This month’s tips are a follow-up to last month’s topic of managing emails and passwords. This month we’ll focus on how to more effectively use the calendar, task, and contacts functions of Microsoft Outlook.
Task List Functions:
To be perfectly honest, I have met few people who use the task list in the Outlook program effectively and consistently. People who do use it well tend to be diligent list-makers and are consistent in clicking on the tasks link on a daily basis. If you’re not one of these people, it’s too easy to forget it’s there.
One of the things I think the task list area can be more helpful with is keeping those lists that are more interest-based, like listing movies you’d like to rent, or books you’d like to read. It can also be handy for keeping a wish-list of home improvement projects you’d like to accomplish or seasonal chores that you only do once a year.
If you do use the task list for tracking to-dos that are coming up, it’s important to move the task onto your calendar to ensure it’s not forgotten by just sitting on the list that doesn’t get opened. To do this, you go into your Calendar function, click on the View menu, and then select Task Pad. Identify the dates certain tasks are due, and then navigate to that date on the calendar to make sure it is displayed in your view. Drag each task to the day on the calendar that you want to work on it and an appointment window will pop up that you can enter even more details in before you save it. Then you’ll see the list of your tasks at the top of the calendar for each date.
Calendar Functions:
A short-cut for the following steps is to just create an appointment for an item you need to accomplish if it has a specific time deadline attached. For instance, if that budget report is due by 4:00 on Friday, you can create an appointment for that task more quickly than entering it on your task list, then opening the calendar, then dragging the task item onto it and having the appointment view open at that point.
One of my favorite features of the calendar function is the color-coded labels. When you create an appointment on your calendar, you have the option of attaching a colored label to it. The pre-existing label headings can be edited to your specific needs. This is great if you have multiple clients you’re working with because you can highlight tasks or meeting for each one in the same color for easier visual tracking. If you’re unfamiliar with how to change the wording for your colored labels follow these steps: From the Edit menu, select Label, then select Edit Labels, and make your changes. When you’re finished, click OK.
A huge timesaver is if you have recurring tasks or appointments. For instance, if you pay the bills the same date each month, or have a weekly team meeting, create the task as a recurring appointment on the calendar and save yourself the time of entering it separately each time.
Contacts Functions:
When you create a new contact, you will see that there are five tabs for groups of information you can create. The ones that tend to be useful to most of us are the General tab, the Details tab, and the Activities tab. The General tab will be for entering typical background data like phone numbers, emails, and addresses. However, an often overlooked area of this section is the large notes box on the right-hand side. This can be particularly helpful for using in your work life to make notes on recent phone conversations you’ve had with a client, or documenting when someone is going to get back to you with the document you requested.
Also, the Categories tab at the bottom right of the General Tab can be used when a contact fits into more than one category of contacts. For instance, maybe you sit on a volunteer committee with someone, but you also socialize as friends. You can create the contact, then open the categories section, and check as many boxes as apply to that person and their data will be saved in each area. Again, you can delete or add new category labels for contacts by going into the Master Category List button so that the labels apply to your specific needs.
The Details Tab is great for adding in supplemental information that can apply to business or personal use, such as their business department and manager’s name as well as filling in spouse’s names or birthday and anniversary dates. Entering birthday and anniversary dates automatically places them on your calendar.
Finally, the Activities tab can be great for retrieving historical data on a contact. If you open up a contact you’ve created and click on the Activities Tab, you can retrieve all types of information on them such as emails you’ve exchanged, notes you’ve created, or upcoming tasks/appointments you have with them. This can be great for going back to information in an old message without sorting through your whole email folder.
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