5 Features of Microsoft Outlook That Save Time
Think about all of the time you spend sifting and sorting through your emails during the week. As someone who lives in her inbox, I know checking and sending emails can be exhausting. At Elevate My Brand, we primarily use Microsoft Outlook. I’m on it almost all day, so I’m always looking for new ways to save time and stay organized. Fortunately, Outlook has more than a few time-saving features.
Use These Outlook Features
Outlook as we know it has been around for eight years, and around since 1996 under other names. It’s grown to meet peoples’ needs with new features and updates every year, so there are always new interesting things to learn about it. I discover new features all the time. Here are the top five features that save me the most time and energy:
1. Email Scheduler
Outlook offers users the ability to schedule emails. This feature allows you to schedule emails to go out ahead of time, which comes in handy every week! Scheduling the delivery of an email gives you the opportunity to compose it while the topic is fresh in your head and ensure it arrives in your recipient’s inbox at the perfect time. This feature is a total game changer.
2. Flagging and Categorizing Tools
If you’re like me and have a wave of emails coming into your inbox daily, you’ll appreciate Outlook’s ability to categorize messages. I flag emails that I need to revisit or follow up on. Outlook will actually let you flag an email for follow-up on a specific date. This feature helps me prioritize my emails. I can even set up my inbox to only show flagged emails. This saves me time because I don’t have to go searching through my inbox for my important messages. You can make custom color-coded categories on Outlook to help organize your inbox as well.
3. Mailbox Rules
Outlook lets users set mailbox rules that automatically sort your emails. You can specify where you want an email from a particular sender to go. Do you want every email from a certain sender to be in a special folder? Would you like a spam account’s emails to be automatically directed to your junk folder? Set up rules! You can also set up a rule so that emails from a specific sender or with a certain subject line are automatically marked as “read” or forwarded to another member of your team.
4. Calendar Sharing
Outlook allows you to share your calendar with your coworkers. This saves a lot of time when scheduling meetings. Instead of going back and forth trying to figure out their availability via email, you can just take a peek at their calendar. Or you can check to see if your coworker is most likely in her office before you stand up and walk down the hallway. Every little bit of time adds up!
5. Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are a super efficient way to use Outlook. Here are some of the ones that I use the most for Mac.
- Press ⌘ + Z to undo.
- Press ⌘ + Y to redo.
- Press SHIFT + ⌘ + M to move an email to another folder.
- Press ⌘ + 2 to view your calendar.
- Press ⌘ + 1 to view your mailbox.
- Press ⌘ + K to insert a hyperlink.
Use Your Extra Time
Outlook is great, but you definitely don’t want to overstay your welcome. You have lots to do! With these tips, you’ll save time and energy that you can put towards other important tasks, like picking the perfect office playlist or organizing your workspace. Or you can use the time you save to set up a complimentary brainstorm session with our creative experts. Let’s talk!
Eryn Pendergast, Executive Assistant
Elevate My Brand