Outlook Reading List

We spend a lot of time using Outlook – but very little time THINKING about how we are using it. Here is the reading list… in the recommended order of reading. Spend time reading these articles – trust me it will improve your life. You will feel more in control and will be able to manage your work proactively!

But wait. Outlook is used for working with others. So share this with your entire team / department / organization. Try it as a group… you will get unimaginable results – faster execution, more accountability, more output with minimal effort!

Please note that some of these articles cover features which require specific versions of Outlook.

The core concept: You and Others!

This article asks a fundamental question about why you are using Outlook and clarifies the actual priorities. Busy handling Inbox and Calendar? When do you do your work?

Where is the list of pending work?

Helping others in your organization is fine – but not at the cost of your own work!. This article shows you how to focus on your work in a proactive and structured manner. Yes, it does require you to change some of the well-ingrained, bad habits. But it is absolutely worth the effort. Tasks folder is your best friend!

These two articles explain how to manage delegation. What to do when someone delegates work to you, is covered in DO NOT flag mails for follow up. There is a better way….

Never delegate work using email: Use Outlook Tasks : this article shows you the right way of delegating work.

Now that you have listed the pending work,
let us find time to execute it.

The first step is to create a task list. Now we need to execute these tasks. We now need to find time for execution. This article explains how to find the time to do your work in a proactive and timely manner. Arrange meetings with yourself = Time Management

You DO NOT have to handle all mails…

You send mails, and people do not respond. Frustrating! You feel helpless.

But you are NOT helpless. There are many things you can try to get better and faster response to your mails. This article explains how: Office Politics: How to ensure your mail is noticed and acted upon?

These three articles help you understand how to manage incoming mails.
How NOT to handle Inbox
DO NOT create sender specific rules in Outlook
How to identify important mails automatically?

All these topics are summarized in this article A new outlook towards Outlook!

Desktop Poster: Outlook Best Practices gives you a downloadable wallpaper to remind you about the new “outlook”.