Tech Ease

Tech Ease

By AnandTechnology
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Tech Ease episodes

  • Four buckets of a working week

    Where did last week actually go? Not the big work — the re-reading, the hunting, the chasing.This episode gives you four buckets for a working week: attention, finding, collecting, and creating. They’re a loop, not a list — and the highest return is usually bucket three. Put a form in front of the next thing you would have gathered by mail, and the other three get cheaper at the same time.Outlook prioritisation you can tune in your own words. One question across mail, files, chats and meetings. Columns the AI fills. An essentials page someone owns. Ask in the open once. A notebook that keeps meeting actions from falling off the edge. A saved skill so good practice isn’t stuck with two people.One change for tomorrow. Not a new dashboard — settings and habits inside apps you already have open.#TechEase #Microsoft365 #Copilot #Productivity #Outlook #SharePoint

    14 min
  • The prompt can live on a button next to the file

    You’ve got the form, the Word template, and the skill. Then publishing still stalls — because someone has to find Copilot and paste the prompt into a pane.This episode walks a simpler shape: a library Quick Step on the row (think “Quick create Newsletter”), with Ask SharePoint behind it and the prompt already saved. Form stays the same. Word file lands. You click next to the file. Pane opens. You never paste a prompt.Form fillers still don’t need a Copilot licence. The person clicking the button still does. Quick Steps on the row — not Quick links.The button was the missing click.Source: https://anandvijayaragavan.substack.com/p/the-prompt-can-live-on-a-button-next#TechEase #SharePoint #Microsoft365 #Copilot #Productivity

    5 min
  • Let Copilot tag the brand dump

    You’ve got a SharePoint library full of brand pictures. Someone’s job is to put a category and a few keywords on each one before Monday’s campaign brief.Open the file. Write the columns. Next file. Next file.Feels like cataloguing a kitchen drawer by hand, doesn’t it?In this Tech Ease episode, I walk through a Copilot in SharePoint move from the September roundup: ask across the pile, then let Autofill-style columns write the tags — description, keywords, category, and more — so the next person can filter and start work.Chat can look. Update writes. That difference is the whole point.I tested it on nine images. It filled the columns.If you’ve ever inherited an untagged brand dump, this one’s for you.More here: https://anandvijayaragavan.substack.com/p/let-copilot-tag-the-brand-dump

    5 min
  • Your newsletter is a form now

    Stop starting your monthly SharePoint newsletter as a page. Anand shows how a Word template, a document generation form, and a Microsoft 365 Copilot Skill turn the newsletter into a simple monthly form, which then becomes a branded, phone-friendly HTML dashboard. You also find out who actually needs a Copilot license and what to do this week, even if the feature isn't in your library yet.

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    6 min
  • Microsoft Lists: the spreadsheet that grew up

    Tired of hunting for “Plan_final_v2_USE_THIS_ONE”?

    In this episode of Tech Ease I walk you through Microsoft Lists, the shared spreadsheet that finally grew up. You’ll hear when to reach for a List instead of Excel or Planner, how to start one in minutes (template, blank, or straight from your existing spreadsheet), and the three small features that quietly remove the version chaos.

    One source of truth. No drama. Just one list.

    6 min
  • The Two Hours That Made My PowerApp Obsolete

    I spent weeks building a Documents Browser PowerApp.

    Then, in under two hours, I described what I wanted to Copilot and got a live-linked HTML dashboard on the same SharePoint library, doing the same job. Oops. 😄

    In this episode: what I actually built, the honest limitations, the very good question a 20-year veteran asked me on LinkedIn, and why you don't always need to build the thing, you just need to describe it, then write down what worked.

    6 min
  • Turn Your Best Prompt Into a Skill (So You Never Write It Twice)

    How many times have you rewritten the same careful prompt to Copilot — the one with all the little details that make the answer actually good?


    This episode is about stopping that.


    I took one question I kept getting, wrote one solid prompt, and turned it into a reusable Skill. A real recipe card. Now the same idea works in PowerPoint and Excel too.


    Write it once. Let Copilot cook from it every time after that.

    7 min
  • Copilot, Agents, Skills — What’s the Actual Difference?

    You’ve heard all three terms this week. Someone says “just use Copilot.” Someone else says “you need an agent.” A third person starts talking about skills.

    And you’re left wondering if these are actually different things… or just new words for the same button.

    In this episode of Tech Ease I untangle them with one simple kitchen analogy:

    • Copilot is the capable colleague• An Agent is the specialist• A Skill is the recipe card• Copilot + Skills in SharePoint is the specialist working right where your files already live

    You’ll also hear why Skills quietly solve the “I keep pasting the same long prompt” problem (think lazy loading for instructions), plus a clear way to decide which one to reach for.

    Plain language. No jargon fog. One small thing you can try this week.

    8 min
  • Your SharePoint List Just Became a Living Dashboard (Marketing & Comms, This One’s for You)

    You keep a content calendar, event itinerary or campaign tracker in SharePoint. The data is solid. The list view? Not so much.


    So you screenshot it. Or rebuild it in PowerPoint. And forty-eight hours later it’s already out of date.


    In this episode of Tech Ease we look at a quieter shift: Copilot in SharePoint can now turn those same lists into live, interactive HTML dashboards that stay connected to the real data. No code. No separate tool. The list remains the system of record — the experience just finally feels modern.


    You’ll hear what it actually is, how simple the conversation with Copilot is, and one low-pressure thing you can try this week.

    6 min
  • SharePoint HTML Dashboards: From One Prompt to a Full Learning Experience

    You type a prompt. You get a decent answer. And then… nothing.

    The idea sits in the chat. The slides never get made. The video never happens. The quiz people would actually open stays a good intention.

    What if the same prompt could travel much further?

    In this episode of Tech Ease I walk you through two simple workflows that turn one idea into a complete learning journey — interactive dashboards, PowerPoint decks, tutorial videos, structured SharePoint lists, and live flashcard-and-quiz experiences that stay connected to the source.

    You’ll see how a single prompt can become something people can actually use… and keep using.

    One small thing to try this week. No big project required.


    5 min

About Tech Ease

From the publisher's feed

Tech Ease is a Microsoft 365 podcast for people who use SharePoint and Copilot at work. Anand Vijayaragavan, Microsoft MVP for SharePoint, explains Copilot Chat, Copilot Studio, Agent Builder, SharePoint pages and free SPFx samples in plain language. Day Brief episodes cover the Microsoft 365 updates worth your time.