Outlook Tips & Tricks to Take Control of your Inbox

Summary

In this informative video, Kevin shares his top 10 Microsoft Outlook tips for managing a busy inbox. He covers setting up text notifications for important emails, conditional formatting to highlight crucial messages, and rules to organize emails based on your involvement. He also discusses conversation view for inbox cleanliness, triaging emails with flags and tasks, and muting distracting notifications. Additionally, he suggests using the 'ignore' feature to declutter from unwanted threads, and recommends focusing on replies and forwards in new windows to avoid distractions. These tips aim to enhance productivity and keep your inbox under control.

Takeaways

• 📱 Set up text notifications for important emails by creating a rule to forward selected messages to your phone via SMS gateway.
• 🎨 Use conditional formatting to make specific messages stand out in your inbox by changing font color, style, and size based on sender or content.
• 📋 Create a 'to or CC rule' to only see emails where you are directly addressed, filtering out informational messages that don't require immediate action.
• 📌 Show messages as conversations to group related emails together, keeping your inbox organized and clutter-free.
• 🔍 Triage incoming messages by archiving read emails, flagging those requiring action, and using the task view to manage your To Do List.
• 📅 Set follow-up flags on sent messages to remind yourself and others about pending tasks and ensure timely follow-ups.
• 🚫 Turn off new message notifications to minimize distractions and maintain focus on your current tasks.
• 📩 Reply with a meeting directly from the email thread to reduce back-and-forth emails and streamline scheduling.
• 🖼️ Open replies and forwards in a new window to avoid distractions from your inbox while composing a response.
• 🗑️ Ignore specific email threads to stop receiving updates on conversations that are no longer relevant or desired.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is about sharing the top 10 tips and tricks for managing and controlling your Microsoft Outlook inbox effectively.

How many emails did Kevin receive daily when he worked at Microsoft?

When Kevin worked at Microsoft, he received about 250 to 300 emails every single day.

What is the first tip Kevin provides for managing important emails?

The first tip Kevin provides is setting up a rule to receive a text message when an important email is received, ensuring that it is not missed.

How can you ensure an email from a specific sender sends a text message to your phone in Outlook?

You can create a rule in Outlook for emails from a specific sender, like Patty Fernandez, and set it to forward the email to your phone number appended with the SMS gateway of your carrier.

What is conditional formatting in Outlook and how does it help?

Conditional formatting in Outlook allows you to apply specific formatting to emails based on certain conditions, making important messages stand out in your inbox.

What is the purpose of the 'to or CC rule' mentioned in the video?

The 'to or CC rule' helps to narrow down emails that matter by only keeping those where the user is on the 'to' or 'CC' line in the inbox, and moving other emails to the archive.

How does the 'show as conversations' feature in Outlook help in managing the inbox?

The 'show as conversations' feature groups related messages together, taking up less space in the inbox and making it easier to manage and follow ongoing email threads.

What does triaging emails in the inbox involve?

Triage involves going through the reduced number of messages in the inbox, archiving read messages, flagging important ones that require future action, and moving them to the task list or To Do List.

How can you use flagged emails in Outlook to manage tasks?

Flagged emails in Outlook can be added to the task list or To Do List, and can also be synced with Microsoft To Do for better task management. This helps in organizing and prioritizing responses to emails.

What is the purpose of setting a follow-up flag on a message in Outlook?

Setting a follow-up flag on a message ensures that you remember to follow up on it in the future. It helps in keeping track of emails that require a response or action from others.

How can you reduce distractions from new messages in Outlook?

You can turn off the sound, alert, and notification for new messages in the 'Message Arrival' section of the 'Mail' options in Outlook to reduce distractions and help focus better.

What is the benefit of using 'reply with meeting' in Outlook?

Using 'reply with meeting' in Outlook allows you to quickly set up a meeting instead of having a lengthy back-and-forth email conversation, which can save time and improve efficiency.

How can you prevent distractions while replying or forwarding an email in Outlook?

You can configure Outlook to open replies and forwards in a new window through the 'Mail' options. This way, you won't be distracted by incoming messages while composing a response.

