5 Reasons to Use OneNote at Work

If you are one of those people who have ever wondered how to manage a lot of information without getting overwhelmed, then OneNote by Microsoft is the tool that you need. It is a free digital notebook application that can be accessed from anywhere, even if you are offline. OneNote is a great tool that is often overlooked when talking about how to be productive. Here are five reasons why you should use OneNote at work.

Implement GTD with OneNote

OneNote is an excellent tool to implement GTD (Getting Things Done) at work. You can use folders, sections, and subsections like you would use physical folders. Instead of printing out that email or webpage, simply print and hit “send to OneNote” in the drop-down menu. You can then file the “printout” where you need to. OneNote is very much an empty notebook with which you can implement GTD at work.

Real-Time Collaboration with Shared Notebooks

With OneNote, shared notebooks mean instant and real-time collaboration. Put the OneNote notebook file in a place where it can be accessed by the people who need it and set it up to share. And as simple as that, you have an online version of a whiteboard. Use OneNote to manage projects among many people or simply as a place to throw ideas around. If there is sensitive material, you can password-protect some or all of the notebook so that only certain people can see it. In my day job, we use a OneNote notebook to make our weekly report accessible to everyone in the division. That way, we can see what everyone is up to — and maybe help pick up slack in areas that need it.

Take Better Notes in Meetings with OneNote

If you have a laptop as your work PC, bring your laptop to meetings and have OneNote open and ready to take notes. Use the tagging feature to flag important tasks or questions as they arise. Then, if you have a shared notebook with someone, share your notes, so you can see if you were thinking the same things in the meeting. When I was still attending college, I used OneNote for my lecture notes. I was able to tag things to look up later or for items I had questions about. More than once, I had fellow students come up to me and ask what app I was using to take notes. They were very surprised to learn the program was included in Microsoft Office.

Use OneNote as an Awesome Wiki

Since OneNote updates and saves in near real-time, the ability to use it as a wiki is clear. Linking inside a notebook is a new feature and allows for a more “wiki feel.” OneNote is a great tool for gathering information from different sources, such as websites and PDFs. You can capture information in OneNote and then add your thoughts and notes to it. This makes OneNote an excellent tool for research projects or any other projects that require gathering details from multiple sources.

Take Fast and Simple Screen Shots with OneNote

By using the keyboard shortcut Windows+S, the screen will grey out, and you will see a crosshair cursor. Select the area you want to grab, and that area will be placed into your unfilled notes section of OneNote. You can either cut, copy, and paste (or save) the screen grab as a PNG. You no longer have to hit the print screen button and crop the photo in an image editor (like Photoshop, for example). OneNote is a great tool that is often overlooked when talking about how to be productive.

Conclusion

OneNote is a great tool that is likely already installed on your office PC. It offers many features that people often seek in different applications, such as note-taking, task management, and to-do lists. OneNote is crucial to take advantage of the tools on Windows and collaborate with team members at work. It’s a tool worth exploring for both personal and professional applications. So, if you’re like me and your IT department doesn’t allow you to install apps on your work PC, OneNote is a tool that is indispensable. Give it a try, and you might be surprised at how useful it can be.