Tasks :: MS Outlook for Business

Archive for Tasks

Linking Contacts to Calendar Appointments in Outlook

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

[A hidden but very useful feature of Outlook appointments is that you can link contacts to them. Here’s why and how.]

Why you may want to show contacts on Outlook Appointments?

Having your contacts linked to the Outlook Calendar appointment lets you see all the people associated with the appointment. In case you need to reschedule the appointment, you can simply get more information about the contact (like phone number) directly from the appointment screen and make a call to inform them of the reschedule.

Apart from being able to get information about the contact straight from the Appointments screen, the appointment will also appear in the Activities tab of contact record and also in the People pane when you receive an email from the contact.

How to display Outlook Contacts on Appointments?

The first thing you need to do is to make the Contacts field visible on your Appointment form. In the versions prior to Outlook 2007, the Contacts field was always available on the Appointment form, but this feature was disabled by default in the later versions.

To enable Contacts button on the Appointment form in Outlook 2010 and 2007:

In Outlook 2010, click on File > Options > click Contacts from the left pane
Tick the option “Show contacts linked to the current item“
Click OK

In Outlook 2007, click Tools > Options…
Under the Preferences tab, click the Contacts Option… button
Tick the option “Show contact linking on all Forms“
Click OK and then OK again

To start attaching contacts to an appointment:

Go to your Calendar folder and create a new Appointment, you will find the Contacts button as shown below:

Say for example you want to create a meeting with Sanjay Singh of Standss (South Pacific) Limited. Simply click on the Contacts button, select Sanjay Singh from your contacts list and click OK.
Click Save and Close to create the appointment.

You can also link contacts to other Outlook items such as Tasks, Journal, Notes etc following similar steps.

Let us know if you find this tip useful by leaving a comment below.

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook Contacts Tips, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (0)

Outlook Reminder Tip: Snooze Multiple Reminders at Once

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Setting up reminders on Task is simple and quite handy because with so much to do, we are likely to miss or forget about other important tasks that might be due.

BUT the overwhelming part is when you are in the middle of something very important and the Reminder Pop-up comes with several tasks. There is two things you might do at this point:

Click on the red X button to close the Pop-up screen or
Select each individual task and set a snooze time for it to reappear later

The second option is time-consuming and frustrating when you’re in a middle of something important and have no time to waste.

Get frustrated no more, here is a simple tip that will let you “Select All” Tasks and snooze them all at once:

When the Reminder Pop-up appears:

Select the First item in the list
Press Shift on your keyword
Select the Last item. This should now select all the items in the list as shown below:

Reminder Pop-up screen

Set the Snooze time from the drop-down
Click Snooze

This should now snooze all the items in the list to the time specified by you so you can continue with your important task on hand.

For more Reminder Tips, you can refer to an interesting article by Deborah Savadra on Managing Microsoft Outlook Reminders.

Did you find this tip useful? let us know by leaving a comment below.

Categories : Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (0)

Smart Schedules Update – An ESSENTIAL feature was missing!

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Thanks to your advice we are excited to announce the latest upgrade to Smart Schedules now provides a full solution to project management and scheduling inside Outlook.

We know that you know best… which is why the best features in our software are always designed by users.

Feedback from users showed us that Smart Schedules was missing one very important component. You told us that 3 things were important for the tasks and appointments that make up your projects… What, When and WHO!

Smart Schedules already made the What and When easy… but the Who was missing… until now.

We heard from users who were scheduling repetitive processes that could be further enhanced by inviting others from your contacts to attend key appointments and meetings.

We realized that you are not the only one at a meeting!

Just as you add participants to appointments using Meeting Request, you can invite people from your Outlook Contacts or manually to appointments in Smart Schedules.

Now, each of your individual appointments has a place to assign additional participants from your contacts, putting you squarely in the driver’s seat of the project – just like a project manager.

Smart Schedules essentially is an Outlook based project management software without the complexity and learning curve of all those others. Plus, there is no monthly subscription fee. You pay once and it’s yours to use forever!

Take a look at this screen shot below. Here is the appointment I’m adding my associate to.

See! You don’t need to change to another program or go through a complex, multi-step integration to use the functionalities that Outlook already provides.