What does the 'ignore' feature in Outlook do?

The 'ignore' feature in Outlook allows you to stop receiving updates from a particular email thread. Any new messages in that thread will be automatically moved to the trash, helping to declutter your inbox.

Outlines

00:00

📧 Inbox Control: Top 10 Tips and Tricks

Kevin shares his top 10 tips for managing a busy Microsoft Outlook inbox. He explains how to set up rules to receive text notifications for important emails, conditionally format messages to make them stand out, and create filters to prioritize emails that require personal attention. He also discusses how to use the task view and flagging system to stay organized and productive.

05:01

📌 Triage and Conversation Management

In this section, Kevin demonstrates how to use Outlook's features to triage incoming messages effectively. He covers the use of conversation view to group related messages, the importance of archiving read messages, and the strategy of flagging emails for follow-up. He also introduces the concept of 'My Day' view for planning daily tasks and emphasizes the benefits of categorizing flagged emails for better tracking.

10:05

🚨 Customizing Notifications and Response Workflow

Kevin provides insights on customizing email notifications to improve focus and productivity. He suggests turning off new message alerts to avoid distractions and explains how to set up follow-up flags for pending responses. He also introduces the 'Reply with Meeting' feature to streamline discussions and suggests using the 'Ignore' button to stop receiving updates on certain email threads.

15:10

🎓 Conclusion and Encouragement for Inbox Organization

Kevin concludes the video by inviting viewers to share their new techniques for inbox management in the comments. He encourages subscribing for more content like this and looks forward to connecting in future videos, emphasizing the practicality of the tips shared for controlling one's email inbox.

Keywords

💡Inbox Management

Inbox Management refers to the strategies and techniques used to efficiently organize and handle the flow of emails in a person's inbox. In the video, Kevin shares various tips and tricks to successfully control the Microsoft Outlook inbox, which is a prime example of inbox management. This includes creating rules, conditional formatting, and other organizational strategies to ensure that important emails are not missed and less important emails are sorted appropriately.

💡Text Message Notifications

Text Message Notifications are alerts sent to a user's mobile device when they receive specific types of emails. In the context of the video, Kevin explains how to set up a rule in Microsoft Outlook to receive a text message when an important email arrives, ensuring that he does not miss any urgent communications even when he is not actively checking his email.

💡Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting is a feature that allows users to apply specific formatting to emails based on predefined conditions. This helps to make important messages stand out in the inbox. In the video, Kevin demonstrates how to use conditional formatting in Outlook to change the color and font style of emails from a specific sender, making it easier to identify and prioritize these messages.

💡Rules

Rules in the context of email clients like Microsoft Outlook are automated actions that the system performs on incoming messages based on user-defined conditions. Kevin discusses creating rules to manage incoming emails, such as forwarding them to a phone as a text message or moving non-urgent emails to an archive folder.

💡Conversation View

Conversation View is a feature in email clients that groups related email messages together as a single conversation thread. This helps users to follow the flow of discussions and reduces clutter in the inbox. In the video, Kevin explains how to enable Conversation View in Outlook to organize related messages and make the inbox cleaner.

💡Triage

Triage is the process of sorting and prioritizing items, such as emails, based on their urgency and importance. In the video, Kevin uses the term to describe the action of going through the inbox and deciding which emails need immediate attention, which can be archived, or which require a follow-up action.

💡Flagging

Flagging in email clients is a feature that allows users to mark certain emails as important or requiring future action. In the video, Kevin explains how to use the flagging feature in Outlook to add emails to a task list or To-Do List, ensuring that they do not get overlooked and are addressed in a timely manner.

💡Task Management

Task Management involves organizing and tracking tasks or actions that need to be completed. In the video, Kevin discusses integrating email management with task management by using Outlook's flagging feature to create tasks directly from emails and then viewing and organizing these tasks in a dedicated task view.

