Making room on your plate: Time and email management tips and tricks Tennille Fincham & Suzie Johannes The following handout was created to accompany a presentation made at the 2015 Staff Leadership Summit. For more information or to schedule a presentation for your department, please contact training@ku.edu.

Contents Making room on your plate: Time and email management tips and tricks .................................................. 1

The method: .............................................................................................................................................. 2

Project & task lists: .................................................................................................................................... 2

Folders in Outlook: .................................................................................................................................... 2

Other organization tips: ............................................................................................................................ 3

View by conversation ............................................................................................................................ 3

Adding a mailbox to favorites ............................................................................................................... 3

Categories ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Quick Steps ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Search .................................................................................................................................................... 4

Processing your email using the 4D’s: .......................................................................................................... 6

Do it ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Learn keyboard shortcuts ..................................................................................................................... 6

Save all attachments from an email at once ......................................................................................... 6

Create a folder on your desktop of group drive when saving multiple attachments ........................... 6

Set up email signatures to save time with correspondence ................................................................. 6

Use Quick Parts ................................................................................................................................... 10

Defer it .................................................................................................................................................... 11

Maintain a task list .............................................................................................................................. 11

Scheduling time to work on projects using your calendar ................................................................. 11

Creating an Action Folder ................................................................................................................... 12

Flag messages for follow-up and use rules ......................................................................................... 13

Delegate it ............................................................................................................................................... 15

Delete it ................................................................................................................................................... 15

If you aren’t reading the emails, unsubscribe .................................................................................... 16

Block emails that when you can’t unsubscribe ................................................................................... 16

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The method: This method is modeled after the organization methods describe in David Allen’s, “Getting things done.” If you are interested in learning more, I encourage you to check out the website and read the book. Without going into a lot of detail about the method, these are some key takeaways:

1. You maintain a project list and a next steps list. This is different than your email inbox. 2. Each week you review your projects and next steps to create your tasks for that week. 3. You have dedicated time to process items that come into your “inbox” with the goal of touching

each item once. a. You decide the action to take on each items using the 4Ds: Do it, defer it, delegate it or

delete it. b. You aim to minimize the amount of inboxes in your life.

4. After processing, you should no longer have those items in your inbox because each item has been dealt with and filed accordingly.

Project & task lists: Your project list contains all of the projects or “open loops” that you are working on right now. Once a week, set aside time to review the projects that are on your plate and you write down the next steps for each. Your weekly task list are those tasks that you can feasibly accomplish in the week.

How should you keep track of your lists? That’s up to you. You can use a pad of paper, a word doc, or a note taking software like Microsoft OneNote. OneNote comes with Microsoft Office 2013. You can launch it and start using it. However, your notebooks by default, are stored to your local machine. KU IT is working on rolling out a service which will allow you to store those notebooks in “the cloud,” which will make sharing easier. Once this service is available, we will have workshops on campus for getting started with OneNote.

Folders in Outlook: The following method is a version of something similar to the method described in “Getting Things Done.” Try to minimize the amount of folders in Outlook to minimize the time you spend filing. Here’s a suggestion of five main folders:

1. Personal – Used to store emails related to HR, etc., ideas. This also includes subfolders with any email lists.

2. Action – Anything you still need to do. Time to work on these emails should also be scheduled on your calendar.

3. Waiting On – Emails that you are waiting on someone else or some piece of information in order to take action.

4. Reference – Anything you think you will reference in the next six months. 5. Archive – This isn’t technically an “Outlook Archive.” It is actually just a folder named “Archive.”

This contains any emails that you can’t bring yourself to delete but most likely will not need to retrieve. We recommend that you don’t use Outlook Archiving at this time because the files can become easily corrupted once they reach a certain size. Instead, we advise you to manage your email in your inbox and request additional storage if necessary.

