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The First Six Rules . . .
o Click and drag: Organize your e-mail outside of the Inbox.
o Scheduling: Create "friendly reminders" for underwriters and others.
o Notes: Ditch the Post-Its and organize Notes in Outlook.
o Forms: Organize your commercial lines workflow.
o iCal: Invite someone to a meeting.
o Cancel serial spammers: Banish them to Junk Mail.
7. Distribution Lists
If your agency regularly sends e-mails to specific groups of people, creating a distribution list is the quickest way to do it. Using a prepared list means you don't have to type or copy individual names when sending the same e-mail to multiple addresses.
Press Ctrl-Shift-L to present the distribution list dialogue. Type in a name for your list under Name, use the Add New and Select Members buttons to add your list members and then click Save and Close. You're done.
8. Holidays
Holidays are not displayed by default in Outlook's Calendar. However, since holidays are important to everyone in the agency, you may want to add them.
To add holidays, click Tools, Options, then Calendar Options. Click Add Holidays.
You can also manage other calendar options, such as Time Zone, Start and End Times for workdays, and Background Colors.
9. Search
Having problems finding that "something" you know you have "somewhere"? Outlook allows you to search for keywords, dates or other flexible criteria to locate items in your e-mail, Calendar, Contacts or Tasks to save valuable time.
Outlook also allows a user to quickly find all mail from one sender. To view all messages you've received from a single sender in a folder, simply right-click on a message from that sender, select Find All, and select Messages from Sender. 10. Rules and Alerts
Rules and Alerts are very powerful and popular Outlook tools. By using them, you're able to better manage e-mail:
o Move incoming e-mail to a specified folder
o Flag incoming e-mail from a specified person by changing the flag's color
o Play a sound when receiving e-mail from a specific person
o Manage incoming e-mail with specific words in the subject or body of the e-mail
o Automatically assign a Category to an incoming e-mail
o Automatically move spam e-mails with offensive words in the subject or body to a Junk folder
To create a Rule, click on Tools, then Rules and Alerts. Select the option to create a New Rule and follow the prompts.
11. Organization
Outlook provides multiple ways to organize all items, including e-mail, Tasks, Calendar entries and Notes. The program gives the option to personalize and categorize any type of information, such as: o Color. You can assign colored flags to e-mail or to the various appointments on your Calendar. Colors are an excellent way to allow a user to scan a view of items and easily identify importance, sender or purpose. For example, staff meetings might be blue. Annual review appointments might be green, and general types of appointments with clients might be yellow.
For a Calendar item, right-click on the appointment and then click on Label. For an e-mail, right-click on the item and then click Follow-Up. You have the option to assign different color flags to different types of e-mail.
o Categories. Outlook provides the opportunity to use existing Categories or create your own. These can be used to organize all Outlook items. To add or change Categories, right-click on an item such as an e-mail and select Categories.
o Views. Users have the option to view items in different ways. For example, e-mails can be arranged by Category, Date, Importance and other criteria. From your Inbox, click on View, then Arrange By.
If your choice is to arrange by Categories, you also have the option to create folders that can be expanded and collapsed, allowing users to see only the category they need at the moment. After selecting how you want to organize your View, click on Show in Groups to arrange items in a folder. For example, groups can include Dates, Sender and Category.
o Folders. While most Outlook users probably know that they can create Folders, many don't take advantage of this very basic and valuable feature. To create a Folder, simply click on File, then New and next Folder. You'll have the option to select where this new Folder will be located within your current Folders, including inside other Folders.
Here's an important note: Establish agency standards for Color, Categories, Views and Folders. This way, anyone in your staff can sit down at any desk and do the job.
12. Stationery
Stationery is a fast, effective way to add a personal touch to your e-mails. Stationery includes background and other custom features that can quickly identify the person sending the e-mail. As mentioned in the previous tip, I strongly suggest creating agency standards so that all e-mail has a consistent, professional look, regardless of recipient.
To create or manage Stationery, click on Tools, then Options and select Mail Format. Next, click on Stationery Picker. It should be the second of three options for this dialogue box.
13. Defer sending e-mail for two minutes You probably send e-mail by the truckload each day. Can you think of times when you clicked Send, only to realize you should have included an extra note, checked spelling or wished you had phrased something another way?
Outlook provides an easy way to avoid this: the option to delay sending all e-mail for two minutes. Click Tools, Rules/Alerts, then New Rule. Select Begin With a New Rule, then highlight Check Messages After Sending. Click Next. Click the Next button in the next dialogue box.
In the next box, select the Defer Delivery by a Number of Minutes action. Then set the number of minutes you'd like to delay delivery. Your e-mails will sit in your Outbox for that period of time before they send themselves. Say goodbye to those "instant follow-up" e-mails.
Conclusion
Everyone is looking for ways to reduce stress and increase productivity. Fortunately, you don't have to spend a lot of money on new technology or invest hours and hours in training. By establishing some agency-wide standards of learning and doing business, you can easily make excellent use of your trusty Outlook program and save an hour or more each day.
Author and consultant Tom Baker can be reached at questions@advancedautomationinc.com.