💡Follow-up Flags

Follow-up Flags are tools in email clients that allow users to set reminders for future actions on specific emails. These flags help ensure that important emails are not forgotten and are addressed at a later date. In the video, Kevin explains how to set follow-up flags on emails to remind himself to check back with the sender for updates or responses.

💡Meeting Scheduling

Meeting Scheduling is the process of arranging and setting up meetings or appointments within a calendar system. In the video, Kevin talks about using Outlook's 'reply with meeting' feature to streamline the process of scheduling a meeting instead of having lengthy email exchanges about finding a suitable time.

💡Distraction Reduction

Distraction Reduction refers to strategies and techniques used to minimize interruptions and distractions while working, thereby improving focus and productivity. In the video, Kevin suggests turning off new message notifications as a way to reduce distractions from the email client and maintain a better focus on the tasks at hand.

💡New Window Replies

New Window Replies is a feature that allows users to open email replies in a separate window, rather than in-line within the email client. This helps to reduce distractions from the inbox and allows for more focused composition of responses. In the video, Kevin explains how to configure Outlook to open replies and forwards in a new window for better concentration.

💡Ignore Conversation

Ignore Conversation is a feature in email clients that allows users to stop receiving notifications or seeing new messages from a particular email thread. This helps to declutter the inbox and avoid unnecessary distractions from non-essential conversations. In the video, Kevin introduces the 'ignore' button in Outlook as a way to automatically send future messages from a specific conversation to the trash bin.

Highlights

Kevin shares his top 10 tips and tricks for managing the Microsoft Outlook inbox effectively.

You can set up Outlook to send a text message when you receive an important email, ensuring you don't miss it.

Creating a rule in Outlook allows you to receive text messages for emails from specific senders, like your manager.

Conditional formatting can make important messages stand out in your inbox by changing font color, style, and size.

The 'To or CC rule' helps you focus on emails where you are directly involved by moving informational emails to the archive.

Consolidating messages into conversations cleans up your inbox by grouping related messages together.

Triage your inbox by archiving read messages and flagging those that require action or follow-up.

Flagging emails adds them to your task list, and integrates with Microsoft To Do for better task management.

Setting a follow-up flag on emails ensures you don't forget to check back on outstanding responses.

Instead of back-and-forth emails, use the 'reply with meeting' feature to quickly set up a meeting and resolve discussions.

Disabling new message notifications helps minimize distractions and improve focus while working.

Opening replies and forwards in a new window prevents losing focus due to incoming emails.

The 'Ignore' feature allows you to stop seeing updates from specific email threads, keeping your inbox clean.

Kevin's tips are based on his experience managing 250 to 300 emails daily at Microsoft.

A link is provided in the description for a website listing SMS domain gateways for various carriers worldwide.

Transcripts

Hi everyone, Kevin here. Today I want to  show you my favorite top 10 tips and tricks  

for successfully controlling your Microsoft  Outlook inbox. When I worked at Microsoft,  

I routinely received about 250 to 300 emails every  single day, and of course, only a small fraction  

of that e-mail actually required my attention. I  learned a whole bunch of different techniques for  

successfully managing my inbox, and today I  want to share those with you. All right let's  

open up Microsoft Outlook. This brings us to tip  number one. You can receive a text message when  

you receive an important e-mail. This way  you'll be sure not to miss it. Here for example,  

my manager Patty Fernandez sent me an e-mail  and she wants me to get back to her ASAP. Now,  

let's say I'm focused on some tasks. Maybe I  have Outlook minimized, or maybe I'm sitting  

in a meeting and I'm being good and I'm  not looking at my laptop screen. I might  

just completely miss this e-mail. So how do we  set it up, so Outlook sends me a text message?  

Well here with this e-mail, we want to create  a rule. Here I'll select the message from Patty  

and then up here on the top ribbon within  the home view, I'll select rules over here,  

and next, I'll select create rule. This opens  up the create rule dialog and I want it so any  

e-mail from Patty also sends me a text message.  Right up here, I'll select this checkbox for  

from Patty Fernandez. Next, let's click into  advanced options. Within advanced options,  

I can select all these other filters for  what emails I want to have trigger the text,  

but I'm going to keep it simple, and I'll just  say from Patty Fernandez. Let's click on next.  

