Tasks from Teams Chat
It’s a challenge to keep focused. Yes, even while working from home. Working away from the office used to be a way to give yourself some uninterrupted time. Head home to work, close the door to your virtual office and focus. Put some distance between you and the open-floor office that is so open to distraction. But when everyone is working from home, by choice or not, it increases the need to keep connected to your team and organisation. That means being available to chat, call and meet.
So when you are focused on a task, an unexpected chat can take you out of your focus and into the conversation. If you are lucky, the conversation is related to what you have just been working on. Your mind doesn’t have to switch to a different context. But if you are unlucky, the conversation is entirely different to the task you were focused on. It might still be an important matter, but now you must pull your mind into the new context, listen, process, and respond on a completely different topic.
It can be difficult to return to your task after the conversation. Sometimes you forget what you were working on. You can spend minutes trying to grasp the thoughts you had earlier.
I have been using a task list more frequently to keep me focused on what I need to do. I’m in the flow of work and focused on a task. When I am interrupted, I want to deal with it quickly if I can. A task list helps me capture a person’s request and return to the task I was focused on earlier. I used to open a window with Microsoft To Do and create a new task. Once I finished the conversation and saved the task, I would have a list of all my other tasks staring back at me. My subconscious mind would start to think about one or two of the tasks. This caused me to take longer to return to what I was working on. By shifting to another window, even to create a task and deal with the distraction, I was being taken out of my flow.
In a recent update to Microsoft Teams, conversations can be used to create tasks. At first, this doesn’t appear to be very useful. But as I began to use it, I recognised that it solves a few of my problems.
1. I can create a task quickly
When creating the task from a conversation, I want to capture a few details quickly so I can get back to what I was working on. I choose a reply in the conversation, open More actions and Create task. The new task copies all the text from the conversation and uses it for the subject.
I spend a few moments replacing or editing the subject to represent the task name.
If the conversation discusses a due date, I set it.
If the task relates to a team or project that uses Planner, I select ‘Create in’ and choose the related team plan.
Otherwise, I save it to Tasks, my personal task list.
I add the task and return to what I was focused on earlier.
2. I don’t have to open my full list of tasks
The task can be created without visiting the Tasks app. When creating the task, a window pops up over the conversation. After the task is added, the window closes and I’m back in the conversation. I can finish the conversation and return to my work.
3. I return to the task later to add more detail
After I have spent more time focused on my work, I return to the task I created and add more detail. I use the task’s checklist to plan how I will complete the task. I can adjust the due date and set a priority. I can add to the task notes to provide more detail.
4. The task has a link to the reply in the conversation
When creating a task from a conversation, a link to the reply is added to the task notes. I can use the link to read the conversation later to get more detail or remind myself of the context.
In a conversation about a task, details are often shared across multiple replies in the conversation. When I create a task from a conversation, I choose the first reply that introduces the topic of the task. Then the link will take me to the beginning of the conversation. When I return to add more detail to the task, I can read the conversation thread.
Creating tasks from conversations enables you to quickly keep track of what you need to do, without taking you far from what you are doing. That has a positive impact on productivity, especially for those who face frequent interruptions. When the next chat arrives at an inconvenient time, reply, and say you will get back to them soon. Create a task from the conversation to remind yourself to get back to them.