I still find it a little surprising that many teams have not yet discovered Viva Insights. Not in a negative way. More in a friendly how has this not spread everywhere kind of way. It is a simple and powerful tool that helps you protect time for focus work and switch off at the right hours. Every organization should promote this as a tool to get more productive. Time is one of the most valuable assets in the workplace.
Focus is a skill. It is also a calendar habit. I live by my calendar. If it’s not in there, it’s not happening.
Viva Insights makes time management so much easier with three things I use every week:
- Focus time that books real calendar slots
- Quiet hours that mute work notifications across your devices
- Lunch hours, because we all need a break, not just working lunches and lunch meetings
Add these three and your days feel calmer and easier to manage. It is a small step that pays off fast, if you have a workplace culture worth mentioning.
How to configure Viva Insights
There are many ways to set this up. Either through the Viva Insights app in Teams or in the Classic Outlook client, but the easiest is most likely through the web ever since Microsoft released the Viva portal that gives you access to all things Viva. Head on over there and launch Viva Insights, or browse directly to the Insights portal https://insights.cloud.microsoft.
Since the starting page could have different layouts depending on if you have accessed it before or not, I suggest using the settings menu that can be accessed by clicking the three dots that represents more option and selecting “Settings” from the menu that opens up.
Work Week
First of, you really should configure your work week unless you have already done this in, for instance, Outlook. This is the base of your availability in the unified Microsoft 365 calendar. If you do change anything, make sure to click “Save changes”.
Protect time
In the left hand navigation, move down to “Protect time”. This is where all the good parts are. Between meetings, chats and endless emails it can feel impossible to get real work done. Viva Insights gives you a way to change that. With just a few clicks you can protect three of the most important parts of your day
Quiet Time
Quiet time, sometimes called Quiet Hours, will mute work notifications across all your devices after the schedule you set. You can even mute them for an entire day if you like. It is one of the easiest ways to make sure your free time stays yours. Perfect if you work in a multinational team, or if your colleagues tend to keep different office hours than you and are unaware of the “Send later” feature in Outlook and Teams.
Pick the start and end times that fit your schedule, and choose any days you want completely quiet. When you are done, just hit “Save Changes”.
Lunch Hours
Another small but powerful feature in Viva Insights is Lunch hours. Here you can set your regular lunch break and even add a recurring calendar event to protect that time. It sounds simple, but it is a great way to make sure you actually step away from the desk and actually block people with different schedules from claiming your lunch break for a meeting.
When you are done, make sure to select “Add a recurring calendar event to protect this time” is selected and click “Save changes” to make sure that your lunch is safely blocked in your calendar going forward.
Focus Time
Focus time is not a suggestion. It is a “meeting” with yourself and your most important work. If you see a colleague with Focus time in the calendar, treat it like any other booked slot. If you must find a spot for a meeting, ask first before scheduling over it. Bonus points if you offer a different time and a coffee.
Click “Get Started” to do just that.
First, decide how long you want each Focus time block to be. You can pick 1, 2, or 4 hours per day. Once you have made your choice, click “Next” to continue.
Second, choose when you want your Focus time to happen. Do you prefer mornings, when your mind is fresh, or afternoons, when things have calmed down? Pick the option that works best for you, then click “Next” to move on.
Third, decide if you want to mute your Teams notifications during Focus time. If you have set up colleagues who can bypass your mute, their messages will still come through. Turning on mute is usually a smart move when you need to concentrate. Fewer distractions means better focus and better work.
Lastly, you will see an overview of the choices you made. Here you can adjust, reset, or even leave the plan if you want to. Once confirmed, Viva Insights will start adding Focus time blocks to your calendar for the coming two weeks on a rolling basis. If your calendar is already packed, do not worry. Insights will never book over existing meetings.
When you put all this together with Focus time, Quiet hours and even Lunch hours, you give yourself a real opportunity to focus on your work instead of being constantly pulled into meetings. You can concentrate on what matters, and by using these features you give yourself the structure you need to protect your time. Your calendar actually becomes your ally instead of just a long list of appointments. The best part is that all of these settings are included in the Viva Insights version that is bundled with your Enterprise license. And if your organization has a full Viva license, you get access to even more goodies that can help improve wellbeing, productivity and collaboration.
Workplace culture matters too. If your colleagues ignore your calendar and schedule meetings without checking your availability, then that is a separate issue that needs to be addressed.
The tools can help, but respect for each other’s time is what makes them work.