Smart Schedules downloads and integrates right into your existing Outlook, keeps your data safe on your computer and doesn’t disrupt anything you are already doing.

When you need to create a new project or start one that you perform regularly (perhaps when you get a new client) you simply click on the Project Centre toolbar. Once you set the start or end trigger date, everything falls into place including assigning the same appointments to the same team members every time. If you want to change who attends a meeting for a single project, you can make edits to your template just for that client. And, if you want to change this person permanently for all future projects like this one, you can edit your Master Template.

Use Smart Schedules for your project management and scheduling needs seamlessly within Outlook. Start your Free 30 Day Trial Today and you will receive FREE Training Emails that will teach you how to use all the useful features Smart Schedules has to offer!

(This is a free update for registered users of Smart Schedules. We will send you a separate email with download instructions.)

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool, Smart Schedules for Outlook

Comments (0)

How to Set Reminders for Outlook Emails

Posted by: standss | Comments (1)

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Often the emails that we receive require some future actions for example to setup a meeting with a client or making a phone call on a particular date/time. Ofcourse you can create a new Appointment or a Task to do the same but in this post, I will show you how easy it is to set reminders on the email itself.

In Outlook 2010 (When a message is closed)

In your Inbox, select a message
Under the Home tab > go to the Tags group
Click Follow Up > Add Reminder
On the Custom dialog box, tick the Reminder checkbox. This activates the Reminder date and time boxes beneath the checkbox.
Select a date and time for the reminder to appear. Additionally you have the option to select what sound to play when a reminder appears by click on the Sound button.
Click OK.

The message will now be automatically flagged for follow up and the reminder will appear at the date and time specified.

In Outlook 2010 (When a message is open)

Under the Message tab > go to the Tags group
Here on the steps will be the same (as above) as when the message is closed.

In Outlook 2007 (When a message is closed)

In your Inbox, right-click the message
Click Follow Up > Add Reminder
On the Custom dialog box, tick the Reminder checkbox. This activates the Reminder date and time boxes beneath the checkbox.
Select a date and time for the reminder to appear. Additionally you have the option to select what sound to play when a reminder appears by clicking on the Sound button.
Click OK.

The message will now be automatically flagged for follow up and the reminder will appear at the date and time specified.

In Outlook 2007 (When a message is open)

On the open message window, click Follow Up on the Ribbon > Add Reminder
Here on the steps will be the same (as above) as when the message is closed.

In Outlook 2003 (When a message is closed)

In your Inbox, right-click the message
Click Follow Up > Add Reminder…
On the Flag for Follow Up dailog box, select a Due by date (and optionally a time for the reminder to appear).
Click OK

The message will now be automatically flagged for follow up and the reminder will appear at the date and time specified.

In Outlook 2003 (When a message is open)

On the open message window, click Actions on the menu
Click Follow Up > Add Reminder…
Here on the steps will be the same (as above) as when the message is closed.

Do you think that this is much easier then setting up new Appointments and Tasks?

Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Categories : Outlook Email Tips, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (1)

Start your day with Outlook the way YOU want

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Everytime you open Outlook in the morning, the first thing you see is a inbox full of emails that you will be working on. This is how the day starts for alot of us, but this can be changed.

We are all different and we always like things which can be personalized and configured to our likings.

Do you wish to view your Calender, Contacts, Task or anything other then your Inbox (emails) in the morning?

I personally have Outlook setup to open my Calendar so I know what I had actually planned for my day. (I don’t like starting with the Inbox because it is too easy to jump into emails and start working on things that are not real priorities)

You can follow the simple steps below to change to the folder of your choice:

In Outlook 2010:

Click the File menu > Options > click Advanced on the left column
Under Outlook Start and Exit, click Browse and then choose what folder you want Outlook to show you first: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks or any of your other folders

In Outlook 2007 & 2003:

Click the Tools menu > Options
Click the Other tab, and then click Advanced Options.
Under General Settings, next to the Startup in this folder box, click Browse and then choose what folder you want Outlook to show you first: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks or any of your other folders.

Now when you start Outlook, it will display the folder that you have selected above.

Categories : Outlook Installation/Setup, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (0)

Questions & Answers re Smart Schedules for Outlook

Posted by: standss | Comments (3)

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Things are really starting to happen fast. We are launching Smart Schedules for Outlook on 3rd June – less than 24 hours away.

