There’s nothing better than cruising through the workweek feeling calm and collected. It’s a difficult state to achieve, especially when you’re managing multiple priorities and projects. What I’ve found effective is leveling up the way you use your daily apps. These small changes in your workflow will lead to big productivity gains. Find out how I’ve been optimizing my tech stack — from customizing a tracker in Excel to using Copilot to draft emails — and get inspired to refresh the way you work.

I create a tracker for my tasks because it becomes challenging to keep track of my to-do list while managing multiple teams and projects as a project manager. There are several different ways people keep tabs on their tasks, but it’s all about finding a method that works for you. Personally, I prefer using Excel because it’s easy to customize to meet my needs.

What I do is create two tables for two consecutive weeks to differentiate projects where bi-weekly check-ins or status reports are needed, so I can always refer back to the previous week. I use this almost daily, and it’s been extremely helpful in understanding the status of each project without having to scramble through notes and messages. Below, you can find my template, in case you’d like to recreate this process — it may be especially helpful for other project managers out there.

Color-coding your calendar is a fun and easy way for your eyes and mind to comprehend different types of tasks. With a single glance, you can see if you have a week filled with client meetings or mostly internal-facing meetings. This method also makes it easy to enter timesheets for billable work. You can simply look at the color blocks and enter the time that corresponds to each category, whether it’s client check-ins or internal team stand-ups.

When I’m stuck in front of a blank screen and struggling to compose a message, I rely on Microsoft Copilot to help me with that initial draft. If you have a Copilot license, you can use it directly in Outlook to analyze the email chain. If you don’t have a license, you can still use the free browser version, although without the same seamless integration. In that case, you’ll need to provide Copilot with the right prompt. One helpful tip for using the browser version is to take a screenshot of the email chain, upload it to the chat, and ask Copilot to generate a response with a specific tone. This approach provides the AI with the necessary context to craft an accurate response.

I always double-check the draft and make any necessary edits. Rest assured, privacy is not a concern, as Copilot doesn’t use your prompts to train its AI models or retain the information afterward.

Improving your productivity isn’t just about making big changes to your workflows. Most of the time, it’s about the small wins you can achieve every day that add up to significant improvements in efficiency over time. Whether it’s using an Excel tracker to manage my tasks, color-coding my calendar, or asking Copilot to help me draft emails, incorporating these tips has allowed me to work more efficiently.