A good system shortens the road to the goal. Those words from poet Ralph Waldo Emerson indicate he would have appreciated the organization tools of Microsoft 365. Using Planner, Power Automate, Forms and Teams, College of Nursing Academic Assessment and Evaluation Manager Michael Liske is narrowing in on the shortcut Emerson described.

“Microsoft Planner is what I’ve been looking for in the past 20 years of leading projects,” Liske said. “It definitely keeps me organized and on track.”

He pointed out that Planner isn’t just for short-term projects, as he is tasked with tracking the total program evaluation plan for the next five years. Each month, the College of Nursing’s Total Program Evaluation Committee meets to ensure everything is on track and there are no outstanding tasks. Thanks to Microsoft Planner, they can easily see the status of tasks and track anything that is behind schedule.

“If someone asks me what tasks their committee needs to have done, I can use filters and labels to find exactly what they are assigned and when everything is due for the next five years,” he said. “I can even export everything to Excel and send them a full list.”

Liske is also responsible for collecting syllabi for all courses in the college. Instead of downloading email attachments and tracking everything manually, he uses Forms to keep everything in one place. And if he needs to move everything, he can do so with just a few clicks, something that used to take days.

Liske then ties his work together using Microsoft Teams. He has been using his setup since May 2021 and says he will never go back to his “old way” of doing things. 

“I couldn’t imagine doing things any other way,” he said. “The tools have changed my workflow completely and definitely help me stay on track.”