Showing posts with label workflow. Show all posts

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Automating My Daily Log with Power Automate and OneNote

If you do something manually every day, it’s usually a good candidate for automation. I was creating a new OneNote page every morning—and it quickly became something I knew I could automate.

The Problem: A Repetitive Manual Task

Keeping a daily log is a great way to stay organized and on top of your tasks. I used to create a new page in my OneNote notebook every day, but it was a manual process that took time and effort.

Building the Flow

That's why I decided to create a Power Automate flow that would automatically add a new page to my OneNote notebook every day at 7am.

What I Wanted to Achieve

Here's what I wanted my daily log to include:

The date in the title
Section for Highlight (priority task)
Section on Yesterday (What I was working on yesterday)
Section on Today (What I will work on today)
Section on Start of Day checklist (with a number of checkbox fields)
Section on Working area
Section on End of Day checklist (with a number of checkbox fields)

The Problems I Hit

I encountered three problems when creating this flow, but I was able to overcome them.

1. Getting it to run Monday to Friday

The controls in Power Automate give you the option to set a frequency for your flow, and my initial idea was to set it to "once per day". However, this would include weekends, which I didn't want. After thinking for a bit, I figured out that I could set the frequency to "Weeks interval 1" and then choose which days of the week to include. It wasn't very intuitive, but I was able to figure it out.

2. Adding the date to the title

In the OneNote "Create a page in section" block, there wasn't a setting to enter a title. It only had a text entry for any template text you want on the page. After some trial and error, I discovered that I could switch the text entry to HTML and enter a full HTML page into the editor. Using the <title> tag within <head>, I was able to automate the title. I then added the formatDateTime function, which allowed me to get the title to be today's date in a long format.

3. Adding checkboxes

I really wanted to have checkboxes to check off my day start and end routines, but I couldn't figure out how to add checkboxes into the HTML. After some Googling, I found the data-tag="to-do" attribute, which gave me exactly what I was looking for. I added this attribute to the <p> tags in the Start of Day and End of Day sections, and it created checkboxes in OneNote.

What Actually Worked

In the end, a simple scheduled flow with a weekday trigger handled the timing reliably.

Using a bit of HTML formatting allowed me to dynamically create the page title and structure the content properly, including checkboxes.

Once it was set up, the whole process became automatic—removing a small but consistent daily task.

The Bigger Pattern

This wasn’t really about OneNote or Power Automate—it was about removing friction from a daily process.

If something is repetitive, it’s usually worth automating.

Where This Shows Up

The Joy of Fixing — understanding systems by working through problems
Visual Thinking — how I naturally break systems down

What This Means

Overall, this flow has saved me a lot of time and effort, and it's helped me stay organized and focused on my tasks. If you're interested in creating a similar flow, I hope my experience can help you overcome any challenges you might encounter.

Small automations can remove a surprising amount of friction from everyday work.

I spend a lot of time simplifying and automating processes to make systems easier to use and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if you’ve got something repetitive that should be simpler.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Why I Use Todoist to Keep Things Simple

Staying organized in today's busy world can be a challenge, but with Todoist, it's made easy. This app has become a personal favorite of mine, and in this blog post, I'll describe how Todoist is structured, and why it's such an effective tool for staying on top of your daily tasks.

Why Most To-Do Systems Don’t Work

Most to-do systems fail because they try to do too much. They add structure, categories, priorities, and rules—but in doing so, they become harder to use than the problem they’re trying to solve. When capturing and managing tasks takes effort, people stop using the system altogether.

It’s not the features that matter—it’s how little friction there is in using them.

What Todoist Gets Right

One of the things that sets Todoist apart from other to-do apps is its clean, intuitive layout. Whether you're using it on your laptop or your smartphone, the interface is always the same, making it easy to navigate no matter where you are. Tasks are organized into different views, which are accessed via the sidebar on the left-hand side of the screen.

