Having the best productivity tools is key to completing your workload efficiently. For simple daily tasks, you don’t need a task management app. That’s why I use Sticky Notes to get everything done.

Take Quick Notes and Screenshots

Note-taking is far more reliable than solely relying on memory. Whether you are researching a topic or attending a meeting via Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, Sticky Notes makes it easy to write down the important details with three standout features.

The first feature is the option to pin the sticky note on top of other windows so you always have it handy when taking a quick note. To do that, click the pin icon in the top bar of a sticky note. Before we got the new Sticky Notes app, you need enable Always On Top mode in PowerToys to pin the sticky note and other windows to the top.

The second feature is Sticky Note’s ability to automatically include source links in the notes. This happens when you create a new sticky note while a webpage is open in your browser. A clickable link appears at the top that takes you to the webpage whenever you need to view the information on the site again.

The third feature is the built in screenshot function. You can take screenshots from within the Sticky Notes app and automatically place them in a new note. This is a good way to quickly capture important information without typing. To do that, click the “Screenshot” in the bottom menu of a sticky note.

Create To-Do Lists

Sometimes, it helps to have a checklist handy when you’re working on a task. Like real-life sticky notes, the Sticky Notes app allows you to create simple to-do lists.

To do that, press the dash key (-) or enter a number (for numbered list) and then hit the Space bar. You can even click “Bullets”—the bullet list icon—in the bottom menu to create a bulleted list. When you type a list item from now on and hit the Enter key, it will be part of the list.

You can pin the sticky note on top to always have it in view to keep track of the items you have completed. You can cross an item off the list by highlighting it and clicking “Strikethrough”—the S with a horizontal line through the middle—in the bottom menu.

Manage and Organize Tasks

Sticky Notes does not have a built-in way to set the priority of a task. If it were Asana or Trello, you would use tags and labels to prioritize tasks.

Instead, you can color-code the notes to separate tasks by importance in Sticky Notes. For instance, green for low-priority tasks and red for urgent ones. You can change the color of a note by clicking the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and selecting one of the available colors.

When a task is complete, you can delete it by clicking the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and selecting “Delete” in the menu.

Create a Persistent Reminder

If you have an important task to complete that day, it’s a good idea to use a sticky note as a persistent reminder. You can easily create a note that says Do X by 4 PM today, pin that note to the top, and place it somewhere visible but out of the way (e.g., the top-left corner of the desktop).

A sticky note might lack a sound alert, but its constant visibility can reinforce the task naturally without interrupting your flow. If you want to create a timed reminder, you can schedule a custom notification in Task Scheduler. Just copy and paste the contents of the note into the task. You can also easily set up a reminder in Microsoft To Do.

Use Sticky Notes With OneNote Mobile

The beauty of the Sticky Notes app is that it syncs with the OneNote mobile app. This allows you to access and manage your tasks on the go. You will find all your sticky notes on the home page of OneNote.

If you have too many notebooks, you can filter the list so you only see sticky notes. To do that, tap the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and select the “Filter & Sort” option. In the pop-up, select the “Sticky Notes” option and tap “Done” in the top-right.

Sticky Notes combines simplicity with functionality to help you with daily task management. With features like quick note-taking, to-do lists, and cross-device syncing, this simple built-in tool can be added to your workflow, allowing you to get more done in a day.