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The Propeller – I Make My Copilot Do All The Hard Work – 3-24-2024

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The Best Time Saving Tech Tip Ever – Microsoft Copilot

Let’s delve into the remarkable benefits of using Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI-powered productivity tool that has revolutionized the way I work. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a budding enthusiast, Copilot can significantly enhance your creativity, productivity, and overall efficiency. Here are some compelling ways I have embraced this innovative Copilot:

1. Unleash Creativity

Copilot empowers me to generate content, ideas, and insights effortlessly. With just a few words or clicks, I can:

  • Write Documents: Create well-structured documents with Copilot’s assistance.
  • Design Presentations: Leverage enterprise templates to craft engaging presentations.
  • Compose Emails: Craft professional emails that resonate with my customers and colleagues.

2. Unlock Productivity

I’ve said goodbye to mundane tasks! Copilot does the heavy lifting for me:

  • Drafting Assistance: Generate text with or without formatting in new or existing Word documents. I can even pull content from other Microsoft 365 files I have access to. (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc)
  • Summarize Conversations: I can quickly understand email threads or chat discussions by using Copilot’s summarization feature in Outlook.
  • Coaching Tips: Receive clarity, sentiment, and tone suggestions to improve my communication.

 

TIP:  Here is a sample Copilot prompt that I use Daily:  “Summarize my emails, Teams messages and channel messages since the last workday. List action items in a dedicated column. Suggest follow-ups if possible in a dedicated column. The table should look like this: Type (Mail/Teams/Channel) | Topic | Summarization | Action item | Follow-up. If I have been directly mentioned, make the font of the topic bold” 

3. Collaborate Seamlessly

Copilot seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365 apps, making collaboration a breeze:

  • Loop Collaboration: Create content collaboratively, allowing direct editing and refinement by Copilot and your team.
  • Chat Summaries: In Teams, Copilot summarizes up to 30 days of chat content, helping you catch up on discussions.

 

TIP:  Here is a sample Copilot prompt that I use Daily:  “Summarize XXX meeting.  Include all take aways and follow-ups required of each attendee.  Detail the sentiment of each person in the meeting throughout the meeting.” 

4. Enhanced Data Accuracy

Copilot ensures accuracy by grounding its responses in existing data.  Copilot pulls information from Word files, chat history, and other accessible content within Microsoft 365.

5. Amplified Efficiency

Copilot streamlines tasks, allowing me to focus on what truly matters:

  • Time Savings: Copilot handles repetitive tasks, freeing up my valuable time.  It assists in writing my daily emails, creating PowerPoint presentations, summarizing documents, meetings, and customer data.
  • Effort Reduction: I said goodbye to busy work; Copilot takes care of it for me.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is my AI co-pilot — a game-changer that has enhanced my productivity, creativity, and collaboration. So, buckle up and let Copilot transform the way you work as well! Hit me up if you’d like to see a demo!

Navy Seals

Navy SEALs have a saying:  “Task Saturated”It’s when you’re overwhelmed by numerous problems happening at once.The fix:• Prioritize the problems• Execute one with 100% focus• Move onto the nextTrying to do everything is how to do nothing.  Prioritize and execute.This takes discipline, but when you isolate and tackle problems one by one, you go faster than if you tried to multitask your way through the messy haystack.The simpler the better.  Productivity will 10x when you focus singularly.

Fox Hole Radio
There is a new TV mini-series called “Masters of The Air” that I love (mostly because it based on one of my favorite World War 2 airplanes – the B-17).  During WWII, five miles above the ground and behind enemy lines, ten men inside a B-17 bomber known as a “Flying Fortress” battle unrelenting flocks of German fighters. In one of the recent episodes – the end of Episode #6, and in Episode #7 you see Maj. Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (Austin Butler) build and use a “Fox Hole radio”.The attention to detail on this TV series is astonishing. There are many versions of this receiver. On this series they build exactly the one that would have been used in a POW camp. The detector part is a safety pin and a razor blade. You would see a lot of the receivers with a graphite pencil lead as part of the detector. In a POW camp, pencils were in short supply. They correctly show that the safety pin version was a minor pain to set up for the first time. U.S. Armed Forces Radio and the BBC would broadcast specifically to these radios since they are powered by the RF energy of the transmitter – these radios had no power source (battery) of their own.  The transmitters used by the radio stations were very powerful. 

The modern day secret for building one is you have to use a Gillette Blue blades, not the Super Blue Blades, or the Blue Blades II, they cannot be stainless steel, Original carbon steel Blue Blades have a coating, Rust is helpful for setting up the detector. The original is available on eBay.  The Crystal earphone is also available for cheap on Amazon.  You can build one of these today with a razor blade, safety pin, some wire and an earphone and listen to AM radio stations without any battery or power source.Here is the schematic for one:

I remember building one of these as a kid as part of a Radio Shack all-in-one electronics kit I had.  Little did I know that many many years before how pivotal these were to keeping moral up and helping transmit information that helped the Allies win World War 2.Read more about these Fox Hole Radios here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxhole_radio 

Instantly Become Interesting

Want people to think you’re interesting?This way they want to be around you, work with you, or even date you.Be interested in them. It’s that simple. Ask questions about them. Find out what they’re passionate about and talk about those things. The more the other person talks, the more they feel understood and on the same wavelength.  The more they feel that the more they’ll feel like it was a great conversation. The funny thing is that you didn’t have to make much effort. You let the other person talk about what they were interested in.The effect?They’ll leave the conversation thinking you’re interesting and thoughtful. They won’t know why, but they’ll look forward to talking with you again.  People will think you’re fantastic to talk to.

 

 

Signing off like a March Madness player hitting a half-court shot—bold, unexpected, and totally swish-worthy!

This is re-published from the weekly email sent by Leonard Mack entitled The Propeller. To subscribe, visit https://www.LeonardMack.com/subscribe and read it every Sunday evening.

This intellectual nourishment is intended for informational purposes only. One should not construe anything herein as being legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

My rule is this – I have no advice to give, only experience to share. I have no interest in being a guru or telling people what they should do. Rather, I share my own experience because there is no right or wrong. Your mileage may vary.

 

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