Outlook Tasks To The Rescue

If your like me, you have a million things to keep track of every day. Things can have a tendency to slip through the cracks. I use Outlook's Tasks module to keep me on track.

Tasks can be created several ways. The simplest is to go to the Tasks module and click the New button. The Subject is the task itself. "Create Blog Entry for SSGI Blog". The Due Date is when the task must be completed by. (Cool - Try typing "Next Friday" in the field) The Start Date is when you want Outlook to start reminding you that this task must be done. You can put notes about this task in the work area section. You can also categorize your tasks to make them easier to sort. For instance, I have a category called phone calls. If I view my tasks by category I can see all the phone calls I need to make in one section. I have another category called Personal which allows me to view only Personal Tasks if I want. Once tasks have been created Outlook will pop up Alerts to remind you that a task is coming up or is over due. You can also see your task list in many different views including several of the Calendar Views which combine your appointments and tasks that are due for the day.

Using the Tasks module is as simple as that and it can take a lot of your mind. There are other very useful things you can do with tasks. You can setup recurring tasks. So in my Blog entry example perhaps I want to create a new Blog entry every second Tuesday of the month or once a month. Recurring tasks allow you to set the schedule and then will remind you every time the task is due. Very Useful! You can also delegate or Assign Tasks to others. The other person will receive the Outlook Task from you in an email message and it will be added to their Outlook Task list. Very cool! I will get into more detail for both of these options in another Blog. For now give it a shot! Try the task module for the next 3 weeks. I'll bet you can't live without it after that.

Have an Outlook compatible PDA or wireless phone? You can sync your tasks and appointments and have them with you at all times. Create and manage your tasks from anywhere.