5 Outlook Tricks That Will Save You Time Every Day
Practical Outlook tips to stay organized, speed up your workflow, and finally reach Inbox Zero
Hi there, welcome back to pr0ducTiv1ty! 👋
We all open our inbox dozens of times a day — but few of us actually do it efficiently.
Today we’re diving into a tool we haven’t covered before, but that you probably know very well: Microsoft Outlook. 💼📫
It’s one of the most common platforms for managing emails in universities and companies — and if you haven’t used it yet, you’ll likely run into it soon.
Since mastering your inbox can make your work smoother and faster, here are five practical tricks that will save you minutes every single day. ⚡”
1️⃣ Use folders to organize your inbox 🗂️
By default, all emails arrive in the general Inbox folder.
To keep things tidy (and find them later), move messages into specific folders.
Create a new folder by right-clicking on Inbox and renaming it as needed.
You can also create subfolders to group related messages, such as:
Personal
Life
Business
Newsletters
Work
Projects
Clients
Internal Research
Filing emails as you go keeps your inbox clean and makes searches faster — since you can filter by folder. 🔎
2️⃣ Move messages faster — the shortcut ⌨️
Once your folders are set, dragging and dropping works fine… but there’s a faster way.
Use the Move dialog to jump directly to any folder:
Windows:
Ctrl + Shift + VMac:
⌘ + Shift + M
This opens a search box. Start typing the folder name, hit Enter — done.
It’s the quickest path to Inbox Zero when you’re filing dozens of emails. 🚀
3️⃣ Use categories to color your calendar 🗓️🎨
Let’s switch to the Calendar.
Categories don’t change how things work technically — but visually, they’re game-changing.
They turn your plain schedule into a color-coded map of your week.
I recommend picking 3–5 clear labels such as:
Deep work
Meetings
Follow-up
Personal
Keep your palette lean so it stays meaningful. ✅
To assign a category:
Right-click on an event or email → “Categorize” → “All Categories” to add, rename, or recolor labels.
You’ll start seeing your time distribution instantly — and maybe even realize where most of your week goes. ⏳
4️⃣ Category shortcuts — what actually works today ⚙️
If you want to assign categories faster, you can use keyboard shortcuts — but only on Windows.
Set them in the “All categories” menu by assigning the shortcut→ Ctrl + F{number from 2 to 12}
Unfortunately, this feature doesn’t work on Mac.
While you could create a custom macOS shortcut, it’s rarely worth the setup just for categories. 🖥️
We will leave this feature only for the Windows users…
5️⃣ Flag and complete — follow up without losing track ✅📌
Flags are Outlook’s built-in follow-up system.
They turn any email into a small, visible task — no extra app required.
Here’s how to use them effectively 👇
Shortcuts:
Windows: Toggle flag →
Insert| Open Follow Up dialog →Ctrl + Shift + GMac: Quick-flag presets →
Control + (number)
After you complete the task you can Mark as complete by using:
Mac:
Control + 0Windows:
Ctrl + Shift + 1
💡 How to make flags work for you:
Triage fast: As you scan emails, flag only the ones that need action. Everything else gets filed or archived. 📨
Add dates sparingly: For tasks with deadlines, set “Today”, “Tomorrow”, or “This Week” via the Follow Up dialog. ⏰
Do, then complete: Once the task’s done, mark it as complete — keep your queue honest. 🧹
Review in batches: Group flagged emails by due date and clear a few each afternoon to stay on top of follow-ups. 🔄
Pro tip: Keep flags for email-sized tasks only.
If something requires multiple steps, move it to your project system — and link back to the original email if needed.
That’s how you keep Outlook lightweight yet powerful. ⚡
🧭 Final tip
Master just one or two of these workflows this week.
Once they become habits, Outlook turns from a daily chore into a quiet productivity boost. 💪
Which Outlook trick saves you the most time?
Share it below — and let’s make our inboxes work for us, not against us. 👇