If you haven’t seen the video of how easy, fast and error-free scheduling of appointments (and tasks) in Outlook can be, take a look at the video now.

We are busy putting the finishing touches to the website and related material in place.

Actually, the software itself is complete and ready to go, we are just getting everything in order so we can handle the huge rush once we launch… after all this is being launched to more than 20,000 Outlook users.

In any case, we have been getting a HUGE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS coming in which is truly appreciated.

It seems that the information I have sent out over the last few weeks has struck a chord with many people (I think that’s the right use of the phrase) and I want to answer all your questions before the actual launch.

I suspect that we will be under a lot of pressure once we launch so I may not be able to answer questions then.

I hope that the following answers help you make up your mind about the software and snap up the 200 copies of additional software that we will be giving away.

YOUR QUESTIONS…

I’ve had a few questions with regard to both Smart Schedules and the launch process. I’ve tried to answer them below:

Q: The video showed Smart Schedules in Outlook 2007. Does Smart Schedule work in other versions of Outlook too?

A. YES. Smart Schedules works with Outlook 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Q: I seem to receive your emails in the middle of the night. I don’t want to miss out on the limited software that you are giving out for early movers.

A. I have absolutely no idea how long the first 200 sales will take BUT… the emails I have received seem to indicate that demand is high. If you don’t make the first 200 because of a time zone difference, please email me within 24 hours of the launch email.

Q. Are there sample templates for my industry to help me get started?

A. Definitely. We have included templates for many industries including legal and real estate. However please use these templates as a starting point only. You need to refine them to ensure that the appointments and tasks are scheduled correctly for the way your business works.

Q. Is there a way to share my templates with other people in my organization?

A. YES! Smart Schedules lets you export and import templates easily

Q. Can I have a template with appointments/tasks scheduled both before and after the trigger date?

A. Yes. We did not originally have this but feedback from readers made it clear that this was an essential feature that you wanted.

Q. What about existing appointments and tasks? Can they be added to Projects so that they show up in the Project Centre.

A. Yes. Again this was something that readers pointed out. We appreciate your great ideas and are happy to report that this has been implemented for you to use as well.

Q: How much will Smart Schedules cost?

A. Sorry but you have to wait till tomorrow (3rd June) to find out but we will be giving a SUBSTANTIAL DISCOUNT to anyone who purchases during the launch week.

GET READY…
We will be launching in less than 24 hours time. Once again I wish to thank you all for taking the time to read my report, watch our video and having faith in our solutions.

Oh… one last thing: we are going to have a rock-solid guarantee for Smart Schedules for Outlook – 60 days for anyone who purchases during the launch week. I truly believe that Smart Schedules will make a dramatic change in the productivity of many users and I want to make sure you have enough time to feel its benefits.

Till tomorrow…

Have a better Outlook.

Regards,
Sanjay Singh

PS: The launch takes place in less than 24 hours. See the video now to see if you want to claim the 200 copies of extra software that we are giving away.

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool, Smart Schedules for Outlook

Comments (3)

[Video] Outlook Appointments & Tasks… the Fast, Easy ERROR-FREE way

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Since our last report, we’ve been getting a lot of emails from readers… is the video ready… I want to see if this solution will work for MY BUSINESS. So…

The video is ready… take a look right now at:

The Fast, Easy, Error Free way to Schedule, Manage and Reschedule Appointments and Tasks for all your projects… inside Outlook.

My personal favourite part of the Smart Schedules for Outlook… how I can see ALL appointments and tasks for a project in one place… it makes it so much easier to see the impact of changes.

Beta Testers have been telling us that their favourites include how quick and easy it is to create ALL appointments and tasks for a process from a template…. and how easy it is to ACCURATELY reschedule multiple appointments when there is a change in a deadline.

We’d love to hear what you like so please let us know after you see the video.

Regards,
Sanjay Singh

PS: We are giving away a limited quantity of other software as part of the launch. Take a look at the video now to find out if this solution works for you.

PSS: Then, if you have the time, I would appreciate any feedback you can send me on the video… send us a email at news@standss.com. And…don’t forget to send us any questions you have on our new software.

