The purpose of microsoft outlook

Rules help this process by moving messages into folders based on criteria that you set. Rules filter the messages coming into your Inbox for must-read items only.

You can see who has accepted by checking the tracking tab inside the meeting window. Defer Sent Items This rule delays sending messages by one minute or longer. When using this rule, make sure that your messages have been sent before you shut down your computer. Multiple Contact Groups that are similar should use the same rule and be filed in the same folder. Any messages that you must read should go directly into your Inbox.

The To-Do Bar is the panel on the right side of Outlook. It shows you a calendar, your upcoming appointments, and your unified task list, which contains:.

Show favorite contacts. The default arrangement for tasks is by Due Date, but you might consider changing the arrangement to Start Date, depending upon how you use flags. If you want to see the tasks that you have pushed out for next week on Monday, arrange by Start Date.

If you want to see tasks on the day that they are due, arrange by Due Date. If you receive a lot of messages or are easily distracted by the notification sound that plays for incoming messages, we recommend turning off the following options:. The new mail pop-up alerts. To change these settings, select the File button, select Options , and then select Mail. Categories in Outlook allow you to manage items in many different ways.

There are three main types of categories that we recommend creating:. For example, they can help you more easily identify what you can do now and help you group similar tasks so that you can do them all at once. Each of your direct reports and your manager for items that you want to review the next time you meet for example, a category named Manager.

Each of the major locations or types of activities that you do, so that you can perform bulk actions a useful part of managing your tasks , for example:. Commute for tasks that you can do on the way home from work. Email for tasks that involve email messages, meetings, or any other aspect of Outlook. Meeting for items that you need in order to prepare for a meeting. Offline for tasks that take you away from the computer, such as making a copy of a document.

Online for tasks that you can accomplish only online or through a Web browser. Read for tasks that involve just reading — not responding. Waiting for messages or tasks for which you are awaiting a response, but there is no explicit next action for you. Note: Using the symbol makes the categories stand out in your category list. Marking before certain categories helps to keep these categories at the top of your category list and reminds you of where you should be when you are performing this task for example, Phone is "at the phone".

Each important topic or project so that you can easily find messages on a given topic — especially if there is no word in the body or subject of the message that would make it appear in a search. You can apply multiple categories to a single item — as opposed to filing, where items can live in only one folder at a time.

For example, an important message that you want to discuss with your manager before you respond might be categorized with both the Email category and the Manager category.

As you will see, categories help messages and tasks stand out in your To-Do Bar, make searching more efficient, and help you get ready for meetings. Note: Be very careful about categorizing your outgoing messages — your recipients might be able to see your categories. Quick Steps give you the ability to perform multiple actions in one click. They are a useful tool to help you keep a clean inbox and to generally be more efficient at using Outlook. Any time you find yourself repeatedly doing the same steps in Outlook, try creating a Quick Step.

For more information, see Automate common or repetitive tasks with Quick Steps :. In addition to Quick Steps listed above, depending upon your job and your general day to day activities, you might want to create the following types of Quick Steps:.

You categorize many of your messages before you file them to help you find them later. Create one per category you use often. You are flagging things for different dates, such as Tomorrow, This Week, etc. Create one per flag you use often. You use a few categories to help you understand what context your tasks are. Example: Read: Flags for tomorrow, categorizes with Read category. You receive some messages from Contact Groups in your Inbox due to rules, inadvertently.

Example: You have a rule to file all messages from Contact Group foo into a folder, unless it has the word bar anywhere in the body. After you start creating Quick Steps, you will find that there might be other ways that you can optimize the number of clicks required to get something done. Whenever you find yourself doing the same thing repeatedly, try creating a Quick Step. And as projects change, update your Quick Steps so that they are only the things you really do.

Once you set up your system, you are ready to begin managing incoming messages. By making your Inbox the central place for receiving important messages, you can go through it with the confidence that each item is something you need to deal with.

