Our first use of Microsoft Outlook was in 1997, when we discovered it wrapped in relative obscurity within the release of Office 97. We were all happy to get the upgraded versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but none of us really knew anything about the "Little Program That Could."
Back in the mid-90s, our e-mail was handled down in the basement somewhere, our calendars were in neat little spiral binders, to-do lists on scraps of paper, and contacts managed in bundles of business cards wrapped in rubber bands. Someone suggested managing our e-mail in Outlook, and we began to discover what a powerful program it can be.
So we thought we would share a few tips (in no particular order) that have really made us more efficient (and still seem to surprise people).
Tip 1: Drag and Drop
A common feature in computing, you can drag almost anything in Outlook to another location, creating a new entity. Click on an e-mail from someone new and drag it to the Contacts bar—voila, a new contact is created with name and e-mail address in place, and the content from the e-mail in the notes section. Using the same logic, drag a Contact onto the Calendar bar to create a meeting. Drag an e-mail onto the Tasks bar and assign it to someone else (our personal favorite). Experiment—it works everywhere.
Tip 2: Make Better Use of Categories
You probably know all about using Categories, but do you use them everywhere? It's great to be able to see calendar entries or to-do's and tell at a glance how they are assigned. Use Microsoft's suggestions or create your own. Set your own colors to denote individual projects, clients or whatever will help the most. We tend to categorize by client type (Planner+Corporate) and by project.
Tip 3: Color Code
Go to Tools/Organize and try out Using Colors. Inbound e-mails can automatically be assigned a color based on your preferences. Click on Automatic Formatting to get more granular, but basically it becomes very handy to glance at your inbox and let text colors help prioritize. The Organize commands work in the other areas as well, just a bit differently. Calendar, Contacts and Tasks organize more by category.
Tip 4: Views
Views are huge in Outlook, and little understood. You can get started in Tools/Organize in any section. Change the way Outlook displays Calendar entries to only show active events, or show only unread e-mail. Contacts gives you a quick way to change views in the left margin as well.
The ultimate in Views, however, is the ability to define whole new views. Outlook is really just a big database, and you can add your own fields and display data the way you wish to see it. We have used it in Contacts to define a project pipeline, for instance. In Contacts go to View/Current View/Define Views. You can copy or modify an existing view (Address Cards, for instance), and have it display exactly what you need. Add spouse name? No problem; just select that View, click Modify, click Fields and add it from the long list of available fields. Can't find the field you need? It's simple to add new ones in User Defined Fields.
Tip 5: Start to be Productive
Just started doing this one thanks to Robert Wagner from Priority Management. Set up Outlook to start in Calendar mode rather than in your Inbox. What you have to get accomplished is more important than the e-mails waiting for you. Review your Calendar and To Do Bar first, get organized, and then start wading through the rest. He also suggests telling the To Do Bar to set up by Task Start Date rather than Due Date. Makes perfect sense, but almost everyone arranges by date due.
Tip 6: Keyboard Commands
Sure, you've got the fastest mouse around, but keystrokes are quicker. There are a ton, but the most useful may be just getting things filed into folders. When reviewing an e-mail, move it to its appropriate folder by pressing Shift/Ctrl/V. That brings up the Move Items window. Type in the first couple of letters of the folder name, and/or use the Page Up/Page Down, and/or arrow keys. Right arrow opens a folder, left arrow closes it. Hit Enter and get to the next item quickly.
Tip 7: Eliminate Annoying Addresses
Ever send a rogue e-mail to someone because Outlook guessed wrong once you started typing an address? Start typing in the To: field, and if Outlook presents a list, you can use the down arrow key to highlight and delete e-mail addresses you don't want it to remember.
Tip 8: Make Sure You're Synched
With most smartphones able to link in easily to Outlook (and Exchange servers for institutional files), there are few excuses not to have all of your e-mail, contacts and calendar synchronized between phone and computer.
Tip 9: Maps and Calls
Contacts contain a little Map icon that nobody seems to notice. Click it and it provides a map of the Contact's address. Next door is the Call icon. Click it and you can dial directly from your computer, but you can also create a call log, time the call and add notes.
Tip 10: Try Some Plug-ins?
This can be a little risky, as not all play nicely, but we have downloaded and use plug-ins from LinkedIn, which brings those connections into Outlook. GoToMeeting launches directly from Outlook with a plug-in, creating a calendar entry with all log-in information and sends to all participants. Microsoft's own plug-in for backing up your personal folder can also be useful.
If you already use all or most of these tips, you're doing better than most. If you've got some great tips of your own, share them with us and we'll get them posted. We can change everyone's Outlook for the better.
The father/daughter/son team of Jeff Rasco, Christina Rasco Adams and Layton Rasco are partners in Attendee Management Inc., a registration services company based in Wimberley, Texas. Always looking for ways to gain efficiencies and effectiveness, they stay on the lookout for new technologies and ways of intelligent application to the global meeting and event community. They can be reached at talkingtech@attendeenet.com.
