When you’re among the millions of people who use Office 365 for their business, there’s a chance you’re not making the most of it. One of its most powerful features is Outlook 365, which you can use to drive your communications and stay organized. If you don’t feel as though you’re getting the most out of your software, let’s explore how you can do more with it.
Use folders to organize emails
Did you know that the average office worker receives 121 emails per day? Assuming you work nine hours per day, that’s a dizzying 13.44 emails per hour. Naturally, some communications are more important than others. If you want to avoid overlooking those that are crucial, you need to start organizing your emails.
To stay organized, consider creating two folders, one called “urgent,” and one called “outstanding.” Any email that requires your immediate attention should stay in your inbox, so you can address it immediately. Anything that needs addressing by the end of the day can be moved to “urgent.” As for emails that can wait, shift them to “outstanding.” If an email doesn’t seem to fit into any of these categories, perhaps it’s a mailing list you should unsubscribe from for your own sanity?
Hit ignore to prevent notification meltdown
Around 39% of business professionals check their emails using a mobile device. If you’re one of them, you’ll already understand the pain that comes with your notifications going crazy. In a lot of cases, this is due to email threads that soon become circular or irrelevant.
One of 365’s best features is the handy ignore button that you can hit when you want to mute a conversation. It allows you to get the best of both worlds when it comes to email threads. You’ll still remain open to threads, but you can secretly step away from them when they’re no longer serving your interests. Don’t worry about missing out on something important. If your colleagues need to get hold of you, they’ll soon ping you privately.
Create task lists for achieving timely responses
The sheer volume of emails you receive during the day can prove distracting. It can also result in you failing to address tasks in a timely manner. Although you may make a mental note that you need to respond to an urgent communication by the End of the Day (EOD), you might forget to do so until that thought returns in the middle of the night.
Outlook 365 allows you to drag emails onto your task list. Once they’re there, you can set a time for when you need to respond to the email. If it’s an EOD job, you can set the time to a few hours later. Or, if it’s a project you can muse about during the week, you can set it to Friday. As a result, everything will receive a timely and appropriate response, and you won’t forget to reply to those who need your attention at a later date.
Using Outlook 365, you can manage and streamline your communications for more productive business life. Other features to consider include DocuSign, which allows you to digitally sign documents and secure contracts swiftly. Or, you can create OneNote files that help you track your thoughts as you read through each email. By experimenting with the software’s different features, you’ll enjoy a more productive and secure working life.