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Other organization tips: View by conversation Viewing emails by conversation allows you to reduce clutter in your inbox and follow email chains by grouping similarly-titled emails together. It isn’t immediately clear to first-time users how to turn this feature on and off. And, if you are used to reading individual messages, you may have to pay special attention to the email thread to make sure that you don’t miss a message.

How to turn on Conversations: 1. Click the View tab at the top of our Outlook home screen and check the box that says Show as

Conversations.

2. Select the folder that you want to apply Conversations View to.

Adding a mailbox to favorites If you monitor multiple mailboxes, consider adding the inbox to your Favorites panel. Your Favorites panel is above your inbox and usually includes your inbox, unread mail, etc. You can add important folders to this area by right clicking on the folder and choosing Show in Favorites.

Categories Within folders, I’ve set up categories for the major projects that I work on. Instead of filing emails under a topic, I label them with a category for the topic and then file them in reference or archive. You can label a message with multiple categories, and you can search by the category. You’ll find categories on the Home tab. Use the drop down menu under Categorize and choose All Categories to define new categories. Note: You can’t search for categories from a mobile device. If you are used to searching for emails from your smartphone or tablet, this option might not be the best for you.

Conditional formatting Using conditional formatting, you can alter how emails look in Outlook. For example, you can make it so that an email from your direct supervisor will appear bolder or in a brighter color that the other emails. By changing the way the emails look, you could more quickly locate emails using visual cues.

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Quick Steps Quick Steps let you to apply multiple actions at the same time to an email. For example, if you are repetiviely forwarding messages to your manager or team members, you can set up a one-click Quick Step to help you save time. It’s important to note that Quick Steps will not run automatically like Rules. Instead, you must manually choose the Quick Step to be performed on each mail message.

Default Quick Step Action Move to Moves the selected message to a specific mail folder and marks the message

as read. To Manager Forwards the message to your manager. You can find and select your

manager using the KU Global Address List. Team email Forwards the message to others in your team/project/department. You can

find and select members using the KU Global Addres List. Done Moves the message to a specific folder, marks the message as complete, then

marks the message as read. Reply & Delete Opens a reply to the selected message, and then deletes the original

message. Create New Create your own Quick Step to perform any series of events. Be sure to name

the Quick Step and apply an icon for easy recognition if desired.

How to create a Quick Step: 1. Click on Mail at the bottom of the screen. 2. Click on the Home tab. 3. Select a default option from the Quick Steps menu or

select the drop down button and choose New Quick Step.

4. Change the name if applicable. 5. Click on To to add members from the KU Global

Address List if applicable. 6. Click on Options to add additional actions to the

Quick Step such as moving the email to a specified folder after it is sent to the project team. For example: In the image to the right, the Quick Step Team Email has been selected and the name changed to Project 123. Once the Quick Step is chosen, the selected message will be fowarded to the chosen members(sjohannes and amjohnson) and then moved to the Project 123 folder.

Search Search has greatly improved in Outlook 2013. However, many of us aren’t using it to its fullest. Microsoft has a great webpage with search tips. Remember that

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Outlook will only present the most recent results, you may have to select “see more” to retrieve older messages.

Type this To find this bobby moore

Items containing both bobby and moore, but not necessarily in that order.

bobby AND moore

Items containing both bobby and moore, but not necessarily in that order. Note that logical operators such as AND, NOT, and OR must be in uppercase letters.

bobby NOT moore

Items containing bobby, but not moore.

bobby OR moore

Items containing bobby, moore, or both.

"bobby moore"

Items containing the exact phrase bobby moore. Note the use of double quotes so that the search results match the exact phrase within the quotes.

In addition to search, Outlook 2013 has the option of using Search Folders. A Search Folder is a virtual folder that provides a view of all email items that match specific search criteria. For example, the Unread Mail Search Folder enables you to view all unread messages in one folder, even though the messages might be saved in different folders.

How to create a search folder:

1. In Outlook 2013, click the Folder tab. In the New group, click New Search Folder.

2. From the Select a Search Folder list, click the Search Folder you want to add. 3. If prompted, under Customize Search Folder, specify the search criteria to use. 4. To select a different mailbox to search, under Customize Search Folder, click the arrow at the

Search mail in box, and then select the mailbox from the list.

