Every morning when I come into the office, I start my e-mail (Outlook) session to see what new work or requests I’ve received since I checked my work-provided BlackBerry overnight and just minutes before in the car. I usually receive approx. 100 emails overnight and 300+ daily.
My technique is to scan for specific names and e-mails that were sent directly to me vs. carbon copy. I use personal folders to file project e-mails that I have completed or projects that I want to keep for future reference. E-mails that require my attention, I leave them in my Inbox and flag them as “unread” so they stand out. Sometimes, I put a task reminder to alert me the next day to perform a specific action; therefore my Outlook Inbox becomes my to-do list. I can sort my Inbox by sender, date/time, and size. I usually sort by sender when I am searching for a specific message. When I flag an e-mail as an Outlook Task, the message is placed in an action Task List with due dates. Outlook is very powerful, but I know I am only using 10% of its capability. I want to hear from you – what are some of your MS Outlook productivity tips?
Tammy Prather says:
October 2, 2009 at 11:48 am
I utilize color coding that’s assigned to a senders name so those emails stand out immediately (for instance – red may be assigned to a supervisor)
Gary says:
October 2, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Priscilla,
Like you, my inbox is my to-do list.
I use a few other “tricks” to help stay organized.
by using flags it helps me organize my tasks… for example:
Red flag is for any items that I am waiting for a response on from someone else before I can move forward.
Green, is for any contests… i found that if I file these away in my personal file, then its out of site and out of mind, but when I flag them I can keep them top of mind.
Yellow, is for any items for future projects… where I have collected data in advance of the next step. Once all the data is recieved I can move to the next step in the plan.
Blue, important future dates / events / or materials
Overall, the color of the flag is not important but to be able to effectively group items saves me from having to read through all the emails to find the ones I am working on.
I hope you found this helpful…
Living with a BIG Vision!
GH
Rose RedNeckWitch @ NetWorkingWitches says:
October 6, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I often use keywords to search my inbox, and I too am guilty of OE checking as soon as I look at the laptop.
Janet Carpenter says:
October 6, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I use folders and message rules to help me pre-sort my emails. I set up rules so that emails from specific senders will go directly into their folder. I know by the sender whether it is urgent (a boss, child etc) or can wait until I get time in the evening to read ie cooking blog posts. The folder name is highlighted when there is a new message, so I know with a glance whether I’ve received an email from someone or not.
Execumama says:
October 7, 2009 at 9:37 am
Great post! I’m actually working on a “Why Outlook Rocks!” post this week! I’m a serious Outlook junkie, and it’s a great way to stay on top of tasks that can otherwise become overwhelming. I love the automatic “flag as task” feature too!!
Michelle says:
October 7, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thank GOODNESS that I don’t have to use Outlook anymore. We are allowed to use Gmail. I can’t survive without Gmail’s simple tagging system.
MissingLynxx says:
October 9, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I sometimes still use Outlook but I feel gmail is getting better and better. I use ASAP a lot for really important emails that I can sort through later.
Melissa Multitasking Mama says:
October 9, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I do the same thing, inbox = to-do list! Thanks for the tips!
Miranda Johnson says:
October 9, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Don’t use Outlook. Haven’t in years b/c of problems. Probably computer related though.
May have to try again when my new computer comes in. (won from @KidzChores on twitter!)