How I Actually Use It

The views in Todoist are designed to help you stay on top of your tasks, and there are three main ones to choose from:

Inbox - The inbox is where new tasks are added. This is a great feature because it allows you to quickly jot down anything that comes to mind without having to worry about where it should go. Later on, you can assign tasks to specific projects.
Today - The Today view shows you all the tasks that are due today. This is a great way to stay focused on what needs to be done right now.
Upcoming - The upcoming view shows you tasks that are due in the next 7 days. This gives you a clear idea of what's coming up and allows you to plan your week accordingly.

What Makes It Work

It’s not the features that matter—it’s how little friction there is in using them.

Filters are another great feature of Todoist that allows you to organize your tasks in a more customized way. You can create filters based on specific criteria, such as due dates, priority levels, and labels. This makes it easy to see all the tasks that meet certain criteria and helps you stay focused on what needs to be done.

Projects are the main way to organize your tasks in Todoist. You can create as many projects as you need, and each one can have its own set of tasks. For example, you might have a project for work-related tasks and another for personal tasks. You can also create sub-projects within a larger project to break tasks down into smaller, more manageable parts.

Labels are a feature in Todoist that allows you to split your tasks into actual projects. You can create labels for each of your projects, and each label can have its own color. This makes it easy to see at a glance which project a task belongs to. For example, if you have a work-related project, you can assign a "work" label to all the tasks related to that project. This helps you stay organized and ensures that all your tasks are properly sorted.

This is very similar to how I approach fixing things—understand the system, simplify it, and remove unnecessary friction.

It also links to how I naturally think about systems in visual thinking.

Why I’ve Stuck With It

Todoist is a simple, effective to-do app that can help you stay organized and on top of your tasks. With its clean layout, customizable filters, and project organization, it's easy to see why it's become such a popular tool for productivity. Whether you're a busy professional or a busy parent, Todoist can help you manage your daily tasks with ease.

Simple systems are often the most effective—especially when they reduce friction rather than add complexity.

I spend a lot of time helping simplify tools, processes, and workflows to make them easier to use and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if you’re trying to simplify something that’s become too complicated.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

How the PARA System Helped Me Simplify Digital Organisation

Cartoon of me at my computer looking confused

Digital clutter creates friction.

When files, notes, and information end up scattered everywhere, even simple tasks become harder than they should be.

That’s what led me to the PARA system.

The Problem with Digital Clutter

The PARA system is a simple but powerful way to organize your digital life. Developed by Tiago Forte, it stands for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. Each of these categories represents a different aspect of your digital life and can be used to help you manage everything from work projects to personal hobbies.

What the PARA System Is

Let's break down each category and see how it works:

Projects: This category refers to any task or project you're currently working on. It could be a work project, a personal project, or anything else that requires your attention. Each project should have a dedicated folder or tag that contains all relevant files and documents.
Areas: Areas represent different areas of your life, such as work, home, hobbies, or health. Each area should have a separate folder or tag that contains all relevant files and documents.
Resources: This category includes any reference material or information that you might need in the future. This could include articles, books, notes, or anything else that you might want to refer back to later. Resources should be organized in a way that makes them easy to find and access when needed.
Archives: Archives refer to any files or documents that are no longer needed but are still worth keeping for future reference. This could include old projects, emails, or anything else that you might want to keep for historical purposes. Archives should be organized in a way that makes them easy to access but doesn't clutter up your current projects and areas.

How I Started Using It

So how does this all work in practice? Here's an example:

Let's say you're working on a project for work. You would create a Projects folder and then create a subfolder for the specific project you're working on. Inside that subfolder, you would save all relevant files and documents related to that project. If you have any reference material that might be useful for that project, you would save it in the Resources folder with a tag or label that makes it easy to find later. Once the project is complete, you would move any relevant files to the Archives folder to keep for future reference.

Why It Works for Me

I recently adopted the PARA system in my own life, and it's been revolutionary. No longer do I create random folders to store things only to forget where I have stored them. It takes out a lot of the thought and makes things so much simpler. An item immediately falls into a home, and I can easily find it later.