Tip: To change the criteria for a Search Folder, right-click the folder in the Navigation Pane, click Customize this Search Folder, click Criteria, and then change the criteria. The criteria of Search Folders in the Reading Mail group, such as Inbox, Drafts or Sent Items, can’t be changed.

For more about search folders, see this Microsoft web page.

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Processing your email using the 4D’s: You should be able to process every email that arrives in your inbox using one of the 4D’s: Do it, defer it, delegate it, or delete it.

Do it If the next action on an email will take less than two to three minutes to complete, you should do it. Some ways you can “do it” faster:

Learn keyboard shortcuts Try learning a new keyboard shortcut every week or every other week. Here are some helpful pages with shortcuts:

• Windows keyboard shortcuts • Outlook 2013 keyboard shortcuts

Save all attachments from an email at once Instead of downloading individual attachments from an email, you can right click in the attachment area and select Save all attachments.

Create a folder on your desktop or group drive when saving multiple attachments Instead of saving the attachments to your desktop and then filing them, save a step! Create a folder on your computer or group drive from the dialog window and then save the attachments in the folder.

Set up email signatures to save time with correspondence A signature is a way to sign an email. Multiple signatures can be set up to convey a variety of contact information. Setting up a signature saves time and helps prevent errors when signing an email.

How to create a new signature: 1. Click Mail at the bottom of the screen. 2. Click New Email.

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3. Click the Signatures button. 4. Choose Signatures.

5. Click New. 6. Type in a name for the signature. 7. Click Ok.

8. Type in the signature information under Edit Signature. 9. Change default signature settings to have signatures added to all outgoing emails.

Note: By default, signatures will not be added to messages unless specified.

How to add your Lync contact to your signature: You can add a hyperlink to your Microsoft Lync contact in your signature. When a fellow Lync user clicks on your Lync contact, a blank instant message addressed to you will automatically open.

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1. Create a new email by clicking Mail at the bottom of the screen and then clicking New Email.

2. Click the Signatures button and choose Signatures. 3. Under Edit signature, type the text that you want to make the hyperlink. 4. Highlight the text and click on the hyperlink button.

5. In the address box, enter sip: followed by your primary email address.

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How to automatically add a signature to a new message or to replies/forwards: 1. Select a signature in the dropdowns next to both

New messages and Replies/forwards under Choose default signature.

2. Click OK.

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Use Quick Parts If you find yourself typing the same message in multiple emails, you may want to consider making it a Quick Part. A Quick Part is a reusable piece of content. that can include frequently used text, picture, or other email message parts.

How to create a Quick Part: 1. Create a new email by clicking Mail at the bottom of the screen and then clicking New Email. 2. Type the text that you would like to make into a Quick Part and highlight the text. 3. On the Insert tab, select Quick Parts and then select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery…

4. Give it a Name. Additionally, you can choose to which Gallery and Category to place it in. 5. By Options, you can choose to insert the content as a new paragraph when it is used. 6. Select OK.

To insert a Quick Part: 1. On the Insert tab, select Quick Parts and choose the text or object to insert.

Use Outlook message templates If you find yourself looking through your sent items in order to reuse an entire email that you’ve sent before, you might consider making the message into an Outlook message template. Email templates are great for messages that includes information that changes infrequently from message to message. You can always include additional or new information with the message before you send it.

To create an Outlook message template:

1. On the Home tab, in the New group, click New E-mail. 2. In the message body, enter the content and subject that you want. 3. In the message window, click the File tab. 4. Click Save As. 5. In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type list, click Outlook Template.

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6. Choose the location where you’d like to save your template. By default, templates will be stored on your local machine at c:\users\username\appdata\roaming\microsoft\templates, however you can change the location to a department folder for example.

