book

Effective Time Management: Using Microsoft® Outlook® to Organize Your Work and Personal Life

Name: Effective Time Management: Using Microsoft® Outlook® to Organize Your Work and Personal Life
Author: Lothar Seiwert and Holger Woeltje
ISBN: 9780735663183

by Lothar Seiwert and Holger Woeltje

September 2011

Intermediate to advanced

272 pages

7h 21m

English

Microsoft Press

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Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Who This Book Is ForAssumptionsHow This Book Is OrganizedAdditional Video Lessons OnlineHow to Get Support & Provide FeedbackErrata & Book SupportWe Want to Hear from YouStay in Touch
1. How Not to Drown in the Email Flood
Let’s Get Started and Change This!It’s Not the Email Messages, It’s How We Handle ThemDon’t Let Yourself Get Distracted“Educate” Pushy SendersDisable New Email NotificationHow to disable the visual and/or acoustic new email notificationHow to disable the automatic downloading of new messagesProcess Email Messages in BlocksBreak Your Response PatternView Current Sender Information with a Mouse-Click: The Outlook 2010 Social ConnectorKeep Your Inbox in OrderProcess Your Email Block with the DANF SystemFile Email Messages AccordinglyConvert Email Messages into Tasks and AppointmentsHow to create an appointment or a task from an email messageHow to quickly create a new contact entry for the sender of an email messageHow to create tasks and appointments from individual parts of a longer email messageHow to insert multiple email messages into existing tasks and appointmentsHow to use a flag to mark an email message as a task in Outlook 2010/Outlook 2007Create and Use Your Own Folder StructureHow to set up new foldersHow to move messages into the correct folderHow to customize message sorting for individual foldersFlag the Messages You Still Need to Work OnHow to assign a colored flag to a message in Outlook 2003Don’t Force Alarms on Yourself: The Reminder Functions of Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010How to add short notes and reminders to a message in Outlook 2003Keep All Items That Are Flagged for Processing in a Single ViewHow to create your own search foldersLet Outlook Presort Your Inbox for YouHow to set up rules directly from a messageHow to set up and change rules with the Rules WizardThink Before You CommunicateMake Your Text Easier to Understand: Always Adjust It to the RecipientsKeep Your Phrasing Short, Precise, and Crystal ClearUse Well-Written Subject Lines to Make Everyone’s Life EasierYou Try It
2. How to Work More Effectively with Tasks and Priorities
Let’s Get Started and Change This!How to Run a Country Like the United States in the 24 Hours a Day Has to Offer—Set Priorities!Focus on What Matters Most (the Pareto Principle)Decide What’s Most Important—Use the Eisenhower Matrix to Set Rough PrioritiesSay “No!” More Often—and Therefore “Yes!” to What’s Important to YouWrite Down Your PlansUse Task Lists to Plan Flexibly and EffectivelyTasks vs. AppointmentsTasks in OutlookHow to insert links to files instead of copiesThe Text Editor in Outlook 2010/Outlook 2007The Insert TabThe Format Text TabFormat Text with Fewer Mouse Clicks: Take Advantage of the Mini ToolbarTake Advantage of the Multilingual Spelling Checker and the Foreign Language Dictionary in Outlook 2010Take Advantage of the Multilingual Spelling Checker and the Foreign Language Dictionary in Outlook 2007Define Your Own Views (Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007, and Outlook 2010)How to set up a new viewUse Filters to Clean Up Your ViewsHow to set up a simple filter for your viewHow to hide all completed tasksFine-Tune Your Priorities with the 25,000 $ MethodHow to define a 25,000 $ viewHow to use your 25,000 $ view for refining your prioritiesThe To-Do List—View Tasks from Multiple Folders and Email Messages at the Same TimeYou Try It
3. How to Gain More Time for What’s Essential with an Effective Week Planner