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool, Smart Schedules for Outlook

Comments (0)

Why Outlook’s Appointments and Tasks are NOT Good Enough for YOUR Business… and How to Fix It in 5 Minutes

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Friday, May 27th, 2011

A quick post to let you know that the special report is ready for you to read now.

3 Reasons why Outlook’s Appointments and Tasks are
too Simplistic, Error-Prone, Time Consuming & Risky for Your Business
… and How to Fix It in 5 Minutes

Download and read the report now:

Click here to read the report online. You will need the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader – if you need it, get it here.

To save the report to your hard-disk and read the PDF file offline, right click this link and then click “save target as”

A special Thank You to the many readers who came back with such fantastic ideas and comments… your information was so valuable that we HAD to go back and rework major parts of both the report and the solution.

Once you have read the report, please send me your comments at news@standss.com

I look forward to helping you to add more time to your day.

Regards,
Sanjay

PS: You need to read the information TODAY as it links to a video showing you a 5 minute solution to making Outlook’s Appointments and Tasks work the FAST, EASY, ERROR-FREE way your business needs.

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (0)

Are Outlook Appointments and Tasks too DUMB for use in real business?

Posted by: standss | Comments (1)

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

You may have noticed that I dedicate a lot of time to getting the most out of Outlook for my (and hopefully your) business – just look at the emails and blog articles I send you.

So I was abit surprised (confused?) during lunch when two of my friends (a lawyer and a real estate agent) commented that they do NOT think that Outlook’s Tasks and Appointments were SMART enough tools for their businesses.

They were both using Outlook but were frequently finding that when they relied on their Outlook calendar, they were RUSHING about in the last minute trying to meet DEADLINES due to INCORRECT entries…

These guys are both extremely competent highly professional people… if they were having problems then I was sure that many other people would be having similar problems.

So I decided to do some research… to try and understand what they actually meant… and hopefully find a solution.

Their problem was that they needed to enter a SERIES of related appointments and tasks into Outlook (sort of like a process)… based on the start date for the real estate agent and the end date (generally a court date) for the lawyer.

It was TIME-CONSUMING and ERROR-PRONE to do this by hand each time…
sometimes some steps were missed or entered on the wrong date.

The problem was made worse because invariably there was a change in a critical date which required RESCHDEULING of multiple items and… it wasn’t easy to find and change them all in Outlook.

It wasn’t uncommon to miss updating one or more appointments.. and unfortunately THE SIMPLEST STEP BECOMES THE MOST CRITICAL AS SOON
AS IT IS MISSED!

The good news is that we have been working on something that I hope to release in the next month or so.

But before we do that… we thought we better make sure that we were understanding the problem properly.

Could you give us a couple of minutes of your time to answer two simple questions:

1. Why does your industry need to enter a series of appointments (and
tasks) into Outlook?

2. What are some of the problems of doing this in Outlook at the
moment?

Please type in a quick response and send it to news@standss.com

With so many readers, I can’t guarantee a personal response… but
I can guarantee that I will personally read your email.

That’s all for now… Wishing you a better Outlook.

Regards,
Sanjay Singh

P.S. I really DO value your input in getting things right. Why
does your industry need to enter a series of appointments (and
tasks) into Outlook? and… What are some of the problems of doing
this in Outlook at the moment?

Please send your response Now to news@standss.com

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (1)

Coming Up… Smarter ways of Scheduling Outlook Appointments (and Tasks)

Posted by: standss | Comments (0)

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

We’ve had a lot of requests from readers in the past for something to make appointments and tasks more effective… we realise that most of our past reports and addins have focussed on email productivity.

But… recent conversations with other Outlook users and reader emails are telling us that simple scheduling errors have been causing a lot of stress for many people.

So… we have been working on a system that helps you create not only individual appointments and tasks but ENTIRE SCHEDULES of them.

And then lets you monitor them… and RESCHEDULE them in case dates change (as they always do)… all INSIDE Outlook.

We’re aiming to ELIMINATE almost all HUMAN-ERROR from the process.

I’m not quite ready to show you the result yet… but keep your eyes on your Inbox.

More about the project later in the week…

Regards,
Sanjay Singh

Categories : Outlook Calendar Tip, Outlook as a Business Tool

Comments (0)

Archive for Tasks

Recent Posts

Categories

Tags