Productivity & Focus — Free AI Prompts for M365 Copilot

Help me set goals for [YEAR]. Role: [ROLE]. Priorities: [LIST]. Create: (1) 3-5 SMART goals, (2) Quarterly milestones, (3) Supporting habits, (4) Obstacles and mitigation, (5) Tracking plan. Balance development with deliverables.

Analyse my day: [DESCRIBE]. Identify: context switch count, cost per switch (23 min), total lost time, avoidable switches, batching strategy, redesigned schedule.

Help me document this decision for my decision journal. Decision: [WHAT I DECIDED]. Create an entry with: (1) The decision and date, (2) Context and constraints at the time, (3) Options I considered, (4) Why I chose this option, (5) What I expect to happen, (6) How I will know if it was the right call, (7) Review date to assess the outcome.

Help me plan a deep work session to accomplish [TASK]. Duration: [HOURS] hours. Create: (1) Pre-session setup checklist (notifications off, materials ready), (2) Session structure with breaks (Pomodoro or custom), (3) Specific milestones to hit during the session, (4) Definition of done for this session, (5) Post-session review questions. What to have ready before starting.

Plan a deep work session for [TASK]. Duration: [HOURS]. Include: pre-session setup, session structure with breaks, milestones, definition of done, post-session review.

Help me decide what to delegate from my current task list: [LIST TASKS]. For each task evaluate: (1) Must I personally do this? Why?, (2) Who on my team could do this?, (3) What support or authority would they need?, (4) What does a successful handoff look like? Create delegation briefs for the top [NUMBER — 3 / 5] tasks I should hand off.

Organise my task list into an Eisenhower matrix: [LIST ALL TASKS]. Categorise each as: (1) Urgent + Important → Do now, (2) Important + Not Urgent → Schedule, (3) Urgent + Not Important → Delegate, (4) Not Urgent + Not Important → Eliminate. For the Do Now quadrant, suggest an order based on deadlines and dependencies.

Help me design my ideal work day based on my energy patterns. I am most alert at [PEAK TIME] and lowest energy at [LOW TIME]. My typical meetings are at [MEETING TIMES]. Design: (1) When to do deep/creative work, (2) When to do admin/email, (3) When to schedule meetings, (4) Break timing, (5) Exercise or movement blocks, (6) End-of-day wind-down routine.

Design my ideal day based on energy. Peak at [TIME], low at [TIME]. Assign: deep work, admin, meetings, breaks, exercise, wind-down. Optimise for performance.

Create a personalised inbox management strategy for me. I receive approximately [NUMBER] emails per day. My biggest email challenges: [CHALLENGES]. Design: (1) Rules for what to respond to immediately vs batch, (2) Folder or label structure, (3) Templates for common responses, (4) Daily email processing schedule, (5) Rules I can automate. Goal: process all email in under [TIME] minutes per day.

Audit my calendar for the past [WEEKS — 2 / 4] weeks. Categorise each recurring meeting as: (1) Essential — I must attend, (2) Optional — I could send a delegate or read notes, (3) Redundant — overlaps with another meeting, (4) Unnecessary — should be an email. For each non-essential meeting, draft a polite opt-out message or suggest a shorter format. Calculate hours I could reclaim per week.

Design a morning routine for a [ROLE] who starts work at [TIME]. Include: (1) Pre-work ritual (15 min), (2) Planning block (10 min — review calendar, set daily top 3), (3) Deep work block (60-90 min on most important task), (4) Communication check (15 min — email and Teams triage), (5) First meeting prep. Base on research about peak productivity times.

Help me plan my week. My priorities are: [LIST TOP PRIORITIES]. My meetings this week: [KEY MEETINGS]. My deadlines: [DEADLINES]. Create: (1) Top 3 outcomes to achieve by Friday, (2) Daily focus blocks (what to work on each day), (3) Meetings I should prepare for, (4) Tasks I should delegate or defer, (5) One thing to learn or improve this week. Keep realistic with 6 productive hours per day.