What Really Matters—and Why Does It Continue to Remain Undone?Let’s Get Started and Change This!Take Advantage of Categories to Combine TasksGain Perspective with CategoriesHow to Assign Categories to TasksHow to Assign Categories in the CalendarHow to Assign Categories to Email MessagesThe Master Category List in Outlook 2010/Outlook 2007How to use shortcut keys to quickly assign your most important categoriesHow to fill the list with your own categoriesHow to revise the master category listKeep Track of Your Most Important Categories by Using ColorsHow Outlook 2010/Outlook 2007 Displays Category ColorsHow Outlook 2010/Outlook 2007 Colors Appointments According to CategoryHow to Avoid Problems with the Category ColorsThe Category System in Outlook 2003: How to Assign CategoriesHow to assign categories using the Outlook 2003 master category listHow to clean up the Outlook 2003 master category listHow to fill the Outlook 2003 master category list with your own categoriesSet Up Your Own Category SystemFilter and Group by CategoryFilter Your ViewsHow to define positive filters for categoriesHow to create negative filtersWork with Grouped ViewsHow to group your tasks by categoryHow to Show or Hide the Group By BoxHow to Expand or Collapse Your GroupsThe Kiesel Principle—Gain More Time for What Matters Most Each WeekKeep Your Life in BalancePlan Your Professional Life and Private Life TogetherThe Four Areas of Life for a Life in BalanceSeven Days, Seven Hats...Regularly Take Time for What Really CountsHow to Plan Your Week with OutlookPrepare Your Task List for the WeekStart Your Weekly Planning by Evaluating the Previous WeekPlan the Incomplete Tasks from the Previous Week AgainPlan your tasks for the next weekPlan Tasks and Appointments Together in BalanceHow to Show or Hide the Daily Task ListHow to Customize Your Daily Task ListPlan Appointments with Yourself to Concentrate on the Essential TasksHow to create the appropriate task view for week planning in your calendarHow to convert entries from the To-Do bar/TaskPad into appointmentsHow to automatically color your appointmentsYou Try It
4. How to Make Your Daily Planning Work in Real Life
Let’s Get Started and Change This!The Basics of Successful Day PlanningCombine Similar Tasks into Task BlocksUse Categories When Creating BlocksA Special Task Block: The ActionListFor Advanced Users: Take Advantage of the Journal for Semi-Automatic Time ProtocolsTake Your Performance Curve and Your Disruption Curve into ConsiderationFocus on Your Important Tasks Without Interruptions During Productivity HoursDefend Your Productivity HoursOrder Must PrevailHide the Tasks Intended for Block Building in the Week/Day ViewsHow to hide all tasks belonging to block building categoriesMark Tasks That Are Due Today and Tomorrow in ColorHow to color tasks by using automatic color formattingHow to turn off the red color marking for overdue tasks to avoid such color conflictsGain a Better Overview by Using Appointment ListsHow to create new calendar views as thematically grouped appointment listsHow to help yourself quickly, if you have accidentally entered duplicate holidays and now want to get rid of themFine-Tune Your Daily PlanningPlan Pending Tasks with the 25,000 $ MethodHow to fine-tune the 25,000 $ view (created in Chapter 2) for your daily planningHow to plan your day (with the new view) according to the 25,000 $ methodMore Steps for Successful Daily PlanningHow to estimate the duration of pending activitiesHow to adjust the 25,000 $ view in OutlookMake Further Appointments with YourselfKeep an Eye on Buffer TimesUse the To-Do Bar to Keep Upcoming Appointments and Tasks in ViewHow to Customize the To-Do BarYou Try It
5. How to Schedule Meetings So They Are Convenient, Effective, and Fun
