Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook The Eight Best Practices of Task and E-mail Management

Name: Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook The Eight Best Practices of Task and E-mail Management
Price: 6.03 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780974930411

ISBN-10: 0974930415

ISBN-13: 9780974930411

Edition: 2005

Authors: Michael Linenberger

List price: $21.95

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Description:

Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook is a book for the over-extended office worker whose workday is out of control. It shows how to regain command of an over-committed workday and an overflowing, unmanaged e-mail in box. It does this by teaching the author's eight best practices of time, task, and e-mail management, and showing how to implement these in Microsoft Outlook.

Book details

List price: $21.95
Copyright year: 2005
Publisher: New Academy Publishers
Publication date: 10/20/2005
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 290
Size: 7.50" wide x 9.25" long x 1.00" tall
Weight: 1.430
Language: English

Acknowledgments	p. viii
Contents at a Glance	p. ix
Foreword	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
It's All About Task and E-Mail Management... and Microsoft Outlook	p. 1
A Common Symptom	p. 1
Two Simple Problems	p. 1
One Solution: Best Practices in Microsoft Outlook	p. 2
You Currently Use Outlook, But Not for Tasks	p. 3
Most People Use Only a Small Percentage of Outlook	p. 3
A Summary of Benefits to Reading This Book	p. 3
Truly Getting Your Workday Under Control	p. 3
Who This Book Is For	p. 4
Versions of Microsoft Outlook Covered	p. 5
How This Book Is Organized	p. 6
Overall Approach	p. 6
Overview of the Chapters	p. 7
The Journey Begins	p. 8
Gaining Workday Control	p. 9
General Thoughts on a Disorganized Work Style	p. 9
Finding a Solution Is Important	p. 9
You Know the Symptoms	p. 10
Unmanaged Tasks and E-Mail Derail Work Effectiveness	p. 11
Ambiguity Is the Main Problem	p. 11
Effective Task and E-Mail Management Is the Solution	p. 11
Removing Ambiguity	p. 11
An Improved Attitude	p. 12
Tasks or Goals: Which Come First?	p. 12
Tasks versus Appointments versus Projects versus Operations	p. 13
Background Projects	p. 14
Time Management versus Task Management	p. 15
Processes versus Tools	p. 15
Sources of Best Practices	p. 16
Why Automated Systems Are Nearly Always Better	p. 16
How Software Helps	p. 16
Task Management on Your Work Computer	p. 16
Going Mobile	p. 17
Why Use Outlook as Your Central Command Post	p. 19
Outlook Is Ubiquitous and Has All the Right Tools	p. 19
Outlook Task Management Is Integrated with E-Mail	p. 19
Outlook Is Easy to Use	p. 20
Outlook Has Powerful Optional Features	p. 20
Outlook Has Many Add-In Tools Available	p. 20
Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003 Implement Tasks in Essentially the Same Way	p. 21
Next: The Two Steps to Effective Task Management	p. 22
The Best Practices of Task and E-Mail Management	p. 23
Best Practices	p. 23
Best Practices Defined	p. 23
Best Practices in Task and E-Mail Management	p. 23
Eight Best Practices	p. 24
Tracking All Tasks in Outlook Tasks System	p. 24
Distinguishing Between Master and Daily Tasks	p. 26
Using a Simple Prioritization System That Emphasizes Must-Do-Today Tasks	p. 29
Writing Only Next Actions on Your Daily List	p. 32
Daily and Weekly Planning	p. 37
Converting E-Mails to Tasks	p. 37
Filing E-Mails Using Outlook Categories	p. 38
Delegating Tasks Effectively	p. 38
Summary	p. 39
Configuring Outlook for Task Management	p. 41
Why Most Users Are Unsuccessful with Outlook Task Management	p. 41
Ineffective Initial Configuration	p. 41
Some Outlook Task Basics	p. 42
Outlook 2002 and 2003 Have Nearly Identical Task Capabilities	p. 42
Navigating Through Outlook	p. 43
Choosing Between the Major Folders	p. 44
Viewing the TaskPad	p. 46
Beyond Outlook Basics	p. 48
Tasks Folder	p. 48
Tasks Folder Views	p. 51
Choosing Between Optional Task Views	p. 51
More about the TaskPad	p. 54
Summary of TaskPad versus Tasks Folder	p. 55
Entering Tasks	p. 56
Two Methods of Task Entry	p. 56
Configuring Outlook for the First Five Best Practices	p. 61
Creating the Master Tasks Custom View in Outlook 2002 and 2003	p. 61
Configure the TaskPad	p. 67
Creating the All Daily Tasks View	p. 72
Summary	p. 78