On the next screen, I'm going to select the option  that says forward it to people or public group.  

Let's check this box and then down below, click  on this text that says people or public group.  

This opens up a prompt where I could define  my phone number where I want the text to go.  

Right down here, I'll type in my 10-digit phone  number, and yes, this is my phone number. Next,  

we need to append the SMS gateway and I happen  to be a T-Mobile user and the SMS gateway is  

@tmomail.net. To find out what your SMS  domain gateway is, I've included a link in  

the description for a website that lists out many  of the different carriers throughout the world  

and the associated SMS domain gateway. Over  on the left-hand side, simply look down this  

column to find your carrier and then over in this  column, you'll see what the SMS domain gateway is.  

Once you finish entering your phone number and  the SMS domain gateway, click on OK. Back on the  

rules wizard, let's click on next and here you can  define if there are any exceptions. Once again,  

I'm just going to leave it pretty basic. So, I'll  click on next and then I'll click on finish. And  

here I received a text message with the important  message on my phone. Now I could open up my  

computer and I could respond to the message, or I  could even respond to it right here. This brings  

us to tip number two. You can conditionally  format messages in your inbox, so the messages  

that matter stand out. Here I have three  different e-mail messages and Patty Fernandez  

sent me a message and I want to make sure this one  stands out compared to all of the other messages.

Right up here, I'll click on the top  tab that says view, and within view,  

let's click on view settings. This opens up view  settings, and right down here, I can define my  

own conditional formatting. Let's click on  this. Within this prompt, I can see all of  

the existing rules that are currently applied to  my Inbox, so you've probably noticed this before,  

but if you have an unread message, it's formatted  differently from a read message. Here you can  

define what all of those rules are, but along with  being able to modify existing rules, you can also  

add your own. Let's click on add. For this new  rule, I'll give it the name from Patty Fernandez.  

Next, I can click on fonts to define the  formatting for what messages look like from Patty.  

When I get a message, let me change the color to  red just so it stands out a little bit more. Under  

the font style, I'll make this bold, and under  the size, I'll go with bigger. This all looks  

good. I'll click on OK. Down below, I can set the  condition for when this format applies. When I  

click on condition, I have all of these different  options. This is basically a way for me to filter  

messages, and only if it matches those filters  does it apply the formatting. I could search  

for specific words in the subject or even in the  message body. I want to keep things really simple,  

so I'll say from Patti Fernandez. Over here, I  have even more choices to filter my messages,  

and if I click on advanced, I have full control  over what types of messages have this formatting  

applied. Here I'll click back to messages and once  again I'll leave it pretty simple and then click  

on OK. I'm all done setting my formatting,  so I'll click on OK here and then click on  

OK again. Now if you look at my inbox, look at  that. I definitely won't miss this message from  

Patty Fernandez. This brings us to tip #3 and I  call it the to or CC rule. Right here in my inbox,  

you'll see that I have four different messages,  and here I have a message from Patty. She has  

a specific request of me and I'm also on the to  line. Here Nestor asked me a question and here too  

I'm on the to line. Here Nestor sent me an e-mail  and he put me on CC, and this is information that  

I want to know, and then right up here, I got  the Kevin Cookie Company newsletter from Diego  

and he sent this out to a distribution list.  Now although it might be interesting information  

to read, it's purely informational and there's  really no action for me, and especially when I  

worked at Microsoft, I found that you could very  quickly drown in newsletters, and unfortunately,  

sometimes you'll try to unsubscribe, but you  might have nested newsletters, and it turns  

out being pretty difficult, so if you only look at  messages where you're on the to or the CC line in  

an e-mail, you'll very quickly narrow down to the  emails that matter to you. To set up this rule,  

let's go up on top and click on home and right in  the center, let's click on rules, and then click  

on create rule. This opens up a prompt where I  can create a rule and let's jump directly into  

advanced options. This opens up the rules wizard  and here I can select the condition. I want this  

to apply to every single message that lands in my  inbox, so I'm not going to select anything here.  

