How Can You Use These 5 Overlooked Microsoft 365 Power Tools to Save Hours Every Week?

What Are the 5 Hidden Microsoft 365 Features Professionals Use Every Day (But Most People Miss)?

If you already work in Microsoft 365 every day, you probably feel quite comfortable with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. You write documents, build spreadsheets, send email, and create presentations. Over time, you learn the most obvious tools on the ribbon and get faster at routine tasks.

Yet, some of the most valuable productivity features sit just out of sight. Many knowledge workers never notice them, even though they are built into the apps they open every single day. Used consistently, they can remove a surprising amount of friction from your workday and help you maintain focus on higher‑value tasks.

Below are five practical Microsoft 365 features that are available right now in most business environments, but remain under‑used. Each one is simple to adopt, requires no coding, and can start saving you time immediately.

Microsoft Search box: more than “find”

Most people press Ctrl+F in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to find a word or phrase. That works, but it only searches inside the current file. The Microsoft Search box goes far beyond that.

You will find the Microsoft Search box at the top of most Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Instead of only scanning text, it helps you find commands, people, files, and help in one place.

Here is how it helps you work faster:

Click in the box before you type anything. You will see suggestions such as:

• Tools you recently used in the current app.
• Other commands that might be relevant.
• People you frequently collaborate with.
• Recent documents across Microsoft 365.

Type a plain‑language phrase, such as:

• “insert table,” “add page number,” or “track changes.”
  The search box shows the matching command. Click once to run it, instead of hunting through ribbons and menus.
• A colleague’s name to find them and share your current document directly.
• An app name, such as “OneNote” or “Planner,” to launch it.

To open the Microsoft Search box without touching the mouse, press Alt+Q. Then, type what you need and press Enter. Over time, this becomes a habit and often replaces manual navigation through complex menus. For power users, this is one of the fastest ways to reach less‑obvious commands.

Quick Parts and My Templates: reusable text blocks

If you find yourself typing the same paragraphs or phrases repeatedly, you are creating unnecessary work and risking inconsistency. Microsoft 365 can store these repeated pieces of content as reusable building blocks.

In Word, these building blocks are called Quick Parts. In Outlook, a similar concept exists as My Templates. Both let you insert standard text in a few clicks, instead of re‑typing or copying from old documents.

Quick Parts in Word

Quick Parts work well for:

• Standard introductions or closing sections in reports.
• Frequently used disclaimers, legal text, or boilerplate.
• Commonly used tables or formatted blocks (for example, a signature block inside a document, not email).

To create a Quick Part in Word:

1. Write and format the text exactly as you want it to appear in documents.
2. Select that text.
3. Go to the Insert tab.
4. In the Text group, choose Quick Parts.
5. Click Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
6. Give your Quick Part a clear name, and save it.

To use a Quick Part in a new document:

1. Place the cursor where you want the text to appear.
2. Go to the Insert tab and click Quick Parts.
3. Choose the item you saved earlier.
   Word inserts it instantly with the same formatting.

This approach helps you maintain consistent wording and branding across multiple documents and reduces the risk of copying outdated versions by mistake.

My Templates in Outlook

Outlook’s My Templates feature serves a similar purpose for email. It is useful when you:

• Reply to similar inquiries from clients or colleagues.
• Use consistent phrasing for acknowledgements, follow‑ups, or reminders.
• Need to maintain a steady, professional tone across many messages.

To create an email template with My Templates in Outlook:

1. Start a new email.
2. Go to the Insert tab.
3. Click Apps (sometimes labelled “Get Add‑ins,” depending on your environment).
4. Select My Templates.
5. In the pane that opens, click + Template.
6. Enter a concise title and then type the text you want as your reusable reply or message block.
7. Click Save.

To insert that template later:

1. In a new or existing email, go to Insert > Apps > My Templates.
2. Choose your template from the list.
   Outlook inserts the stored text into your email body.

You can then personalize the email by adjusting a few sentences, instead of writing the entire response from scratch.

Excel Power Query: import and clean data efficiently

Excel is excellent for analyzing and visualizing data. The challenge usually lies one step earlier: importing messy data from different sources and preparing it so that formulas and pivot tables behave correctly.

Power Query in Excel is designed for this preparation step. It lets you:

• Connect to many data sources (files, databases, online services).
• Transform the data before it lands in your worksheet.
• Reapply the same steps automatically the next time you refresh.

For example, if you receive transaction records as PDF statements, and your card provider only offers this format, you can still convert them into usable rows and columns on Windows via Power Query’s PDF connector. Once set up, this process can become a repeatable routine instead of a manual copy‑paste exercise.