The biggest benefit wasn’t better folders—it was reducing the amount of thinking needed to organise things.

Instead of constantly deciding where something should go, most items naturally fall into one of four simple categories.

Adopting the PARA system does take some initial setup time, but it's well worth the investment. By organizing your digital life in this way, you'll save time, reduce stress, and be more productive overall.

Keeping Organisation Simple

What I like most about the PARA system is its simplicity.

Good organisational systems should reduce friction, not create more of it. PARA gives just enough structure to stay organised without becoming complicated to maintain.

This also connects closely to how I use date-based file naming to keep digital information easier to manage.

It follows the same thinking behind why I use Todoist—simple systems with low friction tend to work best.

Simple organisational systems can remove a surprising amount of friction from daily work.

I spend a lot of time simplifying websites, workflows, files, and digital processes to make them easier to manage and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if your digital setup has become harder to manage than it should be.

Friday, July 14, 2017

Why We Stopped Tracking Bugs in Excel

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that software projects often become harder to manage because the systems around them become unnecessarily complicated.

Trello board used for tracking software bugs and workflow stages

At the time, we were tracking bugs in spreadsheets, and it quickly became messy with multiple versions, email chains, and poor visibility across the team.

The Problem with Spreadsheet Tracking

I hate managing software faults with a spreadsheet. It normally ends in a mess, with multiple versions, poorly formatted, emailed here there, and everywhere.

The real issue wasn’t the spreadsheet itself—it was the lack of visibility, ownership, and workflow around the process.

To avoid this and not having access to a real software bug-tracking tool like fogbugz I quickly set up something in Trello.

Why Trello Worked Better

Trello is brilliant and I have many boards for various jobs on the go at one time. It is a simple free-to-use tool for managing simple tasks and workflows.

Trello bug tracking card showing task details and workflow options

I set up 6 lists flowing from left to right. New bugs can be added by the team or by the customer. They can be entered directly as a new card or via email by links provided. The email to the board facility is brilliant and it will create a new card automatically.

Visual Workflows and Team Collaboration

The bug tracker board can be accessed by anyone who has access to the team. When connected to the team they can then take control of individual bugs and they can be assigned a bug. So at a glance, you can see John is working on bug #27, and Tom is testing #32. When John has completed the fix for bug #27 he can move the bug to the ready for test list and assign the bug to Tom. When Tom tests the bug and it passes the test Tom can move it to Done. If it is not fixed he can move it back to in progress and assign it back to John and add a comment as to why it did not pass the test.

What made the system effective wasn’t complexity—it was visibility. Everyone could immediately see what was happening, who owned what, and where bottlenecks were appearing.

Colors can be added to each bug indicating the criticality of the fault. So at a glance, you quickly see the red for critical and can concentrate on these first.

Bugs can include attachments, so you can take a screenshot of a fault and quickly add it to the bug to help with the resolution. You can add multiple items to a bug, so if there are a number of similar faults these can be grouped into one bug and make use of the checklist facility. Tick them off as they are resolved.

What Stayed With Me

So there you go. Trello as a bug tracker. It's not perfect, but I set up ours in under 10 minutes, you can have your whole team collaborating together working through problems or changes. It's much better than yet another Excel spreadsheet and you can see at a glance visually the status of the bugs.

Looking back, this probably reinforced something I still believe now: simple systems that people actually use are often more effective than complicated processes designed for perfection.

A surprising amount of software delivery problems are really workflow and communication problems underneath.

This also connects closely to my thoughts on overcomplication in systems and how unnecessary complexity often creates more problems than it solves.

It links naturally to my reflections on understanding systems properly rather than simply adding more layers around them.

A lot of the same thinking also appears in my posts about organisation and workflow simplification.

Good systems are often simpler and more visible than people expect.

I spend a lot of time helping simplify workflows, untangle technical problems, and make systems easier to manage and maintain.

You can take a look at my TechFix service if that sounds useful.