I'll click on next. On this next screen, I could  decide what happens to messages where I'm not on  

the to or CC line. So once again, this is like  Diego's newsletter. I don't want to look at it,  

but I also don't want to delete it just in case I  want to refer back to it in the future. Over here,  

I could select to move it to a specified  folder. Down below, I'll click on specify and  

let me simply move it to the archive, so this  way I can always get back to it if I need to.  

I'll click on OK and then let's click on next. On  the last screen, I can choose any exceptions. So,  

currently the way it's set up is any message  that hits my inbox will move into my archive.  

Now I don't want that. I want messages where  I'm on the to or CC line to stay in my inbox.  

So, here I'll select this exception right here and  then I'll click on next. On the last screen, I can  

specify a name for this rule. Here I'll change it  to keep messages in inbox where I'm on to or CC.  

Down below, I can also select to run this rule  on all messages that are already in the inbox.  

Once I'm all done, I'll click on finish,  and here now you'll see in my inbox, I now  

only have messages left where I'm on the to or  the CC line, and of course, I didn't delete those  

other messages like the newsletter. I could  simply click into my archive, and I could go  

back and reference any one of those messages. This  brings us to tip number four, and this is a really  

simple one. You can show all of your messages in  your inbox as a conversation. Here for instance,  

I see a message from Patty where she wanted me to  follow up with her, and then here she sent me yet  

another message, but right now, this is taking  up two different slots in my inbox. If I go up  

to the view tab up on top, there's a checkbox for  show as conversations. When I check that, here I  

can decide whether to apply it just to this folder  or all my mailboxes. I'll select all mailbox and  

here you see that it moves the conversation  to the top with the latest message featured.

So, this is a nice way to clean up your inbox  where it groups together related messages. This  

now brings us to tip number five, and that's to  triage everything that comes into your inbox.  

Now that we've reduced the number of messages  coming into the inbox with the previous tips,  

now you should have a very manageable number  that require your attention. Here, with the first  

message, I'm on CC and I wanted to read this, so  once I review this message, up on the top toolbar,  

I'll click on archive. This will move it over  to the archive folder on the left-hand side. I  

can always click into here if I want to get back  to the message and I can even search for it if I  

need to reference it again, but I've already  read it and I've consumed that information.  

Down below, here Nestor is asking me a  question, and this is something I need to  

follow up on. I'll have to pull the Q1 numbers, so  it's going to take me a little bit of time, so I  

can't just respond right away. So instead, I'll  hover over this message and then I'll flag it.  

Now that it's flagged, it'll add it  to my task list or my To Do List,  

and now I want to get it out of my inbox.  So, here I'll click on archive, and that's  

now moved it out. Now that I finished triaging  my inbox, I could shift over to the task view,  

so I just focus on the different messages that  require response. I'll go down to the bottom  

left-hand corner and click into tasks. Here I  see the e-mail from Nestor with the question.  

Once I pull together the numbers, I can click into  this task to respond to him. One of the really  

nice things about flagging e-mail in Outlook  is it also brings it over to Microsoft To Do,  

and if you use To Do as a task manager, this works  especially well. Over here on the left-hand side,  

I'll click on flagged e-mail and here I see  that message that I flagged, and let's say that  

today I'm pulling together a list of all of the  different action items that I want to focus on.  

Here I could right click on this message, and I  can add it to my day. Over on the left-hand side  

now when I click into my day, I can see all the  different tasks that I want to finish up today.  

If you've never heard of the My Day view before,  this is a really nice way to stay productive  

every single day. Every day the My Day view  resets, so you'll have a blank list that you  

can build up of the things you want to get done  today, and then tomorrow you'll have a blank slate  

where you can then start again. This brings us to  tip number six. Oftentimes you'll ask a question  

of someone, or maybe you have a request, but  then they never follow up with you. You can set  

a flag on a message to make sure you don't forget,  and then you can ping them again in the future.

