Ongoing agenda and action items for Meetings

I too feel that Loop is like an island that is difficult to integrate into recurring meetings for projects and other continuous topics. I see where Loop is trying to integrate with other tools like Planner, but it feels like the Loop canvas is too wide open, too much white space, retaining meeting history would cause a long Loop page, so it does not provide continuity from one project meeting to the next.

I have been frustrated trying to figure out how to use the different Microsoft products in a cohesive way for the typical work streams that unfold over time. MS Project feels too cumbersome, not nimble enough, when managing all of the team's work and project of all sizes. Here is what I have been using lately for my team and project management needs to get by.

Meetings: Outlook and Teams

Meeting agenda preparation, sharing agenda/topic list live in meeting, taking notes while in the meeting, and sharing minutes afterwards:  I have been using OneNote. In order to retain the history I will use a new dated page for each meeting, copy the notes from last meeting, then edit for the upcoming meeting. I can take notes during the meeting. It's pretty flexible. You can use tags like the To Do checkbox, Issues tag, and run the tag finder report if using the desktop app (does not work in browser version). You can also add the OneNote page(s) to the Teams channel used for your project (or however you have structured Teams sites and channels)

Project Tasks, Issues, Assignments: I like the layout of Outlook To Do but Planner has additional flexibility allowing you to move tasks between lists. To Do and Planner are integrated so you can switch between the two and see the same content. I like that flagged emails show up in both. The premium version of Planner is getting closer to being a full-featured MS Project. Planner is missing a way to add issues to milestones/tasks, but you can use checklist or subtasks as a substitute. I wish Planner had an option for compact view so there was not so much space between task rows (scroll, scroll). You can also add Planner plans to your Teams channel.

So in Teams, on your project channel, you can end up with a place to post messages, a place for files/docs, a OneNote section for notes, and Planner task tracker. This sort of becomes project central.

In the past, I have used other software that had all of these features as part of the same tool. With the above, I feel like I am stitching everything together, swiveling between the different products to get the features I need for cohesive project work. It works ok.

I'd love to hear how others are making it work.