Center for Learning and Innovation

WEB GIZMOS & GADGETS Outlook Tools: Helping You Work Smarter Not Harder

Microsoft Outlook (OL) is an information management tool with a wide variety of capabilities. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs. Outlook 2010, is currently installed on most university computers. The key tools of Outlook are:

• Mail (Users can have single or multiple email accounts fed into OL to read and organize their emails and much more.)

• Calendar (Users can schedule appointments, invite others, set reminders and much more)

• Contacts (Users can keep contact information, create groups, and share contact information with others.)

• Tasks (Users can keep a running list of tasks, set due dates, and mark as completed)

• Notes (Users can create the electronic equivalent of paper sticky notes.)

This edition of Gizmos and Gadgets will focus on the use of three practical features related to the Mail and Calendar tools: inbox folders, mail archives and meeting schedules.

OL’s interface is similar to other Microsoft Office programs, so even a novice user can learn to use this program effectively. When used to its full potential, OL is able to significantly cut down on the time needed to manage email, as well as simplify scheduling, record keeping, and other organizational tasks common to IWU faculty.

Indiana Wesleyan University also hosts a web-based version of Microsoft Outlook which can be accessed at http://webmail.indwes.edu While the web version does add convenience, it lacks some of the more robust features of the 2010 Outlook version available on most university computers.

In this edition of Gizmos and Gadgets, you will learn to: • Create inbox subfolders in Outlook to organize emails. • Archive your Outlook mail.• Check availability of others as you schedule an Outlook meeting.

Create Inbox Subfolders to Sort Mail Even with a search function, an email inbox can become cluttered, making it difficult to find what you need in a timely fashion. So, for the sake of effectively communicating with your students and colleagues, it is time to clean your inbox! Keeping a clean inbox requires two things:

• If you need to do it, but it will take longer than two minutes (including reading), defer (hold off on) it until a later time designated to respond to emails.

• Creating a location to move important emails

1. Discernment about what email is important versus what is not.

These tips may help:

• If it is not useful information, delete it immediately. • If it can be attended to (reply, file, call, etc.) in two minutes or less, do it. • If it is not for you or if you can, delegate (forward) it.

2. Creating a location to move important emails Visit the link below to learn how to create new Outlook folders in the navigation pane: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/mac-outlook-help/create-additional-folders-in-the-HA102928281.aspx?CTT=1

To practice, take time to create at least three subfolders for categories your regularly address via email. Then simply drag and drop emails you plan to keep from the message list to the appropriate folder in the navigation pane.

Archive Your Mail

Your inbox has a size limit. Therefore, if you keep a large number of emails, eventually, you will be notified that your inbox is full. If you do not move emails out of your email account, new messages will not be received. To make room, you need to archive older emails; archiving means to move email files from your email account and save them in another location.

If you have established a schedule for backing up the Documents folder on your computer (as covered in Module One: Managing Your Files), consider archiving your email in your Documents folder as well. Then, when you backup your computer, you will automatically back up your email archive in a location besides your computer’s hard drive.

View this article to learn how to archive your email manually:https://kb.indwes.edu/IWU_Email/Outlook/Reduce_Mailbox_Size/How_to_manually_archive_in_Outlook_2010

Schedule a Meeting and Invite Others to Attend

In the Outlook Calendar, you can create meetings and invite others to attend. When you create and save meetings, an invitation is sent and the recipients can accept, decline or even propose a new time. To avoid being declined, you can check the availability of your invitees (if they use their Outlook Calendars). View this link to learn how: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/schedule-a-meeting-with-other-people-HP010354402.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA101829999

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Center for Learning and Innovation