In this post, I share my approach to using Microsoft Outlook to achieve more. Even if you are not an Outlook fan, I think you will find some useful hints and tips to apply in your environment too.
Calendar: the time master plan
The calendar is my dashboard for time, the most precious resource.
The rationale is explained in my article about my time management practice. In short, I see no value in having anything above and beyond these four categories. It does not matter what part of my job, my business, my personal, or my family time a calendar entry refers to. What matters is that I blocked this piece of time to do something and the category tells me how I use the time.
Every time commitment in my calendar is assigned to one of the four categories: important and urgent”, “important”, “urgent”, and “other” (i.e., neither important nor urgent).
Here is how I configure the Microsoft Outlook “Categories” using four simple colors:
Tasks: none
I have been an avid user of task lists. Not anymore. Tasks in Microsoft Outlook is always empty for me.
I understand this may sound a bit radical to you. I came up with this approach after observing that an (endless) task list is a constant source of distraction and stress for me. It splits my planning attention into two places, where I always have to monitor, catch up, and align.
Every task is immediately scheduled in my calendar with an estimated block of time for it. My reasoning is that to complete a task, I must devote time. Even if it is for reading an interesting article I found online.
So, I save a few steps and directly create a calendar item. I also attach any helpful details (e.g., the URL or the PDF of the article) in the calendar item. Then, I do not have to search for them when it is time to deal with the task.
Even when I do not know the exact date and time for the task, I pick up one free slot in my calendar to at least revisit and act on it. If I cannot deal with it at the scheduled time, I just reschedule it at a more appropriate time. Still, it saves me from over-committing too much. A day has 24 hours after all.
Contacts: always in sync
I have all my contacts stored in Outlook synchronized with an Exchange Server. It allows me to seamlessly sync the contact details across all my devices, no matter if they are from Microsoft, Google, or Apple.
This way I always have the up-to-date email address, mobile phone number, and office or home address whenever I want to reach a person. Especially the latter is a huge time-saver when navigating unknown places.
Emails: do not interrupt my flow
My ability to do deep and focused work skyrocketed since I started to ignore email (and chat) notifications except during scheduled times. I am sure you have read it already elsewhere but let me repeat it once more:
Do not treat reading your emails as your top priority all the time. Even if you disabled notifications. This constant interruption kills your productivity.
It can take almost half an hour to recover from interruption like an email notification or a colleague who wants to “drop a really quick question” (disclosure: most of the time, it is not a quick one).
Here is how you can completely disable all email notifications in Microsoft Outlook.
As a bonus, you will never be embarrassed when sharing your screen during a call or when a colleague stops by your desk and keeps reading your incoming email notifications.
When to process emails
My practice is to batch-process emails three times per day. I skim through them when starting my day to catch up with any important updates and potential emergencies (an actual one should never be communicated via email).
Then, I do a second batch-processing before or after the lunch break, depending on my energy levels.
A final batch-process occurs an hour before I finish work; this gives enough time to the recipient to read the reply, allows smooth closing of the day, and provides hints for planning the upcoming days (e.g., future meetings and calls).
Inbox and Sent Items are transit areas for unprocessed emails
I consider it wrong to keep emails in Inbox as a replacement for a proper to-do list. I also refrain from using tricks like marking items in my Inbox as unread to draw my attention later on. In my experience, people who are proud of having hundreds or even thousands of unread or read emails also have severe time management issues.
For my Inbox, I apply the four D’s (delete, deal, delegate, defer) approach but with a small twist:
- If I can delete it, I do it right away.
- If I can immediately deal with it, I reply and move it from Inbox to the correct archival folder. Then, I do an additional step: I go to the Sent Items folder and move the reply to the archival folder as well. This little trick allows me to have in one folder all related messages, no matter the sender. If follow-up action is expected, either by the recipient or me, I will also flag the archived email and assign it to one of the four categories.
- If I have to delegate it, I will forward it to my delegate and repeat the above step.
- Finally, if I must defer a reply for a later time, I mark the email for follow-up, assign a color category to it, and file it to the proper archival folder.
Since my categories already encompass the notion of time, I need not think which follow-up flag to use. I have resorted to a quick-click “No date”.
Email folder hierarchy
I have seen people wasting endless time looking for an email or an attachment somewhere, where even an email search cannot find it. My approach is simple. I use the same structure for both files and emails:
I see no reason to structure the email folder hierarchy differently than how I organize my files and folders. After all, nowadays, most (work) files reach me as an email attachment or as a URL embedded in an email. Why then keep two, or even more, mental models of hierarchies?
I use a general-purpose “Archive” folder, where I store all emails not directly related to an ongoing activity but which I would like to refer to in the future through searching.
For this, I created and use a “Quick-Step” button that moves the email to that folder. This can be used from any folder, including Inbox and Sent Items:
Automatically move replies out of Sent Items
A mostly underutilized feature of Outlook is the ability to save a reply in the same folder as the original email rather than in the “Sent Items”. This can be activated as shown below:
When I reply to an email that is not in my Inbox, the reply goes automatically to the respective folder, saving me the time to move it by myself and bringing me closer to achieving Sent Items Zero.
Follow up emails
My top priority during my scheduled time for processing emails is the “Follow up” search folder. Emails in the “Follow up” folder are the ones that require my attention and my time.
I group emails in the “Follow up” folder by category and sort them by ascending number irrespective of the folder they are stored in and of how many newer messages have piled up there.
This allows me to prioritize processing: one aging “1 Important and Urgent” email requires my immediate attention; this can be a call with a contact (a new calendar item), a status meeting scheduled (again, a new calendar item), or sending a reminder for action.
I also block time in my calendar to work on tasks that are necessary before providing an email reply. These calendar items are color-coded with the same categories as the emails in the Follow-up folder. For example, a “3 Urgent” email will result in a “3 Urgent” calendar item to deal with it.
An additional advantage of the “Follow up” search folder is that I am free to maintain an email folder hierarchy as deep and wide as necessary. I am never lost into it looking for an actionable email; these are readily available in the “Follow up” folder.
Favorite folders: avoid distractions
To further avoid distracting myself when batch-processing my emails (this happened a lot to me in the past), I utilize the “Favorites” pane in Outlook. There I placed only three folders: Inbox, For Follow Up, and Sent Items. Now, I can have a quick overview of the current email load and sort out any leftovers in Sent Items.
Notes: never have to remember where I put them
The navigation pane at the bottom left of the Outlook interface allows me to quickly switch between the four items I use: Calendar, Mail, Contacts, and Notes. Here is how my navigation pane looks like:
And here is how to configure the navigation options to have this lean look.
Summary and lessons learned
I have been refining how I use Microsoft Outlook for many years now, experimenting with various productivity hints and tips circulating on the Internet and books.
This is what I have learned during this journey:
- There is no one-fit-for-all solution. Not all tips and hints work for everybody.
- Always opt for simplicity.
- Importance and urgency are sufficient to classify how I spent my time in all aspects of my life. Four categories are enough for tracking my time.
- Every task will take time to complete, so plan that time. I do not need a task list on top of my calendar.
- Disable all email notifications to be able to do deep, focused work. Plan specific time slots to batch-process emails.
- Organize email folders like file folders. There is no reason to maintain two conflicting hierarchies.
As a concluding remark, efficient use of Outlook features and capabilities is just a part of the story – you won’t enjoy the real productivity gains if you allow physical, mental, and digital clutter to prevail in other parts of your life.