7. In the File name box, type a name for your template or leave it as the default file name (your subject line), and then click Save.

How to use an Outlook message template: • If the message is stored on a group drive or location other than the default location, you can

browse to that location and double click on the email. Then skip to step 5 below. • If the message is stored in the default location,:

1. On the Home tab, in the New group, click New Items, point to More Items, and then Choose Form.

2. In the Choose Form dialog box, in Look In, click User Templates in File System. 3. The default templates folder is opened. The folder location is as follows:

c:\users\username\appdata\roaming\microsoft\templates a. If your template is saved in a different folder, click Browse, and then select

the template. 4. Select the template, and then click Open. 5. Make any additions or revisions to the recipients in the To, Cc, or Bcc boxes. You can

also change the text in the Subject box and add contents to the message body. Note: Changes made aren’t saved to the template. If you use the Save command, this creates a draft of your message, but won’t update the template. To update the template, follow the steps in Create an Outlook template, starting with step 2.

6. Click Send.

Defer it Maintain a task list It’s important to keep of list of your projects and to review it weekly with the goal in mind of, “what is the next step.” This will most likely include emails that will take longer than 2-3 minutes to respond to. Many of us use our email inbox as our task list. However, that may make lesser important tasks take a priority during the week. Also, your email inbox doesn’t include everything you have to do. If you think about the efficiencies and projects that you’ve initiated to improve your department, you probably didn’t receive an email telling you what action to take e an email to tell me to do them. There are lots of ways to maintain your task list. You can use a notepad, a Word doc, or a note-taking software such as OneNote.

Scheduling time to work on projects using your calendar If the next step on an email requires a task that will take more than 2-3 minutes to complete, you should schedule time to work on it.

How to create a calendar appointment from an email: 1. Select the email and drag and drop it on the word Calendar in the lower left corner of Outlook. 2. Use the Scheduling Assistant to find time to complete the task.

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Creating an Action Folder Instead of keeping emails that you need to respond to in your inbox, consider creating an action folder. When you receive an email that takes longer than 2-3 minutes to resolve, you can schedule time to work on it and then drag the email to your action folder. Once you’ve completed the action, you can file it under Reference or Archive or delete it.

How to create a folder: 1. Right-click on the Inbox folder. 2. Choose New Folder.

3. Type a name for the folder. 4. Press Enter on the keyboard to save the name.

How to file an email within a folder: 1. Select an email from the inbox. 2. Drag and drop the email into a folder.

Note: If the folders in the inbox are not visible, click on the small black arrow next to Inbox to expand the list.

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Flag messages for follow-up and use rules Flags create a visible reminder that an action is due. When a message is flagged, a flag appears for that message in the message list. Flagged items also appear in the To-Do Bar, in the Daily Task List in Calendar, and in the To-Do List in the Tasks view.

On your smartphone or tablet, you can often flag a message by swiping from right to left, and the flag will appear within Outlook 2013. This can be a great mobile strategy if you find yourself checking your email from your mobile device often. In addition to flagging the email, you may want to create a rule to forward your flagged emails to your action folder. Or, you may want to create a folder called, “For follow up” and forward flagged emails to that folder.

In addition to flags, you can include a reminder that alerts you at a specified time. As you hover over flagged messages in the Task List, the details that are associated with the flag appear, such as the due date, the type of follow up that is needed, or a when a reminder will appear.

How to flag a message: 1. Open a message. 2. Click on the Message tab. 3. Click Follow Up in the Tags group. 4. Select a flag.

Note: Messages can also be flagged by selecting a message and then clicking the icon to the right of

the item. Right-click on the icon for more options and select from the drop down list.

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How to add a custom due date to a flag: 1. Open a message. 2. Click on the Message tab. 3. Click on Follow Up. 4. Choose Custom. 5. Select the dates you want in the Start Date and Due Date boxes.

How to add a reminder to a flag: 1. Open a message. 2. Click on the Message tab. 3. Click on Follow Up. 4. Choose Add Reminder. 5. Select the box next to Reminder. 6. Set the date and time to be

reminded.