If you need to do it, but it takes longer than two minutes including reading , defer hold off on it. If you need it as reference even if you have decided to defer it , move it into your reference folder. The goal is to reduce the number of times you touch each message.

If you never want to receive another message as part of this conversation, ignore it. For example, many messages can be responded to in two minutes or less. But if a message takes longer than two minutes to deal with, defer it. To get a sense of what two minutes feels like, try timing yourself. File it in one of your reference folders for example, 1-Reference using a Quick Step.

To keep a record of the things that you have done, especially for the purposes of reflection around the time of annual reviews or for preparing reports, use the Done Quick Step, which also marks messages as completed. Sometimes you receive a message that is really meant for someone else to deal with. In these cases, reply and include the person you're delegating the message to on the To line.

If you find you're doing this often, consider creating a Quick Step that replies and adds the delegated person to the To line. If you want to follow up later, flag it for yourself before sending. In your To-Do Bar, mark the task with the Waiting category.

If you will need to refer to the message more than once and you want easy access to it, drag it to the Later group in the To-Do Bar.

If you find that you are repeatedly applying the same categories and flags, create a new Quick Step that flags, categorizes, and files. Once an item has been flagged, it will appear in the To-Do Bar. By flagging it and filing it into your reference folder, you have processed it, and now you can move it out of your view. Change the name of the task by selecting it in the To-Do Bar or right clicking on it and selecting Rename Task. You can also add a category to help you see at a glance where your next action is.

A quick glance at your To-Do Bar with categorized tasks lets you know what is immediately actionable Office , which tasks you are waiting on other people for Waiting , and what you will be meeting about Meeting. After you process your messages, you can tackle your task list.

This is when you respond to those messages that you have deferred. A good example is a message with instructions. File these messages in your reference folder 1-Reference by selecting your Reference Quick Step.

Adding a category will make the message easier to find later if you need it for example, Project. Do this before filing with your Quick Step. After you finish processing your messages, you should have a clean Inbox and can switch your focus to your calendar and tasks. This includes:. As you review your calendar and your task list, be realistic about what you can accomplish.

Sometimes that means saying no. Here are some ways to gain back time by saying no:. Send messages to let people know that you are working on a response and make sure to flag it for yourself on send. The reality is that if you have a day filled with meetings, you have less time to complete tasks and write messages, so move tasks to other days.

As you go through your calendar and tasks, inevitably you will start thinking of more things you need to do. Here are some ways to create tasks in Outlook:. If you are in a meeting, take notes in OneNote. Flagged items in OneNote appear in the Outlook task list. Add tasks as they come to you by typing in the Type a new task box in the To-Do Bar or in the top of Task list, in a blank space in the Daily Task List, or by selecting New Task in the ribbon.

Clean out tasks that you don't need to do. For flagged messages that you want to keep, select Remove from List , otherwise, just Delete. Make tasks more actionable by changing the task subject of a flagged message. To change the task subject, select the item in the To-Do Bar and type a new subject or right click, and then select Rename Task.

Only the subject you see in your task list changes. Create and assign color categories to help you identify where you need to be to take the next step and to make some tasks stand out. Rearrange your tasks to group together similar tasks, such as tasks with the same category. To move a task, select the task in the task list and drag it. In this way, you can work on similar tasks together. For tasks that will take some time, drag the tasks onto the calendar to set aside time to get these tasks done.

The process of managing your task list shouldn't take over your life! As part of good time management, you need time to deal with your messages, manage your appointments and tasks, and reflect on what you have to do. You can schedule this time for yourself with regular appointments and meetings on your calendar. Your calendar should be treated as your real plan for your time — if you have scheduled it, then that is what you are committed to doing at that time. Deal with your messages.

Setting aside time to deal with messages is especially important if you receive a lot of messages. Even if you have rules set up so that only the important messages appear in your Inbox, you still need time to deal with those messages.