Applying Task Management Best Practices in Outlook	p. 79
Tracking All Tasks in Outlook Tasks System	p. 79
Why Track Tasks in One Location?	p. 79
Mobile Strategies: Meetings	p. 80
Getting Started: Collecting Your Scattered Tasks	p. 84
Collecting versus Working Tasks	p. 86
Using a Master Tasks List Kept Separate from Your Daily Tasks List	p. 87
Implementing in Outlook	p. 87
Distinguishing Between Daily and Master Tasks	p. 87
Entering Tasks	p. 88
Using Date Fields	p. 89
Other Fields in the Task Dialog Box	p. 91
Using a Simple Prioritization System That Emphasizes Must-Do-Today Tasks	p. 94
We All Prioritize	p. 94
How to Set Priorities in Outlook	p. 94
Other Ways to Represent Priority	p. 95
Sorting on Priority	p. 96
Must-Do-Today Tasks	p. 96
Most Tasks Are Medium Priority	p. 97
Prioritizing within the Medium Priority	p. 97
Using Low Priority in Daily List	p. 98
Priorities in the Master List	p. 98
Writing Only Next Actions on Your Daily List	p. 98
Recap of the Next Action Concept	p. 98
Implementing in Outlook	p. 99
Identify Miniprojects and Place Them on Your Master List	p. 100
Labeling Miniprojects	p. 101
Using the Text Box to Brainstorm Next Actions and Final Outcomes	p. 101
Generating Additional Next Actions	p. 102
Managing Larger Projects	p. 102
Summary	p. 104
Review of Key Learnings	p. 105
Next Steps	p. 105
Planning and Working Your Tasks in Outlook	p. 107
Working Your Tasks	p. 107
The Value of the System	p. 107
Planning Your Tasks So You Can Work Them Well	p. 108
Daily Planning	p. 108
Rule Number 1: Keep Your Daily List Short	p. 108
Rationalize and Shorten Your Daily List	p. 111
What This Does for You: Perfect Prioritization and Planning	p. 113
Don't Skip or Postpone This Daily Planning	p. 114
Balancing Importance	p. 115
Work Your Must-Do-Today Tasks	p. 115
Prioritizing within Your Medium (Normal) Level Tasks	p. 115
Complete Your Planning before Working Your Tasks	p. 117
Weekly Planning	p. 118
How to Do Weekly Planning	p. 118
Review of Projects and Miniprojects during Weekly Planning	p. 118
Review of Separately Managed Projects	p. 119
Individual Tasks Floating in the Master List	p. 119
Review Your Ideas List	p. 120
Review Your Goals	p. 120
Review Daily List	p. 120
Look Ahead on Your All Daily Tasks List	p. 121
Time Management: Finding Time to Work on Tasks	p. 121
Setting General "Tasks" Appointments	p. 122
Using Task Time Effectively	p. 122
Time Mapping	p. 122
Giving Yourself Priority	p. 123
Specific Task Appointments	p. 124
Summary	p. 125
Review of Key Learnings	p. 126
Next Steps	p. 126
Converting E-Mail to Tasks and Using Workflows	p. 127
Getting Your Inbox Under Control	p. 127
The Problems with an Out-of-Control E-Mail System	p. 127
Most People Know Their E-Mail Is Out of Control	p. 128
Best Practices and Workflows	p. 129
Converting E-Mails to Outlook Tasks	p. 131
The Most Important Best Practice	p. 131
Why This Works So Well	p. 131
Methods of Converting E-Mails to Tasks	p. 133
Use of Follow-Up Flag Tool	p. 138
Recommended E-Mail Processing Workflow	p. 139
Thoughts about the Workflow	p. 140
Summary	p. 144
Review of Key Learnings	p. 145
Next Steps	p. 145
Filing Your E-Mail Using Outlook Categories	p. 147
Filing Your E-Mail	p. 147
Clearing Your Inbox	p. 147
Filing by Topic Is Optional	p. 148
Filing in Multiple Folders: Not My Preferred Solution	p. 148
Problems with Filing in Multiple Outlook Folders	p. 149
Better Outlook Filing Solution: Using Outlook Categories	p. 150
Five Steps to Implementing an E-Mail Filing System	p. 151
E-Mail Filing Step One: Using Outlook Folders	p. 153
Showing Outlook Folders	p. 153
Showing Folders in Outlook 2002	p. 153
Showing Folders in Outlook 2003	p. 154
Multiple Folder Lists in Outlook 2003	p. 154
Shortcuts in Outlook 2003	p. 155
E-Mail Filing Step Two: Creating a New Personal Folder	p. 156
How to Create a New Personal Folder	p. 156
Create a Saved Sent Mail Folder	p. 158
If Filing in Bulk, Stop Here	p. 158
E-Mail Filing Step Three: Assigning Categories to E-Mail	p. 158
Adding the Categories Column	p. 159
Deciding on the Categories List	p. 159
Creating and Assigning Categories in the E-Mail Inbox List View	p. 160
Assigning Categories by Dragging and Dropping	p. 160
Automatic Assigning of Categories	p. 162
E-Mail Filing Step Four: Finding Your Mail Once Filed, Using Show in Groups	p. 162
In Outlook 2003 You Have a Choice	p. 163
Show in Groups	p. 164
Manually Configuring Show in Groups in Outlook 2003	p. 167
