Most people use OneNote as a digital dumping ground. Meeting notes, screenshots, and random thoughts get piled into pages that are never looked at again.
But if you use Tags correctly, OneNote transforms from a simple notebook into a powerful project management engine.
The Problem: “Where did I write that down?”
You are managing 3 different projects. You sit in 12 meetings a week. You write down “Action Item: Email Sarah” in a meeting note on Tuesday. By Friday, that note is buried under 15 other pages. You forget to email Sarah.
The Solution: Custom Tags + Find Tags
OneNote’s “Find Tags” feature is its best-kept secret. It scrapes every notebook you have open and creates a dynamic dashboard of action items.
Step 1: Stop using Bullet Points
Instead of using a standard bullet point for a task, use a Tag.
* Ctrl + 1 applies the “To Do” checkbox.
* Ctrl + 2 applies the “Important” star.
* Ctrl + 3 applies the “Question” mark.
Pro Tip: Create Custom Tags.
Go to the Home ribbon -> Tags dropdown -> Customize Tags.
Create a tag called “Critical Blocker” and assign it a red icon.
Step 2: The “Summary Page” Magic
This is where the magic happens.
1. Click Find Tags on the Home ribbon (or Assigned Tags in some versions).
2. A pane opens on the right showing every tagged item across all your notebooks.
3. Group them by “Tag Name”.
4. Click “Create Summary Page”.
OneNote instantly builds a fresh page containing every unchecked “To Do” item from every project, with a hyperlink back to the original meeting note context.
Step 3: The Project Dashboard Strategy
For project managers, I recommend this tagging structure:
1. [ ] To Do (Standard task)
2. [?] Decision Needed (For stakeholder meetings)
3. [*] Risk/Blocker (For escalation)
During your Monday morning planning, run a “Find Tags” search for “Decision Needed.” You now have your agenda for the stakeholder meeting ready to go, pulled from the chaos of your daily notes.
Conclusion
You don’t always need a complex tool like Jira or Planner for personal task management. Sometimes, you just need to be able to find what you wrote down. OneNote Tags bridge that gap perfectly.