How to create a new rule: 1. Right-click on an email from the

inbox. 2. Choose Rules. 3. Select Create Rule. 4. Select the conditions for

messages to meet. a. For example, in the

image below messages must be from KU Today and Sent to me only.

5. Select the actions for messages to take. a. In the image below messages from KU Today and Sent to me only will be automatically

moved the KU Today folder in the inbox. b. When a new rule is created, it’s helpful to add notification settings. This will notify you when

a new message has been received, even when it’s automatically filed into a folder other than the Inbox.

i. For example, below the notifications include a New Item Alert window and the Windows Notify sound.

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c. For more sophisticated rules, click on Advanced Options. From there, you can set up additional conditions, actions, and exceptions for the rule.

6. Click OK.

To edit or delete or modify existing rules: 1. Right-click on any message. 2. Choose Rules. 3. Select Manage Rules & Alerts.

Delegate it In some cases, you may want to delegate the email to someone else. The “someone else” could be someone that you supervise or simply another person who has the information. One tip here could be to set up a Quick Step to quickly forward these emails on.

To keep track of delegated tasks, you could do several things:

• Add it to a section on your task list. • Drag it to your “Waiting On” folder. • David Allen suggests adding yourself as a blind copy or Bcc when you delegate an email. Then,

you can set up a rule that forwards all emails from you with you Bcc’d to forward to your “Waiting On” folder.

Delete it Your inbox may, at some point, become inundated with emails from a variety of senders. If you’ve used your university account to sign up for promotions or to receive updates from vendors, you likely receive multiple emails a day that either take time to delete, or take up space in your inbox making it difficult to find more important emails.

If the email contains information that you will not refer to again or information that can readily be found on a website, you can delete the email. Oftentimes, emails from vendors or other promotional type emails can be unsubscribed from. To do this, open the email and click on the Unsubscribe link.

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If you aren’t reading the emails, unsubscribe If you find yourself deleting an email from a list or sender twice without reading it, then you might want to consider unsubscribing from the list. You can usually find a link to unsubscribe from an email at the very end of the email. In some cases, you will not be able to find an unsubscribe link. If you are receiving unwanted email and are unable to unsubscribe, you can block the email.

Block emails that when you can’t unsubscribe If an email matches any of the following criteria, you may need to block the sender instead of just unsubscribe:

• There is no unsubscribe link in the email • You do not know the sender • The content of the email contains inappropriate or suspicious content

Note: If you are receiving emails with inappropriate or suspicious content please visit kuit.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0010076 for instructions on how to notify KU IT.

• The email asks you for your university username and password or financial information.

Note: KU IT will never ask you for your password. Never give out your account or financial information. If you receive an email with this content, please visit kuit.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0010076 for instructions on how to notify KU IT.

How to block emails from specific senders: 1. Click on your inbox. 2. Right-click on an email from a sender you

want to block. 3. Choose Junk. 4. Choose Block Sender.

How to unblock emails from specific senders: 1. Click on your inbox. 2. Right-click on any email. 3. Choose Junk. 4. Choose Junk E-mail Options. 5. Click on the Blocked Senders tab. 6. Click on the sender to select. 7. Click on Remove.

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Forward emails from lists to a folder In some cases, you may not want to unsubscribe from a list because from time to time, you reference the emails. In this case, you may want to create a folder and set up a rule to forward those emails to the folder. That way, they won’t land directly in your inbox, and you can read them when you have time. See earlier sections on folders and rules for step-by-step instructions.

For more information If you’d like more information or specific guidance on how to minimize the amount of time you spend processing or organizing your email, you can attend one of our Outlook 2013 – Getting Organized classes listed on workshops.ku.edu or you can contact training@ku.edu to set up a desk-side coaching appointment. Additionally, contact us at training@ku.edu if you’d like to set up a presentation or training session specifically for your department.