Taming the Ambush Session 2: Workload Management

 Introducing Taming the Ambush

Taming the Ambush is a series of sequential workshops from Taming the Tiger Academy designed to help people overcome digital overwhelm and overload and to focus on the meaningful work in our ever changing and distracted world.

We teach practical, real‑world digital skills to help your team conquer their inbox, manage workload, collaborate properly, and use Microsoft 365 tools the way they were designed to be used. That means fewer mistakes, fewer delays, and fewer things landing back on the boss’s desk.

Every SME owner we speak to tells us the same three things:

1. Their team is drowning in emails and notifications.
2. People are busy all day but the meaningful work doesn’t move forward.
3. They’re paying for Microsoft 365 tools that nobody is using properly, so the business isn’t running efficiently.

This training programme will help you tackle exactly that and give you:

• 4 to 6 hours of time reclaimed per person, per week
• 30 to 40% less email noise
• Fewer firefighting emergencies
• Better customer responsiveness
• A calmer, more productive team who know exactly how to focus on the right work, not just more work.

 Session 2: Workload Management

This practical, hands-on session helps participants build a trusted digital workload management system beyond the inbox. It shows people how to capture work from multiple sources, clarify what needs action, organise information properly, and review projects and programmes so nothing important gets lost.

At its core, the course helps participants move from scattered notes, loose tasks, unread messages and half-remembered commitments into a calm, repeatable system using proven methodologies.

Attendees will leave with a practical approach for processing workload, managing projects, building a personal digital reference library and reviewing their commitments regularly so they can focus on the work that matters most.

 Course Overview

Participants are guided step-by-step through a practical workload management system, including:

• Recapping the Inbox Zero system and extending it beyond email
• Capturing workload from emails, Teams messages, meetings, notes, calls, ideas and other sources
• Using a proven system to process to clarify, organise and review commitments
• Introducing Microsoft OneNote as a personal “second brain” for notes, ideas, actions and reference material
• Building a digital reference library using a proven methodology
• Reviewing projects and programmes through daily, weekly and longer-term review routines

Who This Course Is For

The course is suitable for anyone who has already started to improve their email management but still feels overwhelmed by the wider workload: tasks coming from meetings, conversations, Teams messages, documents, projects, ideas and ongoing responsibilities. It is especially useful for people managing multiple projects, programmes, stakeholders or areas of responsibility who need a clearer system for deciding what to do, what to park, what to reference and what to review.

 Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, attendees will:

• Understand how to capture everything that has their attention using a small number of trusted collectors
• Know how to process workload using a simple decision-making system
• Be able to use Microsoft OneNote more effectively for notes, meeting records, actions, templates, attachments and reference material
• Set up the beginnings of a digital reference library
• Break down larger pieces of work into clearer projects, next actions and supporting notes
• Build a weekly review habit to keep tasks, projects, waiting-for items and future ideas current

Crucially, the training is applied in real time, with participants working through practical examples, setting up their own OneNote structure, and learning how to connect their inbox, task list, calendar and reference material into one coherent workload system.

Course Duration & Format

This is an instructor-led, half-day session designed to be delivered face to face, with practical demonstrations, guided setup activities and worked examples that help participants apply the system to their own workload during the session.

Prerequisites

This session works best for attendees who have already completed Session 1: Inbox Zero and Email Management, or who already have a basic system for processing email and tasks.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, mouse and charger so they can follow the practical exercises during the session and begin setting up their own workload management system.

What You’ll Get

Course materials will be provided during and after the session. During the training, attendees will work through practical exercises to capture workload, process commitments, structure OneNote, organise information and review projects and programmes. They will also receive templates and supporting resources, along with follow-up support and access to the trainer after the session.

Trainer

Our trainer is a productivity and workload-management specialist with over 25 years of experience across both public and private sectors.

Having worked inside environments overwhelmed by digital demands – high email volumes, back-to-back meetings, and constant distractions – he saw first-hand how attention, clarity and meaningful work were being squeezed out of everyday operations.

To stay afloat, he developed practical systems and habits that helped him regain control of delivery, improve focus, and reduce cognitive overload. As colleagues noticed his transformation, they began requesting support, eventually leading him to partner with his Organisational Development team to run training sessions.

His long-term ambition is a revolutionise the way teams handle their workloads in ways aligned with how human attention truly functions. This includes moving away from chaotic inbox-driven communication toward clearer, subject-based workflows and empowering staff to focus on what matters most.