Microsoft Office declares Get it Done Day!

Like many of you, I woke up today with a full “to-do” list. 30-minute commute, 8 a.m. meeting in the office, back-to-back meetings including a Lync video call with my team in San Francisco, 150 (and growing) unread emails in my inbox, a long list of Yammer conversations to catch up on, and somehow I need to squeeze in time for a workout and plan that family winter vacation.

Sound familiar? It should, my day is a lot like yours and millions of others who are juggling busy personal and professional lives. Our always on, always connected lifestyles mean our to-do lists never stop growing, while time seems to move faster, with the lines between our work and personal lives blurring more than ever before.

In fact, in a new study conducted by Harris Interactive, over half (55%) of office workers said they are expected to be able to get work done no matter where they are, and more than one third (37%) said they do their best thinking outside of the office. The study also uncovered some surprising things people would do to accomplish more from wherever they are–like take a pay cut or give up vacation. This is a strong signal about the shifts in play in the workplace and the trends employers have to pay attention to if they want to attract, motivate and retain the best and the brightest people, today and moving forward.

That’s why Microsoft is declaring November 7 Get It Done Day. A day to spark action among people looking to balance life’s demands, on their own terms, whether they’re the chief financial officer or the chief family officer. Today, we’re celebrating what’s truly possible when busy people meet productivity tools that get the job done. From anywhere. Offline or online. On a PC, tablet, Mac or phone.

Take, for example, Jo-ann Olsovsky of BNSF Railway Co. Jo-ann and her team chose Office 365 for more than 40,000 employees (90% of which are mobile) because it provides the modern tools they need to bridge generation gaps, work from anywhere, and across multiple devices. Office 365 will help keep the trains running on time, literally.

So what gives Microsoft the right to boldly declare this day? We wrote the book on getting things done (in Word no less). Along the way, we’ve become experts on all the things that can stop things from getting done – the enemies of done. You know them. We hate them.

Maybe you’ve experienced it while at the doctor’s office and the WiFi doesn’t work. Or on a business trip when you forgot to save the report to your mobile device. With Office 365, you can work offline, sync later and turn down time into done time. Or instead of waiting for someone to email them to you, access your documents securely from any device with SkyDrive Pro.

Over a billion people–that’s 1 in 7 on the planet–rely on the familiar experience of Office to get things done. We love that, and we’ve learned so much about what it takes to help people be truly productive. But the world is changing, and Office is changing too. Now in the cloud, Office 365 brings familiar tools, reinvented and built around the way people want to work today. Flexibly. Responsive. On the go. On multiple devices. It’s getting strong traction around the world–Office 365 Home Premium has over two million subscribers, Office 365 is officially Microsoft’s fastest growing commercial product ever, 60% of the Fortune 500 companies have purchased Office 365 in the last 12 months…and we’re just getting started!

Since the service began rolling out earlier this year, we’ve delivered over 100 new Office 365 features to people and businesses. Today, we’re announcing new ones, including updates for Office Web Apps, Yammer, Power BI and household sharing for Office 365 Home Premium. We will continue to deliver subscription value with new Office 365 features and capabilities designed to help people get things done, from anywhere–without compromise–all with the privacy, security and trusted brand of Microsoft behind them.

So, are you ready to get it done? If so, we want to hear from you! Join in the action by visiting www.Office.com/getitdone and sharing via #GetItDone how you get things done with Office and Office 365. Editing a kid’s school paper in SkyDrive while riding the morning commuter train? Show us. Using OneNote to capture a speaker’s key points and share it with your team while on a business trip in Paris? We want to see the Eiffel Tower in the background.

We hear all the time how companies are benefiting from Office 365, and now it’s time to hear from you about what’s possible when people are empowered to untether themselves and their ideas. Office 365 is not the Office you used to know–we want to hear how you’re getting it done, anywhere, in the cloud, on your phone, on your tablet, on your PC, via video, via social, offline, online, and even at the beach!