Discovering New Features in Old Friends

Photo by pigstyave
I am always thrilled when I find a new product, gadget, or program that makes being efficient ……. well, efficient. While doing research on a topic this week, I discovered that my tried and true friend Microsoft Outlook had a feature that I did not know about. It’s Outlook’s Post Reply to Folder (Post). Simple words, simple feature but filled with many possibilities towards being efficient.

Post’s intended purpose is to collaborate in public folders. This feature is located in the Actions menu tab of an opened email – Post Reply to Folder. It can also be activated from an Inbox and shortcut keys CTRL+SHIFT+S. Thinking that the feature has the potential to fulfill other needs, I tinkered around with it and did a bit of brainstorming.

How can this be put to good use?

• You been surfing the net and found a terrific tidbit of information for your business but nowhere to immediately capture it for later digestion.
• You’ve found a blog that is addressing a business issue that you are now experiencing but don’t have time to immediately read it. Sure, you added the blog to your RSS Feed - - but will you remember next week which blog the post is in?
• It’s the end of the day and a last minute notice of a teleseminar that you want to attend tomorrow has landed in your Inbox. Rather than spending a few minutes to register and calendar the item, you are sure you’ll remember tomorrow morning. Next day, you forget and miss the teleseminar.

When surfing the net, brainstorming, or reading, I am continually compiling information and taking notes. Jotting down info on Post-it notes, tablets or in notebooks can become disorganized. Many times, information is too large to jot down quickly so I capture it and email it to myself, but now I’ve added to volume of my Inbox.

Now, this is where Post saves the day for me. I can:

• capture notes and websites quickly will surfing the net and save them individually with and assign Outlook Categories for quick retrieval later;
• mark important emails with a next action step as the subject rather than just attaching a follow-up flag; and
• set-up quick reminder at the end of the day that stands-out and won’t get lost in the shuffle.

Post can be accessed two ways:

• In a Outlook Inbox or folder
  • Shortcut Keys - CTRL+SHIFT+S will open a new Post
• In a received email
  • Menu tab Actions - Reply to this Folder will open a reply Post to folder that incorporates the email in the text field

Click the Post icon and Outlook treats it like any other email, runs spell check and then the Post lands in your Inbox or folder that it was created. Open or preview the Post as you would any other email.

What a great funnel for gathering information. All those scattered Post-it notes and fleeting thoughts running through your head now have a useful tool capable of capturing them until they can be added to the appropriate container or acted upon.

Here are 13 suggested uses:

• Phone messages/conversation notes
• Brainstorming business goals
• New markets to research
• Ideas for blog posts
• Projects to add to your Task List
• Song you just heard and want to download later
• Random thoughts
• Websites to check out later
• Running supply order
• Shopping lists/gift ideas
• Podcast you want to listen to
• Events to calendar
• Products to develop

Coupled with Outlook’s search, sort, categories and folder features, POST will keep those scattered notes organized and accessible. I have tried using Outlook’s Note feature and I really like the concept. For me the Notes just get lost. I’m not sure if it’s out-of-site/out-of-mind or just too many applications attempting to organize things which adds to being unorganized.

The Point

We that like to be organized (or like the idea of being organized) are continually seeking that new fangled product with the big red ribbon and shiny packaging that usually comes with a big price tag. The real gift is to to discover a little feature in an old tried and true friend that lends help when dealing with the onslaught of information that entrepreneurs face today. Give Post a try – it’s as simple as CTRL+SHIFT+S.

Comments

• Find me on .......