This is because it’s easier to move your eyes down than left to right over long distances, which can cause you to move your head and neck and lead to fatigue. It’s better to have the Reading Pane on, so that you don't have to open each message to read its contents. You might not need to share your calendar, because Office 365 sync problems and login fixes everyone in your organization can see when you are free or busy but not necessarily see the content or subject of the meetings and appointments. However, you can easily share your calendar with your team if you want them to be able to see all of your meetings and appointments.

How can I manage complicated tasks?

In these cases, reply and include the person you're delegating the message to on the To line. If you find you're doing this often, consider creating a Quick Step that replies and adds the delegated person to the To line. If you need it as reference (even if you have decided to defer it), move it into your reference folder.

I have 10 minutes: What should I read first in my Inbox?

• In the days of "paper offices" (pre-computer age), we had 3 filing systems.
• For example, if you have only a few minutes, make all of your phone calls (if you have just a few).
• However, the read and unread states of messages can be easily be triggered by clicking around your messages so they aren’t a perfect record — just a tool.
• Sentences prefaced with the Microsoft 365 logo are references to other Microsoft 365 products, such as Microsoft OneNote, and Microsoft SharePoint Server.
• Rather than using Bcc to inform a third party of an issue, forward the message after you send it.
• If you are taking notes or minutes for the meeting, you can also use OneNote to insert meeting details from Outlook into your notes.
• Use the Bcc feature to remove extra people from an email conversation when you deem that they no longer need the extra email or if the conversation topic has changed.

Any time you find yourself repeatedly doing the same steps in Outlook, try creating a Quick Step. Collapse the top-level Contact Group folder so that you aren’t distracted by the unread messages in the folders beneath it. For example, we saw how to use Quick Steps, keyboard shortcuts, and calendar reminders.

Fix Tech Issues Fast

The Bcc recipient might not realize that he or she has received Outlook OST vs PST repair a Bcc and might respond to everyone, exposing that he or she received a Bcc message. The following rules will help you look professional and get your message across. To find a message with an attachment, select the Search box and on the Search tab, select Has Attachments. Or, start by typing the name in the Search box, and then press the down arrow key to select From to narrow the results. After you have processed your messages, the best place to do work in Outlook (reply to messages and so on) is in Tasks. By switching to Tasks, you won’t be distracted by messages arriving in your Inbox.

Advanced: How do I create a Search Folder for email messages?

To quickly mark a message as read, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Q. If you are taking notes or minutes for the meeting, you can also use OneNote to insert meeting details from Outlook into your notes. After the meeting, you can send your notes to the attendees as a message. If you want to collaborate in Exchange connectivity diagnostic a more ad hoc fashion, you can use OneNote to take notes together in a single notebook.

Recommended Reads

That's not to say that there isn't a need for browsing through messages that are all on a particular topic or project. Outlook provides better tools — such as categories and search folders — so you can search effectively. By viewing your messages in conversation view, you can easily see which conversations have had the most back-and-forth discussion. In those cases, you might want to read and respond to only the last message in the conversation.

Set Up Quick Steps

For example, there might be a lengthy series of messages where the last one simply states, "Thanks, that answers my question," so you can just delete the whole conversation. Sometimes you can’t find a message by only searching in your reference folder alone — it could be a message that you sent or it could have been misfiled. In these cases, start by searching in any folder (Inbox, 1-Reference, etc.), then select the drop down menu from the search box, and then select Current Mailbox. The reality is that if you have a day filled with meetings, you have less time to complete tasks and write messages, so move tasks to other days. The goal of organizing your Outlook is to reduce the amount of unnecessary "noise" in your Inbox and to make the most important items bubble to the top.