Tip: When processing and reading your messages, remove visual clutter by minimizing the Navigation Pane and To-Do Bar by selecting the Reading button in the status bar. To go back to everything open, select Normal just to the left of Reading.

Do a daily and weekly review of your tasks and appointments. Look at your calendar and tasks, and evaluate your appointments and tasks against your priorities. If you have a busy calendar, this is the time for:. Reflecting on what you're doing, whether it's a valuable use of your time, and whether you're setting the right priorities.

Meet regularly with your manager. Regular meetings with your manager can help you explain what you are working on and reset priorities where needed. To set up a regular or recurring meeting, select Recurrence. Looking at the whole picture of your time and your tasks will help you to prioritize important work over less urgent tasks.

Reviewing your past week and upcoming week is also a useful way to help you prepare for a weekly meeting with your manager or help you prepare a status email message. After you have processed your messages, the best place to do work in Outlook reply to messages and so on is in Tasks. As you go through your task list and your calendar, do similar tasks together. For example, if you have only a few minutes, make all of your phone calls if you have just a few.

Tackle energy-intensive tasks for some, that might be responding to messages when you have more energy. Deal with your low-energy tasks, such as reading status messages, later in the day or whenever your energy is lower.

By "bulk processing" your tasks, you will make progress on all of your projects simultaneously. To do this, select the Arranged By heading, and then select Categories. Note: If you have tasks that are blocking other people from getting their work done, do those tasks first. As you finish your tasks, mark them complete. Outlook keeps the list of your completed tasks automatically. This can be a useful summary of what you've accomplished. If you don't need to keep a record of the task or the message, delete it or clear the flag.

If you have a lot of work to do, consider going offline to stem the tide of incoming message distractions. When you switch between working online and offline, all email accounts within your Outlook profile are changed.

If you want to find a message from a particular person, select the Search box in any folder, and then on the Search tab, select From. Or, start by typing the name in the Search box, and then press the down arrow key to select From to narrow the results. To find a message with an attachment, select the Search box and on the Search tab, select Has Attachments. All search terms are additive, so if you want to find a message from someone with attachments, select the commands on the ribbon From , Has Attachments to build your search.

In these cases, start by searching in any folder Inbox , 1-Reference , etc. If you suspect that what you are looking for might be in an accepted meeting request and therefore is on your calendar , try selecting All Outlook Items.

If you find that you are often performing searches across your whole mailbox, you can set the default search scope to always search across all folders by going to the Backstage view.

Email archiving is nothing new. Here are five benefits to using an email archiving solution:. When you consider an email archiving solution , remember to research providers and select one that will deliver a user-friendly solution that keeps you in control and maintains high standards of security and reliability.

Download the Exchange Online capabilities guide , or get the free eBook,9, surefire ways to look professional with email. Marin is part of the marketing team at Microsoft. Recipients simply click a voting button within the e-mail message to send their responses. Since Microsoft Office is the market leader in productivity software, the Outlook user interface is familiar to users, cutting down on the learning curve.

That can save a bundle in training costs. Outlook includes an address book, calendar, task list and virtual sticky notes. All pieces are integrated; dragging and dropping an e-mail message can create an appointment or a task or a note. Tasks may be delegated with a click or two. And with the purchase of the version containing Microsoft Business Contact Manager, Outlook becomes a business in a box for a small enterprise.

Yes, I know Microsoft has a bad reputation on the security front. But Outlook , in particular, has good junk mail filtering as long as you keep it up-to-date , blocks external content such as web bugs and downloaded images and data from foreign sites, disallows executable attachments and prevents the execution of ActiveX applets, by default. You can bypass the security if you like, but it has to be a conscious decision.

Several accounts using different protocols including POP3 and IMAP can feed into the same set of folders, and be managed with one set of rules. Or, if you prefer, they can be sorted into separate folders by account.

You choose. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it all comes down to picking the right tool for the job, and that job is primarily e-mail.