To bring data into Excel using Power Query:

1. Open Excel and go to the Data tab.
2. Click Get Data.
3. Choose the source type (such as From File, From Database, or From Online Services).
4. Select your specific source and click Import.
5. Browse to the data (for example, a CSV file, a PDF, or another file type) and confirm.

When the preview window appears, do the cleanup work:

1. Click Transform Data. The Power Query Editor opens.
2. Use the tools in the editor to:
   • Remove unnecessary rows or columns.
   • Split text into multiple columns.
   • Change data types (for example, text to date).
   • Replace incorrect or inconsistent values.
3. As you perform each action, Power Query records the steps in order.

When you are satisfied:

1. Click Close & Load.
2. Excel imports the transformed data into your workbook as a table.

The next time you receive updated data from the same source, you can refresh the query instead of repeating all the steps. This gives you cleaner data, less manual work, and a more reliable foundation for your reports.

Note: PDF import through Power Query is available in Excel for Windows, not Excel for Mac.

Outlook Quick Steps: automate repeated email actions

Email workloads grow quickly, and a lot of time disappears into minor but repetitive actions: moving certain messages to a folder, flagging them, categorizing them, or forwarding them to a team address. When you repeat the same combination of steps many times a day, it becomes a good candidate for automation.

Outlook’s Quick Steps feature lets you chain multiple actions together and apply them with one click, or even a keyboard shortcut. This helps you maintain a consistent workflow for routine email types.

Common uses for Quick Steps include:

• Move a message to a specific project folder and mark it as read.
• Forward an email to your manager or team with a standardized subject prefix.
• Add a category and flag the message for follow‑up at a certain time.
• Create a new email addressed to a predefined group.

To create a Quick Step in Outlook:

1. Open Outlook and go to the Home tab.
2. Find the Quick Steps group and click the dropdown arrow.
3. Select Create New (sometimes labelled New Quick Step).
4. Give the Quick Step a descriptive name (for example, “File + Tag: Project A”).
5. Click Choose an Action and select the first action, such as:
   • Move to folder.
   • Categorize message.
   • Flag message.
   • Forward to a specific person or group.
6. To build a sequence, click Add Action and select the next step. Repeat until your workflow is complete.
7. Optionally, assign a keyboard shortcut and add a short description.
8. Click Save.

From now on, you can apply that Quick Step to any selected email by choosing it from the Quick Steps gallery or using the assigned shortcut. This reduces the number of clicks per email and makes your email triage more consistent and predictable.

Office Clipboard: access up to 24 copied items

Most people rely on the standard clipboard, which holds exactly one item at a time. When you copy new text or data, the previous content disappears. If you move between multiple Microsoft 365 apps, this limitation can slow you down.

The Office Clipboard extends this behavior. It can store up to 24 items copied from supported Microsoft 365 apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. You can then paste any of these items into your current file with a single click.

Here is why it is helpful:

• You can copy several pieces of text, tables, or images in sequence.
• Later, in a different file or app, you can choose which item to paste.
• You can avoid switching back and forth between source and target documents.

To open the Office Clipboard:

1. In a Microsoft 365 app, go to the Home tab.
2. Look for the Clipboard section on the ribbon.
3. Click the small diagonal arrow in the bottom‑right corner of that section.

A Clipboard pane appears, usually on the left side of the screen, displaying the most recent items you copied. To use it:

• Click any item in the list.
  The app pastes that content at the current cursor position.
• Continue working and copying; the Clipboard updates automatically until it reaches 24 items.

You can clear the clipboard at any time from the pane if you want to remove older content, which may be important in environments where you work with confidential data.

Turning these features into daily habits

Microsoft 365 contains a wide range of capabilities, and it is unrealistic to know every option in every app. However, focusing on a few high‑impact features and integrating them into your daily routine can pay off quickly.

To put these five features into action:

1. Start with one or two that align with your current pain points.
   For example:
   • If you spend time hunting for commands, begin with the Microsoft Search box and the Alt+Q shortcut.
   • If you manage repeated replies, implement My Templates and one or two Quick Steps in Outlook.
2. Create one small Quick Part in Word for a paragraph you use often, and test it on your next document.
3. Identify one recurring data task in Excel and experiment with Power Query to automate it.
4. Enable and glance at the Office Clipboard during your next copy‑and‑paste heavy session.

Small, consistent improvements accumulate. By deliberately adopting these less‑visible features, you reduce manual effort, cut down repetitive typing and clicking, and free attention for the work that actually moves your projects and career forward.