If your colleagues work in different time zones, you can use Outlook to make it easier for everyone to find meeting times that work for them. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to schedule a meeting with a large group of people.
Outlook scheduling appointments and meetings as well as tasks. It also includes a handy feature for checking availability.
Emails
Emails can be a big source of clutter but there are many features within Outlook that can help you keep on top of your emails. For example, using rules can organise your inbox to suit you. You can set up rules to automatically move emails from specific people into a folder such as read later or newsletters.
You can also use Outlook’s scheduling poll feature to find a time for a meeting without having to send multiple emails back and forth. All you need to do is add everyone you want in the poll and then choose a date and time from their availability.
For even more ways to stay organised with Outlook, check out the new Outlook for iOS and Android apps and Microsoft Loop (specifically Loop Components). These allow you to work on documents together in real-time. You can insert tables, checklists and Q&A boxes to keep everyone on the same page. You can then refer to these components once the project is completed.
Meetings
Meetings can be a useful tool for discussing complex topics that cannot easily be covered in an email or chat message. But meetings can also be time-consuming and distracting, if they’re overlong or filled with irrelevant information.
When scheduling a meeting, consider the availability of all attendees. Outlook’s Scheduling Assistant can help you find a time that works for everyone. It will display all of your invitees’ calendars and highlight their free/busy times in green and red, respectively.
To schedule a meeting, select the Calendar tab on the ribbon and click New Meeting. Enter a title, required and optional attendees, a location, and a message. You can also set the meeting as recurring by selecting Recurrence. If you do, choose a recurrence pattern and specify the range of occurrences. To cancel a recurrence, delete the meeting or change its options. When you’re done, select Send to invite the people you want to attend the meeting.
Calendars
While Microsoft Outlook is known for its robust email features, it also offers a very robust calendar feature as well as a task management (a souped up to-do list) and contact management. It is used by both individuals and businesses alike to stay organized and productive.
When creating an event, you first get the option of choosing a date. Then, if the event will last all day you will be asked to choose a time. You can also change the color of the event if you want it to stand out.
You can also add other calendars to your calendar by clicking the Browse Calendars of Interest option. This will allow you to select from schedules such as holidays, sports and even the phases of the moon. You will need to have the URL for these other calendars in order to use them. This is a great way to keep your calendar up to date without having to create a new one every year.
Tasks
The tasks function can help you prioritize what work needs to be done now and what can wait. It also lets you keep track of progress and creates a sense of accomplishment as you cross items off your list.
A feature within Tasks allows users to turn an email into a task, which can be useful for scheduling other activities, such as meetings or appointments. Using this function can save time and effort, as well as improve organizational efficiency.
With the native integration, you can connect the Flagged emails list in To Do with your Outlook calendar. However, this only provides a one-way sync between the two programs and doesn’t let you choose what happens when you delete or complete a task on either side.
You can use Mailbutler’s Collaborators function to share tasks, notes, contacts and signatures with your teammates in a few clicks. It also enables you to synchronize changes between both platforms, so that your team always stays in the know.
