I started my adventure with the Google environment a long time ago, at a time when a Gmail account could only be obtained at the invitation of someone who already had such an account. This adventure has continued for years, until today. When I started, Google captivated me with its simplicity and possibilities, Microsoft was just a tool at work. A lot has changed since then, and Microsoft has done its homework well. See what convinced me to change the environment, and maybe you can pull something for yourself from this article.
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Microsoft 365 – a bit of a forced change
Once upon a time, Microsoft Office was the hegemon when it came to office tools. There were other, even free solutions, but they were far from the functionalities offered by Office. My bad luck is that I use these office tools not only at work but also in my private life. From time to time I bought a license for a newer Microsoft Office suite, usually when I had to change my computer to a newer one.
Once upon a time, a new proposal from Microsoft appeared on the market – Microsoft 365. It was a breakthrough, although I didn’t notice it at first. At work, I already used Microsoft Share Point and thought it was just an attempt to implement a business solution in a non-business environment.
Some time has passed since the implementation of Microsoft 365 on the market, during this time I strengthened cooperation with Google by buying a paid cloud space. As usual, I used Gmail mailboxes and even a lot of the increasingly better Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets. I liked that this solution is in the cloud and I have access to my documents from any computer, and the work is saved on an ongoing basis, so I do not lose the effects of my work if the computer suddenly refuses to obey.
A breakthrough PC change
And then it turned out that I was changing the computer. Apparently, nothing like that, because I have done it many times in my life, but this time it was different.
The first thing that made me happy was running my Microsoft account on a new Windows PC. If you only have a Microsoft account and a personal computer with Windows connected to this account, then when you start your Microsoft account on a new computer, all settings are downloaded from the Microsoft server and basically in a few moments, you have your old account on the new computer.
Attaching an Office 365 license means that a few moments later you have your documents along with office tools. Of course, if you keep documents in the cloud and Microsoft in Office 365 gives you 1 TB of storage space. There is plenty of space to hold documents. With the rest, not only documents, because in the default files that synchronize with the cloud, there are also game saves. This positively surprised me, because after installing my favorite games on a new computer, it turned out that I do not have to start again, because the records are available, where they should be so that the game reads them. Of course, if you use the default settings, but even if you don’t, all you have to do is use the same settings as on your previous computer and your files will sync beautifully.
ToDo lists
Another change that convinced me to switch to the Microsoft environment was the integration of ToDo List with Outlook. I tried to change Gmail to Outlook several times, but each time I abandoned this idea, after a while. It’s different now.
The most important change for me is the integration of Outlook with the ToDo List. Thanks to this, on the computer in one place, and on the phone in two applications, I can manage the tasks I have to perform in my private life. I know that in Gmail you can also use the task list, but it is not as friendly integrated with mail as in Outlook in the desktop version.
I plan tasks to be carried out mainly on a laptop, and then I need a quick summary on the phone. On the other hand, I need to quickly note down a new task on the phone but break it down into actions and analyze what really needs to be done with this task, which I like to carry out at the computer. And in this respect, ToDo List and Outlook are a great combination.
Outlook – Tasks Only
I already knew from previous attempts that migrating all mail to Outlook would fail. I will not use it. I came up with another idea. Since the Microsoft environment is to be for me mainly to achieve tasks and goals, I can use Outlook only for messages related to some work on my side.
I set up a new mail account in the Outlook domain, but it can be any domain because Outlook can connect to any mail server. However, on Gmail mailboxes, I set the redirects of the most important e-mails to this new mailbox. Thanks to this, only emails related to the work to be done on my side are sent to her. For example, bills or notifications that require my action.
Outlook allows you to turn a mail into a task with one click and thanks to this, it goes to ToDo List and will not escape. I can implement them at a selected moment, add notes to the task, add reminders, and set the end date of the task. These are things that help me a lot.
Summary
Since I started my adventure with the Google environment, a lot has changed. On the plus side for the tools provided by Microsoft, and I have the impression that not much has changed in the Google environment. Perhaps I do not use the novelties served by this company. That’s why I decided to switch to Microsoft tools as more suited to my needs. And you, what tools do you use?