Name your tasks in a consistent way. I like to use Noun-Verb (e.g., 'White paper – Review' or 'Eblast - Write'). This lets me sort by category if needed. If a task will be repeated on a regular.
- If you want to convert Outlook emails into Outlook Tasks, you really need to use the Outlook client. If you’re using a third-party to-do list manager, you can access your add-ins when you’re in the Outlook mobile app. Creating Tasks from Apple Mail.
- Instructions for classic Tasks in Outlook.com Create, delete, move, or categorize tasks. Mark tasks as complete as you finish them. My tasks - Displays folders you can use to view and manage your tasks. Choose whether you want to view items you have. Tasks list - Filter and display tasks based on.
Many sources tell us we should work smarter and manage our time more effectively. However, few tell us how to accomplish these goals. I am one of those old-school time management freaks who disagrees with anyone who says To Do lists are a thing of the past.
My To Do lists live up to their name: they tell me what to do.
Keeping a list and following it helps me prioritize, stay on track, reduces the number of activities I forget or neglect to accomplish, and generally boosts my overall productivity.
I prefer to use Outlook’s tasks for my To Do lists over other methods for a variety of reasons: Outlook's task function is simple, free, and in my face – built into an application I use daily. My email, tasks, and calendar are integrated. Whereas my calendar tells me where to go and with whom to meet, my task list tells me what I need to accomplish any given day. I can see my To Do list for the day, the following day, and the entire week at-a-glance. I can assign tasks to my team members and push tasks to other Microsoft programs like OneNote.
The following tips may sound obvious once you read them. They may even be a bit boring. Time management isn't exactly sexy. But, I’m known for my time management skills and I have been asked to share my tried and true methods for maintaining a successful To Do list.
Make each task granular enough that you can accomplish it in less than two hours.
I have tasks dedicated to drafting content, following up on action items, and ensuring my team members are all focused on the right priorities. I know some will take mere seconds (e.g., scheduling a meeting) whereas others are more involved so they will balance out. If a task will take days to complete, it’s not achievable on a daily To Do list and should probably become a campaign item or a larger work item.
Limit the number of tasks you assign to yourself in any given day.
I’m most effective if I have fewer than twelve tasks on my daily list. I have meetings to attend and unplanned interruptions to address so if I try to tackle too many To Do items, I’m just setting myself up for failure.
Prioritize your tasks by putting the most important ones – or the ones with the earliest deadlines – at the top of that day’s list.
If I need to accomplish something first thing in the morning, I naturally assign that task a higher priority than the others. If my task list looks too large for a day, I know I need to either extend the deadline (e.g., push the task to another day), increase the team size (i.e., enlist help), or reduce the effort (determine if anything can drop).
Name your tasks in a consistent way.
I like to use Noun-Verb (e.g., 'White paper – Review' or 'Eblast - Write'). This lets me sort by category if needed.
If a task will be repeated on a regular basis, I include a label like “(Daily)” or “(Mondays)” at the end. Once I have completed a repeating task, I reassign it accordingly. For example, if I have a weekly meeting that requires a status report, I create a standing task to prepare it the day before the meeting. Once I finish my status for the week, I move the task to the following week.
If you complete it, delete it.
I check tasks off as I finish them so they disappear from my list and I can stop worrying about them. I only have so much space in my brain (and on my To Do list). If it’s gone, I can move on.
These tips obviously work in the office but they can be applied just as easily to your home life. What tricks do you use to manage your time effectively?
Aug 9, 2013
This article was extracted from my Outlook book Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook (3rd Edition). I am placing it here because we are editing down the size of that book as we create its fourth edition and so are removing it in that new edition. Since this material is still useful, we wanted to make it available online.
Are Hierarchies of Goals and Tasks Useful?
When you start planning your goals, projects, and tasks, it won’t take you long to realize that there is a natural hierarchy that goes something like this: From our goals we create projects and from our projects we create tasks. So we should be able to trace many tasks back to a project and then to a goal. In fact, some people say that every task we list we should be able to trace back to a goal, and tasks that are not related to our goals should not even be in our task list.
The logic in this is undeniable. However, the utility of doing much work on it is debatable. Every time I spend much time creating goal>project>task hierarchies I don’t get much value out of it compared to the time it takes to create the hierarchies and maintain them. But that’s just me, and a large and vocal group of task system users feels very strongly about using such hierarchies in task systems. So to that end, let me show you one way to do this in Windows Outlook that works relatively well.
Using Tasks In Outlook App
Creating Hierarchical Folders in Windows Outlook
Windows Outlook has a strong capability to create hierarchical folders. I am going to use that capability to create a goal>project>task hierarchy. In fact I can make these hierarchies as deep as I want. For example, I could add subgoals or subprojects in the middle of the hierarchy. One thing I cannot do is create a subtask. That’s because the parent task above it will not show up in my To-Do Bar. But that’s okay—I just use various levels of projects to enable that, and only declare tasks at the bottom level.
Here is an example that you can use as a guide for your own implementation. In it I use a deep hierarchy—just to show you how deep this can go. I create a Goals tasks folder in my main data store (my Exchange Mailbox), and under that I create three goal entries as task subfolders. Under each of those folders I create task subfolders that I call projects, and under some of those, task subfolders I call subprojects. Finally, within the bottom folders I create actual tasks. Surprisingly, all of the actual tasks from all folders will show up in my To-Do Bar task list where I can track them. The reason this works is due to the Search Folder–like nature of the To-Do Bar task list, where tasks are collected from all Tasks folders.
How to Create This
In the the figure below you can see my Goals tasks folder halfway down the list, with three subfolders that are named after my three goals. I put G: in front of each to make that clear. I create the Goals folder simply by right-clicking the first folder group and choosing New Folder, and then creating a Tasks folder called Goals.
After that is created I right-click it, choose New Folder and create my first goal (G:Create insightful teachings) as an Outlook Tasks folder as well. Then I create two more goals as shown above.
I right-click the goal G:Expand business (shown above) and enter projects (as Tasks folders with P: at the beginning) and subprojects (as Tasks folders with SP: at the beginning) and then actual tasks under the subprojects. The next figure also shows how this looks, with one subproject (SP:Delivery) selected and the tasks inside it shown at the right. Examine carefully the bottom half of the Folder List.
As I said, the tasks on the right side of Figure 12.7 are contained within the subproject folder SP:Delivery, because that is what is selected. These tasks will appear in the To-Do Bar (if the start date is on or before today). Notice I set the start date to 2/2/2222 for most tasks to keep them out of the To-Do Bar (that date is far in the future and easy to type, as discussed in Lesson 12 of the book). They are dependent tasks and not yet ready to be worked as Now Tasks.
Summary
Using Tasks In Outlook 2003
The Outlook folder system and To-Do Bar offers quite a bit of flexibility for creating hierarchical relationships among tasks. I encourage you to experiment with this capability should you want this kind of approach to tasks.
Using Tasks In Outlook 365
Michael Linenberger