Riverbank It management

One key part of working productively is using a written to-do list. Do you work from one every day? If not, you need to ask yourself why not – it’s a proven way to improve your efficiency. If you do use a to-do list, is it on computer or on paper?

Going digital gives you added benefits. You only have to write stuff once - jot down your ideas as you create the task, and they are ready to copy and paste to wherever you need the information next. Sort your task list in different ways. Prioritise items and set deadlines. Get the computer to search your list for a particular item.

And this improvement in your personal organisation doesn’t need to cost anything. If you use Outlook you already have a great to-do list facility in the shape of Outlook tasks.

Getting started

Creating a new Outlook task is almost the easiest thing to do with a computer. Open the Outlook task list and click the New button. You will see a screen similar to the one below. Type the name of the task in the Subject box, and enter any details in the large empty area below that.

Now do two important things:

1. 1.Set the Due date.
2. 2.Set a reminder to prompt you when you get near the time. Tick the box next to the Reminder label, and then set the reminder date and time:

a. Remember to set a sensible reminder time that will give you plenty of time to complete the task. You don’t want a reminder to prepare a presentation that pops up one hour before you go on stage.

b. Choose a date and time for the reminder that will appear at a time when you are likely to act on it. For example, setting the reminder to appear at 10am might be better than 9am when you are busy taking calls and checking your e-mail.

Before you finish adding your task, take a look at one more box called Priority. Use this to set the task as high, normal or low priority. It’s very handy to keep you focused on those must-do tasks.

Now click Save & Close to save your task.

Managing your task list

Once you have a few tasks entered you can start to see the power of having them on computer. You can sort the list by clicking on the column headings; put them in order of due date, or show the high-priority tasks at the top.

Notice the tick box down the left-hand side of the list – use this to tick off tasks that you have completed.

You will also notice (in time) that overdue tasks automatically turn red.

Advanced stuff
Before you go, take a look at a few more features.
1. Recurring tasks.
If you have to remember to pay your VAT return every quarter, or pay the rent every month, or send a report every second Tuesday of the month, set a recurring task. When you are creating or editing a task, just click the Recurrence button on the toolbar.

2. Create a task from e-mail.
You can automatically convert an e-mail into a task.. Drag and drop the e-mail on to the task list or on to a task list icon in Outlook.

3. Create tasks for other people (but be careful).
You can create a task for another person. Outlook calls this a ‘task request’. But use it with care as people won’t necessarily enjoy being showered with extra work.

4. Change the columns.
You can change the columns that are shown in the Outlook task list. Right-click on any column heading and select Field chooser. To remove a column, just click and drag it off the list.

Limitations

Once you start working with Outlook tasks you will wonder how they link to the calendar. Surely there is some link, given that tasks occur on particular dates? Err, no. Somehow the Microsoft programmers didn’t think that was necessary. Some would say that this demonstrates that Outlook is really just a hotch-potch of disconnected applications (try looking at a contact and finding all the e-mails you have sent them).

It’s true that Outlook is far from perfect. But it is nearly universal and what it does, it does well. So make the best use of the software, and use it to be more productive and more successful.