Here I have a message that I'm sending out to  Diego with a request, and I want to make sure  

this gets done. Right up above, I can click on  this follow up flag and I'll set it to no date.  

My message is now all ready to go, so I'll click  on send. Within my task view, I can now see the  

e-mail that I flagged as I sent it out, but here  it mixes it in with all of my other tasks. I want  

to make sure I add a new category where I can see  everything that I'm waiting on. Here I'll right  

click on the task, and right down here, I'll click  on categorize and I'll go down to all categories.  

Within categories, here I'll add a new category  and I'll call this waiting for response. Here I  

can pick a color. I'll go with red just to show  some urgency, and then I'll click on OK. Then  

I'll click on OK again. Back on the main view, up  on top, I'll click on view and here I can switch  

to categories. So, right here I can see all of my  different emails where I'm waiting for a response,  

so maybe at the end of every week, I could go  through all of my messages where I'm waiting  

for a response, and if I didn't hear back from the  recipient of the message, I could just ping them  

again to see if they have an update. Tip number  seven. You can respond with a meeting instead of  

emailing back and forth. Here I'm in an e-mail  thread where we've had a few back and forths,  

and I could imagine that this thread would go on  for a while if we tried to discuss it over e-mail.  

Instead, I could set up a very quick meeting. Up  here under the home tab, there's a button right  

here that says reply with meeting. Let's click  on this. This opens up a new meeting invitation  

and here it pulls in the subject from the thread.  It also pulls in everyone who is involved in the  

e-mail, and here it has all of the context of  the e-mail thread, so I don't have to retype any  

of that. I could simply say, let's discuss. Here  I'll choose a time, and once I'm all ready to go,  

I'll click on send and my meeting is now  set up. This brings us to tip number eight.  

Outlook is constantly trying to distract you from  getting work done. When you receive a new message,  

you'll hear a sound. You'll see an alert. You'll  see a notification. I recommend turning that off,  

at least that's what I always did any  time I set up a new version of Outlook.  

Up in the top left-hand corner, click on file  and then go down to options. Within options,  

let's click on mail and then scroll down just  a little bit to the section that says message  

arrival, and here you'll see what happens when  a new message arrives. Now you could imagine  

if you're getting 250 to 300 messages a day,  you're going to be hearing the beeping sound  

a lot throughout the day, so let's uncheck this.  Let's uncheck this one, this one, and this one,  

and this should help you focus a lot better. Once  you're done unchecking all of those, click on OK.  

This brings us to tip number nine. When you have  a message that let's say you want to respond to  

or forward, you can come right up here and click  on reply, reply all, or forward, and when I click  

on that, that'll open it up directly in line.  Now the one problem with this is over on the  

left-hand side, you'll continue seeing all of  the messages that are flooding into your inbox  

and that will distract you from the message that  you're trying to compose. Maybe a more enticing  

e-mail comes in, so you click over onto that  over here and then you've lost track of where  

you were in your message. Instead, you can  focus by opening your reply in a new window.  

To do this, let's go up to the top left-hand  corner and click on the file menu. Then go down  

to options and within options click on mail. Here  within mail, let's scroll down just a little bit  

to the section that says replies and forwards,  and here we have the option to open replies and  

forwards in a new window. Then let's click on OK.  Back in the message, when I click on reply all  

this now opens up a brand-new window and I'm no  longer distracted by my inbox. And this brings  

us to the last tip of today. I know, so sad that  we're near the end, but this is a pretty good one.  

I don't know, let's say that you're on an  e-mail thread where all of your coworkers are  

making fun of you. Maybe you no longer want  to see any of the responses that are coming  

in. Right up on top on the home tab, there's a  button called ignore, and when you click on this,  

you can select to ignore the conversation. Any  additional message that comes in as part of this  

conversation will automatically go to the trash  bin and you no longer have to look at that. So,  

yet another way to help clean up your inbox.  All right. Well, let me know down below in  

the comments, did you learn any new techniques  that you're going to implement to help control  

your inbox? To see more videos like this, please  consider subscribing, and I'll see you next time.