner and drinks with friends, birthday parties—you name it. When I look at them side-by-side in their contrasting colors (red for work, green for personal), I can see where things might conflict—like an appointment with an interview—and streamline my life in one place.

Task management with Microsoft To Do.

I used to write my tasks down on paper just so I could feel the satisfaction of crossing out something I completed—until about a year ago when I discovered To Do, which takes that feeling of accomplishment and increases it tenfold. Using the To Do app on my phone and computer means I can’t forget that handwritten note on my desk. Everything I add on one device syncs to the other.

I organize my work tasks by their due dates, so I have three lists that I look at multiple times a day: Urgent, EOD (end of day), and EOW (end of week). It’s a lot easier managing what’s on my plate when I can schedule reminders and due dates for each task, assign the labels I use in Outlook, and even upload files—like a story draft on Microsoft Word—to come back to later. I can also prioritize by putting a group of action items in My Day, so I can focus on a compact list of things and not get overwhelmed.

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My favorite work feature: Flagged emails in your
Outlook mailbox become their own list in To Do.

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Having the app on my phone inspired me to create a totally separate list for personal tasks: I needed to exchange euros from a recent trip to Spain back to dollars, get a gift before heading to a birthday brunch, and pick up a bag that I loaned to my sister (otherwise I’d never see it again). As a culture editor, I have a lot of movies and TV shows to keep up with for work. It’s helpful have lists of screeners to watch, and check off each title as I see them.

Apartment makeover planning with Microsoft OneNote and Microsoft PowerPoint.

I recently moved into a new apartment in Brooklyn, so I have a whole bunch of items I still need as my place comes together. I have a OneNote list ready for furniture and knickknack hauls—as I seek everything from a new couch to under-the-sink organization.

My focus right now is the living room, which is depressingly bare without a couch and coffee table. And though I’ve been hunting for weeks, I still can’t find the right piece that isn’t out of stock or over budget—so I take all that creative energy and put it towards my PowerPoint mood boards. I love seeing all my design inspiration laid out super clearly. I add in photos saved from social media and online retailers and, conveniently, design ideas for each slide pop up on the side bar, offering to align the photos and put them in a template. All it took was one click and they turned out so pretty. (If only decorating my apartment was this easy.)

With PowerPoint on my phone via the Office Mobile App, I can access the file and reference it right there at the furniture store.

Seamless file sharing with Microsoft OneDrive.

Hands down, one of the coolest parts of this job is traveling for work. Just recently, I was lucky enough to visit Mallorca, Spain—which I’ll be writing a story about. I took a ton of photos, but can’t post anything on my personal social media before the assignment is up.

Naturally, my mom was eager to see what I had been up to, but there was way too much to send one by one. Using my personal OneDrive account, I uploaded everything through the mobile app and shared the album. What’s even better? I deleted everything from my device once I saw they were saved to the cloud.

I’ve always known how easy Microsoft 365 makes my workflow, but applying those same tools and principles to my life outside the office is a real gamechanger. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have about 9 trillion TV shows to catch up on and still no couch to watch them on.

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