We know that good habits can lead to good outcomes, and every second Linkedin post tells us that establishing a regular regime at work is essential. It is difficult, though – with emails flooding in and our calendar taking us hostage.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone – more people than ever feel they lack control over their time at work.

A recent Gallup study found that two-thirds of full-time employees say they experience burnout at work with multiple factors contributing. The main culprits being the increased pace of work, a rise in collaborative work like chats, emails, and meetings, and the continuing trend of technology blurring the lines between work and home.

We’re all looking for ways to help address these challenges, for ourselves and our teams. Enter Microsoft MyAnalytics.

What is Microsoft MyAnalytics?

MyAnalytics is an application that helps you to build better habits and get back in control of your time.

 

Via a personal dashboard, an Outlook add-in, and weekly emails, MyAnalytics summarizes how you spend your time at work, then suggests ways to work smarter—from cutting unproductive meeting time to reducing time spent working after hours. It even uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you stay on top of your to-dos by flagging commitments you’ve made in email.

Where does it source the data?

MyAnalytics currently provides insights based on time spent in Outlook emails and meetings and Skype for Business calls and chats. In January 2019 Microsoft also added new insights based on your Microsoft Teams calls and chats, as well as signals from documents you’re working on that are saved in OneDrive and SharePoint.

What are the benefits?

MyAnalytics has three key benefits:

  • Improve your relationships: Increase your collaboration time, improve your team meetings, and grow your network
  • Get more focus time: Find more time to eliminate distractions, stop multi-tasking, and focus on your core priorities
  • Improve your work-life balance: Improve your quiet days and reduce the time you spend working for better work-life balance and overall wellbeing


Is Big Brother watching?

Tools like this have historically been challenging to implement due to privacy concerns – “is my manager watching what I’m doing”? Microsoft has alleviated this by making MyAnalytics wholly user focused. Only you can see your data. The statistics and insights that are generated are for your eyes only.

How can I enable this for my organisation?

MyAnalytics features are available for Microsoft 365 E5, E3, and Business plans. They will also be available for Office 365 E5, E3, E1, Business Premium, and Business Essentials plans. Contact us to check which plan you are on and enable if appropriate.