Inbox command system
Everything from Module 1 on one page: the steps to set up your system, a simulator to practise each one safely, and the references you will keep open once you are back at work.
How to use this
- Sections 1 to 3
- Build once, during or right after Module 1. About 20 minutes.
- Section 7
- The capstone. Do it last, without notes.
- Sections 4 to 6
- Keep open as daily references. Don't memorise them.
- Checklists
- Tick items as you set them up in your real Outlook. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Turn on Focused Inbox
15 seconds to switch on, one to two weeks to train.
Steps
- Select the View tab in the ribbon.
- Select Show Focused Inbox. Two tabs appear above your mail: Focused and Other.
- For the first two weeks, when mail lands in the wrong tab, right-click it and choose Always move to Focused or Always move to Other.
- After that, Outlook rarely gets it wrong. Check Other once a day at most.
The goal: Focused shows only email that needs a reply or a decision. Everything else belongs in Other or a folder.
What it does, and what it doesn't
Build three rules
Rules act the moment mail arrives, so predictable mail never reaches your inbox.
Building any rule
- Open Home, then Rules, then Manage rules and alerts.
- Select New rule and start from a blank rule.
- Choose a condition, then select the underlined value in the description to fill it in.
- Choose an action. Select specified folder to pick or create the folder.
- Give it a name you'll recognise later, such as "Newsletters to Newsletters folder".
- Tick Run this rule now on messages already in Inbox, then select Finish.
Build four Quick Steps
For mail that needs your judgement first, then the same actions every time.
Rule or Quick Step? If you'd do the same thing without reading the email, use a rule. If you need to read it first and then act, use a Quick Step.
Building a Quick Step
- In the Home tab, find the Quick Steps group.
- Select New Quick Step, then Custom.
- Give it a short, action-led name and, optionally, a Ctrl+Shift+number shortcut.
- Select Add action for each step. They run in the order listed.
- For reply actions, add your template text.
- Select Finish, then test it on a real email.
Search operators
Press Ctrl+E to jump to search from anywhere in Outlook.
| Operator | What it narrows | Example |
|---|
Combinations to copy
Keyboard shortcuts
Outlook for Windows. Learn five at a time; the rest follow.
The daily routine
Check email at set times, not continuously. Your rules keep the noise out in between.
What to aim for
inbox visits a day, instead of constant checking
open action items in Focused when you log off
a day typically lost to re-scanning an overloaded inbox, which this routine removes (Harvard Business Review)
Put the routine in your calendar
Decide when each check happens and the routine becomes a plan you're far more likely to follow (Gollwitzer, 1999). Adjust the times, pick your days, then download a calendar file. Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar all open it.
Capstone: clear Alex's Monday
A new inbox, four goals, no step-by-step instructions. Use anything from sections 1 to 4, in any order. Hints are there if you need them, and they are counted.
Why no instructions? Earlier exercises walked you through each tool. Here the support fades completely, so you show you can pick the right tool for a new situation on your own. That is the skill the course is actually for (Merrill, 2002).