The Problem: Way Too Many Inconvenient Meeting Requests and Insufficient PreparationLet’s Get Started and Change This!Technical Requirements for Using This ChapterMeeting Requests with Outlook—Basic Rules and TipsFind Free Times and Evaluate RepliesHow to create a meeting requestCreate Meeting Requests from a More Flexible ViewHow to create meeting requests from a more flexible viewStay on Top of It: Calendar OverlayHow to answer meeting requestsHow to check and change the status of a meeting you calledUse Meeting Requests SparinglyMeetings Are ExpensiveOptimize Your Calendar to Make Meeting Requests EasyKeep Your Calendar Well OrganizedTake Advantage of the Show As Field to Flag Your AppointmentsHow to use all-day appointmentsFlag Personal Appointments As PrivatePrepare Meetings EffectivelyImprove Efficiency by Preparing and Running Your Meeting WiselyUse Meeting Workspaces to Prepare MeetingsThe Advantages of Meeting WorkspacesAutomatically Get Notified About the Changes Relevant to YouTake Advantage of Document LibrariesDiscover the Advantages of the Other SharePoint Web PartsYou Try It
6. How to Use OneNote for Writing Goals, Jotting Down Ideas, and Keeping Notes
Why Do Important Documents and Notes Always Get Lost?Let’s Get Started and Change This!Finally, a Place and a System for All Your NotesUse a Structured System When PlanningHave Your Notes Available When You Need ThemDo You Still Use Paper Even Though You Have a Laptop?Discover the Advantages of OneNoteBasics for Notes in OneNoteTake Advantage of the Digital Notebook StructureYour Notebook StructureWhat Are the Subpages For?Notebook vs. SectionDevelop a Structure for Your NotebookNotebooks on the Web and Shared with OthersWork with Sections, Notebooks, and PagesHow to create new sectionsHow to create new pages and subpagesHow to navigate among sections and notebooksHow to open specific pages and subpagesHow to move or copy a pageHow to Fill Your PagesText FunctionsHow to Insert, Move, and Scale PicturesHow to insert screenshots into OneNoteUse Pens, Text Markers, and ColorsHow to color entered textHow to use text markers and pensHow to set a picture as a backgroundHow to add documents as picturesMeeting Minutes in OneNoteUse Outlining for PreparationHow to create an outlineHow to Collapse and Expand Levels, and How to Select Text on a Specific LevelHow to create a table in OneNoteKeep Follow-Up Activities and Important Information in ViewHow to set and remove tagsHow to customize the available tagsHow to Quickly Find Elements Marked by TagsHow to take advantage of the full-text searchLink Your Information: Use Outlook and OneNote as a TeamHow to transfer tasks to OutlookHow to Create a Contact/Appointment Note from OutlookHow to Export Email MessagesHow to Create Hyperlinks to OneNote Pages/ParagraphsHow to share your notes and meeting minutes with othersHow to See When You (or Another User) Last Edited the Current ElementCreate Page Templates and ChecklistsHow to create a templateHow to create a new page based on a templateAlways Keep Your Ideas and Goals in SightHow to link documents to your notes“Printing”—Export Data from Any ProgramHow to “Print” from Any Application to OneNoteSave Websites from the Web Browser in OneNoteRead Between the Lines—OCR for PicturesSet Goals for Yourself—Not Just for Your RevenueSet Goals with the 3M Rule: Measurable, Manageable, MotivatingCreate Your Master PlanYou Try It
7. How to Truly Benefit from This Book
Let’s Get Started and Change Things!How to Get a Handle on Your TimeThe Next StepsTest the Current Version of Office for FreeTake Responsibility—Do It Now!Time Management Is Self-DisciplineCreate Your Own Personal Action PlanFind a BuddyStart Immediately and Keep at It!

A. Recommended Reading
B. About the Authors
Index
About the Authors
Copyright

Overview

Take charge—and create an effective balance between your work and personal life with the help of Microsoft Outlook. In this practical guide, two experts teach you a proven time-management system, showing you how to set and manage your priorities with custom modifications to Outlook. Sharpen your focus, combat distractions—and manage your time with complete confidence.

Get the skills to take control of your schedule

Organize email in a systematic way and keep your inbox clean

Schedule time for productivity—and defend it against interruptions

Apply Outlook filters to help you manage tasks and projects

Make time for family and fun—plan your work and private lives together

Use Outlook with Microsoft OneNote to capture ideas and set goals

Learn effective time management techniques with practical examples

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