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If you’re a busy professional, mentor, parent, kids sports coach, part time chef – you’re no doubt as much a slave to your schedule as I am.  This may seem unnecessary, but actually a clearly planned and written schedule makes the juggle of daily life and commitments actually easier.

Using a single calendar for all commitments avoids the need to layer many different calendars over the top of each other (eg work, personal, internal/external commitments) which sometimes aren’t shared and can cause scheduling conflicts, particularly internally at work.  How is your colleague to know that you have a 5pm kids soccer match to umpire and you can’t make the meeting – unless of course, it’s in your calendar that they can see is blocked out.

And at a glance, how do I know where I’m spending my time?

Sometimes it’s the little changes that make a big impact, and for me it was introducing colour coding rules to my Outlook calendar.  I took insight from this article https://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/color-code-with-conditional-formatting.htm, however the main categories I applied are:

  • (Purple) Items where I’m the organiser and others are attending (a meeting I’ll be running/coordinating)
  • (Yellow) Items where I’m not the organiser and I’m attending with others (someone else is running the meeting and coordinating the agenda)
  • (Blue) Items where I’m the organiser and no one is attending (time for me focus on a particular task or a personal appointment)

This may not work for everyone but it has been a game changer for me and I thought it was worth sharing.

In today’s digital age, technology plays a crucial role in the success of any business. Especially for law firms, technology can help streamline processes, improve productivity and enhance client satisfaction. Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, is a well known, well used, cloud based and locally installed suite of tools that are used by businesses worldwide. As experts in Microsoft 365, particularly when used in law firms, we understand the importance of maximising the suite’s features. Here are some tips to ensure your law firm is getting the most out of your investment:

Use Microsoft Teams for efficient collaboration

Usage of Microsoft Teams since 2020 has exploded. If you weren’t aware of it before 2020, we bet you are now! Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that allows teams to work together on projects, share files, and communicate in real-time, both in house and externally. This can be particularly helpful for law firms as it ensures that everyone is on the same page and it eliminates the need for lengthy email chains. For our team, we love the informal nature of the chat, especially when working in a hybrid environment. 

Maximise the power of Microsoft SharePoint

SharePoint is another powerful tool that can help law firms manage their documents more efficiently. By using SharePoint, you can create a centralised repository for all your documents and make them easily accessible to everyone in your firm. You can also set permissions to ensure that only authorised users can access certain documents. We use SharePoint to power our Snippets Clause Library which allows firms to quickly insert firm vetted clauses and templates into Word, Outlook etc. Read more here.  

Deliver professional documents with Word & Outlook

Uniformity can be a challenge in firms of all sizes, with everyone having varying degrees of experience in document editing. Ensuring you maximise the editing and style capabilities that Word & Outlook provide is crucial to delivering professional looking documents. Need help with this? We offer a Style Suite solution. You can read more here.

Security

Microsoft 365 also offers compliance and security features that are especially important for law firms. These features include multi factor authentication, data loss prevention and encryption. With these features in place, law firms can have peace of mind knowing that their sensitive client data is protected.

Overall, Microsoft 365 offers law firms a range of tools that can help them be more productive, efficient, and secure. By leveraging these tools, law firms can provide their clients with the best possible experience. With its real-time collaboration and powerful security features, it’s clear why so many law firms prefer Microsoft 365 over other suites.

At Mosmar, we have been helping businesses for over 15 years optimise their processes to gain efficiency and better serve their clients. It is no secret we are big Microsoft fans! If you want to know how we can work together and help you maximise your software, please get in touch here. We would love to hear from you.

To head to the Microsoft website for more info, click here.

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