Randi Dean's research shows email is a major source of distraction and inefficiency. This intro covers a decision tree for prioritizing messages, filing strategies using folders and labels, and search tips to find emails faster. The 2-hour session splits into Classic and Web Outlook versions, watchable in 75-90 minutes.
Chapters
Hi everyone! I realized upon completion of this first video that I needed to provide viewers some context due to the longer runtime. Please don't panic when you see the run time is a bit more than 2 hours. This really could have been two videos but I hope you will see why it felt important to keep these two technical segments in a single video. After the brief 9-minute intro segment on why I believe email training is essential including key statistics from Randi Dean's research— statistics and issues with professional email usage, distraction, and inefficiency. I go into great detail on my Taming Email Decision Tree email triage strategy. I'm a big believer that basic fundamental habits are key for long-term success, productivity, and efficiency. So I talk a lot about the why in addition to the how. Remember, this is supposed to be a mastery program, so I go into pretty deep detail at times regarding the why in addition to the technical how. However, I also know some people really want to get to the how quickly, and as such, at a specific point in the video, I give you a couple points where you can jump ahead to the key technical tips of the first main part of the video, depending on whether you use Classic Outlook or newer Web Outlook, including the exact timestamps of where to jump forward. This should make the actual runtime of the entire video depending on whether you are using Classic Outlook or newer Web Outlook, about 75 to 90 minutes for most viewers. Also note that in the second main technical part of the video, I deep dive filing strategies including creating and using folders, using labels and categories, and enhancing your Outlook search skills. This content could have been a video of its own, but I hope you can see why I put these two parts together in this first video. I I focus on how to successfully triage a new email for better prioritization and efficiency, including how to keep that inbox clean. And then I give you the key technical tips you need to build a file and folder system that you both trust and will use to keep that inbox clean in the long run. This includes the use of a key labeling tool built into Outlook that is underutilized by most users that will make your search efforts faster and more accurate when you need to find that filed email quickly. I also include two potentially useful but optional addendums at the end of the video, depending on if they are relevant to your particular email situation. One for those simply dealing with an overwhelming volume of incoming emails and other inputs, and a second on how to clean up a messy inbox using some useful sorting and filtering tools if that is a goal of yours. One last user tip: when I get into the technical tips, be ready to hit pause and rewind and practice in your software right then and there. Put me on screen too and practice. I think a hands-on approach, hands-on approach is the best way to build these new technical skills, and I encourage you to do just that. I even provide a few prompts in the video of when I would hit pause and rewind and practice. You also have the summary document created from the transcript of the session, as well as the timestamp index so you can jump to specific content now and in the future. And this format will be standard for all videos in this Mastering Microsoft 365 series. So I think you are now ready to jump into video number 1, Taming the Email Beast for Microsoft Outlook Users. The problem? And the process. Please drop me a note and let me know what you think, not only for this video but all videos in the series. I hope you find that these new skills end up saving you far more time than you spend going through these videos. Good luck and enjoy!