Creating a Saved Show in Groups View in Outlook 2003	p. 169
Creating a Saved Show in Groups in Outlook 2002	p. 172
Showing Custom (and Default) E-Mail Views	p. 175
E-Mail Filing Step Five: Finding Your Filed Mail Using Search Folders (Outlook 2003 Only)	p. 178
Creating Search Folders	p. 179
Deleting Search Folders and Mail inside Search Folders	p. 183
Thoughts on Using Show in Groups and Search Folders	p. 183
Show in Groups versus Search Folders	p. 183
Tips on Using Categories	p. 184
Transitioning	p. 184
Should You Categorize Everything?	p. 185
Integrating Categorization into Workflow: Batch Processing	p. 185
Speeding up Category Assignments	p. 186
Summary	p. 188
Review of Key Learnings	p. 188
Next Steps
Outlook-Based Delegation	p. 189
The Eighth Best Practice	p. 189
Successful Delegation	p. 189
The Task Delegation Approach	p. 190
Identify and Annotate a Task for Delegation	p. 190
Gaining Buy-In for the Task	p. 191
Methods of Follow-Up and Buy-In	p. 192
Summary	p. 197
Review of Key Learnings	p. 197
Next Steps	p. 197
Advanced Topics	p. 199
Doing the Math on Your Workweek	p. 199
The Problem	p. 199
The Solution	p. 201
Setting Up Your "This Week's Tasks" View for Doing the Math	p. 203
Cleaning Up Your Task Time	p. 205
Inefficient Task Time	p. 205
Avoiding Interruptions	p. 206
Identifying Deliverables	p. 206
Scheduling Tasks versus General Task Time	p. 208
Working Your Goals and Roles	p. 209
Putting Goals in Your Master List	p. 209
Other Planning Perspectives	p. 210
Auto-Categorize Incoming E-Mail, Using Outlook Rules	p. 211
Initiating a New Rule	p. 212
Setting the Criteria	p. 214
Setting the Action	p. 216
Finalizing and Saving the Rule	p. 217
Changing or Deleting Category Names	p. 219
Changing a Category Name in Your Master List and Collection	p. 219
Dealing with Categories in Mail Sent to You	p. 220
Deleting a Category Name	p. 220
Managing Your TaskPad	p. 221
Managing the Sort Order of Your Outlook TaskPad	p. 221
How to Set Priorities on Tasks with Hard Due Dates	p. 223
Viewing Recently Completed Tasks	p. 223
Status Reports	p. 224
Purging Completed Tasks from Your Task Collection	p. 230
Manually Purging Tasks	p. 230
Automatically Purging Tasks	p. 230
Add-In Tools for Outlook	p. 230
FranklinCovey PlanPlus	p. 230
Netcentric's Getting Things Done Add-In for Outlook	p. 231
Einstein Technologies Tablet Enhancements for Outlook	p. 231
Other Task Management Software Besides Outlook?	p. 231
Add-In Software Not Needed	p. 231
Wrapping Up	p. 232
Understanding Outlook Folders	p. 233
Folders Explained	p. 233
Viewing All Folders	p. 234
Four Major "Buckets" in Outlook	p. 235
Mailbox (Exchange Server)	p. 237
Determining If Your Outlook Uses an Exchange Server	p. 237
Personal Folders	p. 238
Personal Folders Explained	p. 238
How to Set Up Personal Folders	p. 241
Considerations When Adding a Personal Folders Group	p. 242
Creating the Personal Folders File: The New Personal Folders Group	p. 243
Adding Folders within the Personal Folders Groups	p. 246
Offline Access to Outlook Data	p. 247
Offline Access for Internet Mail Users	p. 247
Offline Access for Exchange Users	p. 248
Outlook Offline Folders (.ost)	p. 248
Cached Exchange Mode for Exchange 2003 and Outlook 2003	p. 249
Configuring Outlook Offline Folders (.ost)	p. 250
Detailed Offline Folders Configuration Steps	p. 250
Using Outlook AutoArchive	p. 253
The Outlook Archive Capability	p. 253
Should You Use Outlook AutoArchive?	p. 253
Keeping Your Processed Mail Folder Small	p. 254
Turning Off Outlook AutoArchive Completely	p. 256
Checking Outlook Folder Sizes	p. 257
Steps to Check Folder Size	p. 258
Setting Up AutoArchive Intelligently	p. 259
Determine the "Older Than" Setting	p. 259
Set Up and Configure AutoArchive	p. 261
Do the First Archive and Fine-Tune Your Settings	p. 265
Periodic Archive File Swap	p. 269
Backing Up Your Archive Files	p. 271
Wrapping Up AutoArchive	p. 271
Using AutoArchive to Keep the Exchange Mailbox Small	p. 272
Emptying the Deleted Items Folder	p. 272
Cleaning Out Old Sent Mail	p. 272
Purging Old Completed Tasks	p. 273
Calendar	p. 274
Resources	p. 275
Book Website	p. 275
Some Useful Books	p. 275
Software Links	p. 276
Clip-Out Page: The Eight Best Practices of Task and E-Mail Management	p. 277
Clip-Out Page: The Total Workday Control E-Mail Workflow	p. 279
Index	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.