We all know how vital emails are to us in this digital era. We have all faced times when finding the right email was a nightmare. I have faced it at university when finding the right document. In my first year of university, I struggled to manage my time around lectures, assignments, and focussed study time. This led to me feeling very stressed. On my journey to find a solution I came across the benefits of having a good email app such as Outlook. One to help manage your email, calendar, and contacts all in one place. So far, it’s the best solution I found.

Use rules for your inbox

My life is so much more organised now I have rules for my inbox that separate my emails by different modules. The structured inbox helps me achieve a more systematic way to find emails and group assignment documents. This saves me manually searching through all the emails from someone.

Also, if you need to follow up on an email, Outlook offers flags of various colours that can be tied to emails if you need a friendly reminder. A shortcut folder called ‘Follow Up’ gathers links to all flagged messages to make them simple to locate. Additionally, if you want to make sure that you don’t miss out on a module leaders’ email, you can easily make them show up in the colour of your choice in your inbox. I have different colours assorted for different module leaders so I can instantly spot an important email.

With Outlook being my companion at university, I have been able to structure my day better; organising my time around lectures, assignments and focussed study time. I also list things I need to do on a certain day in the calendar, so I don’t forget them.

Trust me, having a calendar handy does wonders. Having all your lectures, engagements, and their locations together means you’ll never miss them. Furthermore, it’s a really good tool for people fighting anxiety as it helps them be more organised and productive. Nothing gives me more happiness at university than getting all my work done on time and being prepared for what’s to come.

Colour coding calendars

I personally find having a colour coded calendar very useful. Apart from my regular lectures, I like to attend different sessions running at my university like careers fairs and guest speaker talks. Often, I book in additional time with my tutors, different society events, etc. Sometimes there is just so much going on that I forget what I’ve booked myself for or how much I was interested in attending them.

With a colour coded diary I mark my focused self-study time as red – essentially indicating ‘do not disturb’. Regular lectures are yellow, and important session such as career development or training in green. Things that I would like to attend if I have time are marked in blue, for example, a meet and greet session.

Use analytics to help you

An interesting thing about Outlook is that is gives me weekly analytics. It tells me how many hours I spent in collaborative activities vs how much focussed time I’ve had and compares it to previous weeks as well. It also tells which day I had the most focused time. The MyAnalytics tool can be turned on from your university administrator account. It really helps to get a better balance at work. It helps ensure I have a healthy work-life and supports my mental health.

Safe and secure

Security is something which is just not negotiable. It is also one of the biggest reasons why I am highly particular on what email account I use. With your emails containing documents like your assignments, images, or travel tickets you want to have all the control over it.  If I am storing a document or email which is important, I do not want it to get hacked easily or even the company to have the rights over my data. I like to have full control and rights over my own content. Outlook provides me all of that and gives me multiple security options like two-factor authentication.

All that said and done, do you know what is the best thing about Outlook? It’s is free for students! You can download Office 365 just by using your university email.

Find out more

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About the author

Simran Verma is currently working at Microsoft on a year-long internship as an Azure Technical Solutions Professional whilst she studies Electronics and Computer Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire. During the short time she’s spent at Microsoft, she’s already learned a lot about Microsoft technology, particularly in the world of Cloud and AI which is core to her job role. Outside of work, she enjoys painting, dance, travelling and cooking. She feels highly privileged to be part of the Be Your Future intern team so they have a platform to write and share their stories and to make student life a little bit easier.

The post New year, New you: A new structured inbox with Outlook appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

Simran Verma is currently working at Microsoft on a year-long internship as an Azure Technical Solutions Professional whilst she studies Electronics and Computer Engineering at the University of Hertfordshire. During the short time she’s spent at Microsoft, she’s already learned a lot about Microsoft technology, particularly in the world of Cloud and AI which is core to her job role. Outside of work, she enjoys painting, dance, travelling and cooking. She feels highly privileged to be part of the Be Your Future intern team so they have a platform to write and share their stories and to make student life a little bit easier. 

As we get into the new year, many students are thinking about how they can work smarter. They want to make the most of every minute of 2019 and start the year in the most productive way possible. The device that you choose to support you through your student life plays a pivotal role in your productivity levels and can really impact your success throughout university. When choosing a device, you need to consider what your course requirements are and how you’re going to use it.

Some students prefer to use a tablet that’s lightweight and portable but gives them access to the tools they need to take notes during lectures. Other students will prefer to use a slightly heavier laptop with more processing power. There is no right answer and it’s all about finding out what works for you and your unique learning style. What works for you, might not work for your friend and vice versa.

I’d never really considered a Surface device but having spent the last few months working with one everyday I definitely intend to purchase one when I go back to university. With so many options available, there’s something for everybody, no matter how you like to work.

Portable power

If you prefer to make notes in lectures on a tablet so you don’t have to carry a fully-fledged laptop into the lecture halls along with study books which will weigh down your backpack, you could consider getting a Surface Pro device and detaching the keyboard so you can use it in tablet mode. You could even ditch your traditional notebook. The Surface Pen allows you to take notes like you’re using pen and paper. That’s a key selling point for me as somebody who is more of a visual learner.

What I love the most about the Surface Pen is that I can write at my natural angle. It’s super comfortable and really easy to use. I can write on top of past-paper PDFs straight away and take screenshots just by double-clicking the clicker on the pen to place them in my notes for future reference. Not only that, but your written notes are searchable too and you also have the option to convert them to text if that’s your preferred format for revision.

A device for every working style

For those of you who are more traditional and prefer a laptop to type up your notes but still want something that’s lightweight and stylish, the Surface Laptop is probably the better option. If you work on the go whilst travelling to university or find you are on the train a lot visiting friends or family over the weekend, having something even more portable like the Surface Go will allow you to make the most of every single minute. The Surface Go, which is highly portable, will meet all your lecture needs, whilst the Surface Studio understands your needs as a designer, musician, photographer and architect. All the resources are there to match your creative needs and everything else in between.

Personally, as an Electronics and Computer Engineering student I’m slightly more swayed towards the Surface Book. It’s a great option for students requiring high CPU usage and it fits all my needs as a student who doesn’t want to be stuck at a desk.

All-day battery life

We all know the pain of having low battery laptops. With my Surface device, I no longer have to worry about finding the nearest socket in lecture halls. You can leave your accommodation in the morning, attend all your lectures, and still be able to go to the library for an evening revision session without needing to plug it in.

An investment for now and the future

The best thing about these devices is that you won’t need to change them as soon as you finish university. They provide so much capability for professionals as well. I won’t need to change my device to fit a more professional environment, nor will I end up feeling outdated.

There’s not one device that’s best for all and it’s all about finding what works best for you.

Take a look at the full Surface family and explore what could best meet your needs.

[msce_cta layout=”image_center” align=”center” linktype=”blue” imageurl=”http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-gb/industry/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/01/CSU-e1548151826439.png” linkurl=”http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-gb/store/b/surface” linkscreenreadertext=”Explore Surface” linktext=”Explore Surface ” ][/msce_cta]

The post New year, new you: Powering through every university hour with a modern device appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.