What do you do when you get an email for an appointment that must happen at a set time, such as a lunch date invitation in an email? Follow the same process: right-click and choose “Move to Folder.” If it’s an item that must be done at a specific time, choose Calendar and click “OK.” Now, you have a new appointment with the email in the text portion. Fill in times as usual and click OK. The email will be moved from the Inbox to that Appointment. If you go to the Calendar, you’ll find that appointment with the original email attached. You can reply to emails right from that appointment as well. For some people, using the Move to Folder command is a huge habit change, instead of leaving actionable emails sitting in the Inbox.

This “Move to Folder” feature works the same in Outlook 2003, 2007, and 2010 versions. Go to www.TheProductivityPro.com/download.htm for screen shots and step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

2. Be the Last One To Respond To an Email

Sometimes people say that they leave email in their Inbox because they use their Inbox as a big filing system. Anytime they need to retrieve an old message, they use the “Find” feature. This of course only works for people whose IT departments aren’t breathing down their backs to keep their Mailbox size down. It’s much easier to stay organized to use your Inbox for new information and Sent Items for searches. If you’re always the last one to respond, even if it’s just to thank the sender for the information or for their assistance, you can use your Sent Items for searches. Your Sent Items folder can be sorted the same way your Inbox can be sorted: by person, by subject, by date, etc.