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Creating tasks from emails

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Now that you've mastered SHIFT-CTRL-V, dear reader, let's step up a gear. You can also create perfectly formatted tasks from an email by using this shortcut. Whenever you get an email that requires some action on your part and you don't have time to do it right now just hit SHIFT-CTRL-V and select the Tasks folder. Outlook will create a new task for you which contains a copy of the original email. Now you can select a due date and priority for the task and enter any additional information that may be useful.

This technique really comes into its own when you receive a cluster of emails all to do with the same task. Just highlight all the relevant emails by selecting them while holding down the CTRL key, then use your trusty friend SHIFT-CTRL-V. Outlook will create one task containing all the selected emails with information you need. This is a great way to group together related emails and remove clutter from your Inbox.

Of course, SHIFT-CTRL-V also works for moving emails into calendar appointments, tasks into notes, notes into emails, calendar appointments into tasks, and so on. Just think of a permutation and give it a try. Without doubt I use this shortcut more often each day than any other.

(As before, you can also try SHIFT-CTRL-Y to make a copy of emails into your new task. But, once again, use this with care to avoid creating unnecessary duplicates. This can be handy though in certain situations like leaving an appointment in your calendar and creating a new task containing the meeting details to remind you to prepare for the meeting.)

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    PingBack from http://wp.jarretthousenorth.com/?p=3957

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    I was forcibly reminded yesterday that many aspects of software that we consider intuitive and automatic are actually cultural, and have nothing whatever to do with GUI design.

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    PingBack from http://wp.jarretthousenorth.com/?p=3955

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Sometimes even the most disciplined time management gurus cannot cope with sheer volume of emails...