Tech Tips & Tales from The MS Office Maestro

Hello and a big warm welcome Reader

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I’m thrilled you’ve joined me—whether you found me through a webinar, a course, or a recommendation, you’re now part of a community that’s all about making work smarter and easier.

Here’s what you can expect in every newsletter:
✅ Personal stories – a peek behind the scenes
✅ Training news – updates on courses and events
✅ Practical tips – shortcuts and strategies for Microsoft 365 apps

I’d love to hear from you!
Drop me an email at shelley@tomorrowsva.com and tell me:

• What’s your role?
• Which Microsoft tools do you use most?
• What would you love to learn next?

Your feedback helps me create content that truly supports you.

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Happy 2026 from The MS Office Maestro

First things first, wishing you a happy, healthy and successful year ahead! I hope your break was restful and that you’re ready to hit the ground running.

While many were celebrating, I’ve been busy behind the scenes giving the MS Office Maestro website a fresh new focus. Why? Because the way we work is changing and so is the way I train.

With the rise of AI tools like Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini, the conversation around productivity has shifted. My training now goes beyond the core Microsoft applications you know and love. The spotlight is on Copilot. What it can do, how it can help and how you can harness it to transform your workflows.

2026 is all about working smarter, not harder and I’m excited to guide you through it.

Back in Training Mode – What a Week!

My first week back has been full-on and exciting!

Monday kicked off with a tech check for a new client to make sure everyone could see and hear clearly. With participants in Perth, Tanzania and London, 9:00 AM was the perfect time for our Teams meeting.

Later that afternoon, I attended a 3-hour course on Microsoft Copilot Agents. It was fascinating and gave me plenty of new ideas to enhance my own courses and help people get things done faster.

Tuesday was all about delivery:

• In the morning, I ran the pilot session for this client – Collaboration with Microsoft 365.
• In the afternoon, Cohort 2 of Microsoft 365 Fundamentals with AI and Copilot began their first 2-hour session. We focused on Copilot and explored the many ways it can help right from the user interface. Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll dive deeper into each app.

Wednesday (today as I write this) marks another milestone: I’ve just switched over to the new MS Office Maestro website, now fully focused on the live online courses I’m delivering. Take a look. I’d love your feedback!

Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be delivering a Bookboon Boost session on Copilot in Teams.

It’s been a packed and productive week and we’re not even halfway through January!
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Copilot Prompt of the Week

Outlook / Calendar - “Review my calendar for the next 2 weeks and identify any potential conflicts, overloaded days, or meetings that may not need my attendance. Suggest one change I could make to improve my focus time.”

Why it Works

• It moves beyond email and documents​
  Many people forget Copilot can reason across calendars and patterns, not just text. This prompt highlights Copilot as a thinking assistant, not just a writing tool.
• It encourages prioritisation, not just productivity​
  Instead of doing more, it helps users do less but better. Identifying unnecessary meetings or unrealistic schedules.
• It delivers actionable insight​
  Asking for one suggested change avoids overwhelm and increases the chance the user will actually act on Copilot’s recommendation.
• It demonstrates judgement, not automation​
  Copilot is analysing workload, context, and time pressure. A great example of AI supporting decision-making rather than replacing it.
• Highly relatable​
  Calendar overload is a universal pain point, so this prompt tends to land well with almost any audience.

Microsoft 365 Tip of the Week - Excel

Use XLOOKUP to find and return data from a table without worrying about column order, broken formulas, or mysterious #N/A errors.

XLOOKUP lets you search for a value in one column and return a related value from any other column – left, right, up, or down.

Story

Sandy works in the HR department of a mid-sized company. She’s been asked to prepare a report showing each employee’s current department and manager.

The HR master sheet lists all employees but the department assignments and manager info are in separate spreadsheets. Last quarter, someone inserted a new column in the department sheet… breaking all her old formulas.

Instead of spending hours fixing broken VLOOKUPs or manually matching names, Sandy uses XLOOKUP.

She tells Excel:

• “Look for the employee name here”
• “Return the department or manager from this sheet”

Even if the sheets are updated, columns are moved, or new employees are added, her formulas still return the correct results.

Sandy finishes the report on time, sends it to management, and avoids embarrassing mismatches — all without staying late or manually cross-checking hundreds of rows.

Where you’d use this in a corporate setting

• HR reports (employees, departments, managers)
• Finance (invoices, client info, or budget allocations)
• Sales (product lists, client orders, or quotas)
• Operations (inventory tracking, shipment status, resource allocation)

💡 XLOOKUP is your safety net in spreadsheets that actually change, not the ones stuck in 2010.

Keyboard Shortcut of the Week

The shortcut​ ​Ctrl + K (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) What it does​ Opens the Insert Hyperlink window, allowing you to quickly link text to: A website Another file An email address A location within the same document Why it works (real-world scenario)​ Sandy works in a corporate role and regularly creates reports, proposals, and internal documents. Every week, she references shared folders, policy documents and online resources. Before she knows this shortcut, Sandy: Highlights text Moves her hand to the mouse Clicks Insert Clicks Link Clicks Insert Link It doesn’t feel slow… but she does it dozens of times a day. With Ctrl + K, Sandy highlights the text, presses two keys, pastes the link, and moves on — without breaking her focus or flow. Over time, this shortcut works because it: Reduces small, repetitive interruptions Keeps hands on the keyboard Speeds up polished, professional document creation ✨ It’s not about saving minutes — it’s about maintaining momentum.

What's Coming Up

I have a new webinar called AI Duo - How ChatGPT and Copilot can Help Streamline Your Workflow.

Synopsis

Master ChatGPT and Copilot in 2 Hours​
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Stop fumbling with AI tools and start using them like a pro.
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This live, interactive webinar shows assistants exactly how to use ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to work faster, smarter and with less stress.
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You'll walk away with practical prompts, real-world examples and the confidence to make AI work for you, not the other way around.
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Investment: £127 | Duration: 2 hours live online | What's Included: Recording access, prompt templates and job aids

Cohort 3 of Microsoft 365 Fundamentals with AI and Copilot is now open for enrolment. This will take place in March 9th, 16th,23rd and 30th.
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You can find the course outline and book your place at the early bird rate via this button.

Quote of the week

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