Anchor Tasks

For colleagues eager to use the wide range of new collaboration and productivity features offered by M365, deciding where to get started can be daunting. With hundreds of capabilities within M365, there is a danger of wasting time on features you or your team may never use. One behavioural tactic you may want to use to get the ball rolling is choosing an ‘Anchor Task’. This ‘Anchor Task’ should be a non-negotiable new way of working that you (and your team) will commit to do. Regardless of all the other possible new ways of working with M365, this ‘Anchor Task’ will be where you start.

Examples of Anchor Tasks

Anchor tasks commitment could include:

• Only sending links and not attachments via email.
• Moving distribution list communications into a Yammer group.
• Using ‘To-Do’ to log and share small tasks.
• Moving weekly update meetings onto OneNote (or Yammer).

Productivity Benefits

Doing more things does not drive faster or better results. Doing better things drives better results. Even more accurately, doing one thing as best you can drives better results. The power of choosing one priority is that it naturally guides your behaviour by forcing you to organise your activities around that responsibility. Your priority in change becomes an anchor task, the mainstay that holds the rest of your new ways of working in place.

Implementation

To implement an anchor task, start by identifying a key area where you want to see improvement. This could be communication, task management, or meeting efficiency. Once you have chosen your anchor task, communicate its importance to your team and ensure everyone is on board. Monitor progress and make adjustments as needed to ensure the task is being effectively integrated into your workflow.

By focusing on a single, impactful change, you can create a foundation for continuous improvement and drive meaningful results in your organisation. Anchor tasks provide clarity, direction, and a sense of accomplishment, making them a powerful tool for behaviour change and productivity enhancement.