Integrate and take advantage of Outlook 2007. If you have been using Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or another e-mail client instead of Outlook 2007, make the switch to Outlook 2007 for e-mail. Outlook 2007 integrates many of the contact-management and tracking features with e-mail, making it an extremely useful productivity tool. In addition, Outlook 2007 offers some exceptional features for gathering and organizing e-mail (such as search folders), making it an excellent choice for handling all or your e-mail needs.

Get organized. Make extensive use of folders and categories to organize your messages, contacts, appointments, and other Outlook 2007 data. The better you organize your data, the easier it will be to find and work with it, making you that much more efficient. Don’t just throw stuff into your Outlook 2007 folders—take the time to manage your data effectively. In particular, make use of categories and search folders to help you manage your e-mail, and use automatic formatting and color categories to organize your calendar.

Keep your Inbox cleared out. Near the end of your workday, allocate a certain amount of time to work through your Inbox and respond to each message. Reply to those you can and move them into appropriate folders for archiving. Those you can’t respond to because they require follow-up should be flagged for follow-up. The fewer messages you have in your Inbox at the end of the day, the greater your sense of accomplishment when you leave the office.

Take advantage of the Navigation Pane, Reading Pane, and To-Do Bar. These Outlook 2007 features can help you quickly navigate Outlook 2007 to find the information you need. In Outlook 2007, the capability to minimize the Navigation Pane and To-Do Bar will give you a lot more window space to work with in your Outlook 2007 folders.