Outlook Email Tips: Five TEN Tips to Control the Email Flood

Presented forMassachusetts Bar AssociationLegal Technology ExpoFriday, March 20, 2009Framingham SheratonFramingham, Massachusetts

Presented byJared D. Correia, Esq.Law Practice Management AdvisorMassachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program31 Milk Street, Suite 815Boston, MA 02109Phone: (857) 383-3252Email: jared@masslomap.org

I. Reserve Your Inbox for Your Mission Critical Email

Mission Critical Email• Vital to Your Operation; Essential to Day-to-Day Business• With Attorneys, Must Include Deadline-Sensitive Email

Non-Mission Critical Email• Listservs; eNewsletters; Bar Association/CLE Announcements• Other?: Judgment Call as to What Makes YOU Most Efficient

Get a Separate Account(s) for Non-Mission Critical Email• Options:

• GMail• Hotmail• Yahoo• Local Provider, e.g.--Comcast

• NOW: Read at Your Leisure, or on Your Schedule

II. Don't Let Junk Email Clog Your Inbox

On Outlook• Configure Your Junk Email Filter• Options:

• None • Low• High• Safe Lists Only

• DO NOT Choose to PERMANENTLY DELETE JUNK EMAIL (filters aren’t perfect)• Right Click on a Safe Email in Your Junk Email Folder to Add to Your Safe List

On Other Services• Filtering Usually Automatic• Check the Service Blog to Determine Whether You Can Tweak• Can Remove Junk Label from Non-Junk Mail; Can Add Junk Label to Unfiltered Mail

III. Use Social Networking to Reduce the Strain On Your InboxSocial Networking

• Network Online for Business or Pleasure• NOT the Wave of the Future: It’s Here Now. Are You?• Popular Services Include:

• Facebook (make friends and influence people)• LinkedIn (Facebook for stodgy old professionals)• Twitter (microblogging with private messaging options)

What It Means for Your Inbox• Great (and easy) Way for Lawyer s to Market and Network• But, I digress:

• Tweets, Facebook Wall Posts and LinkedIn Message Replace Short and Generally Informative Emails

IV. Use RSS Readers

What Is an RSS Reader?• Stands for “Really Simple Syndication”

• (OK, That Doesn’t Help)• RSS Readers “Really” Aggregate Content from Frequently Updated

Websites

What’s In it For Me? • Your Content, On Your Time• Read Your RSS Feeds When YOU Want To; Eliminate Email Updates• Use for Blogs, News Headlines, Job Postings, etc.• To Set Up a Subscription, Click on the RSS Symbol and Follow the Prompts• Popular Readers Include:

• Google Reader• Bloglines• NewsGator

V. The Reading PaneRead Emails Without Opening Them

• To Initiate: View → Reading Pane• Locate to the Right or Below the Inbox

Nifty Features• Can Click Reply from Reading Pane• Can Preview Attachments in Reading Pane

Versus AutoPreview• AutoPreview Shows You the First Few Lines of the Message Under the Subject Line• The Reading Pane Makes AutoPreview Obsolete• Don’t Use It!

VI. Grand Old Flags

Flagging is the Way to Process Email• IF the Message Does Not Require Your Attention, Now or In the

Future, Delete It• IF the Message Requires Your Immediate Attention, Respond

Immediately• IF the Message Requires Your Attention Sometime in the Future, Flag for

Follow-up

Flag for Follow-Up• Right Click the Message to Get to the Flagging Menu• Options: Today, This Week, Next Week, No Date, Custom• Every Flagged Email is Added as a Reminder to Your Task List• Helpful Hint: Click Add Reminder to Set Up a Pop-Up Notice When Due• Other Helpful Hint: Change Flag Status for Individual Emails

by Right Clicking on Flag Icon in Message

VII. Create SignaturesGeneral Use

• Signatures Are Generally Used to Apply Footers and Disclaimers• Autofills Each Time You Open a New Message, and at Other Specified Instances• Obvious Time Saver

Special Use• Signatures Can Be Entire Messages, Not Just Footers• Create Template Emails; Prefill with Two Clicks

VIII. Create SubfoldersEmail File Folders

• Easy to Create: Right Click the Folder for which you Wish to Create the

Subfolder, Choose New Folder at the Resulting Create New Folder Dialog Box,

Name the Folder, Click OK• Easy Organization: Save and Organize Emails in Client Files• Easy Overkill: You Can Make as Many Folders as You Want, But

Resist the Urge; Over-Organizing Makes Things Harder to FindHelpful Hint: Good Practice

ManagementSoftware Obviates the Need for Client Email Folders because it will Archive Emails Automatically

IX. Create Rules

What Are Rules?• Allow You to Process Received Email Automatically, Based on

Defined Criteria• A Simple Example: Email Received May be Automatically

Routed to a FolderThe Hard Way• Rule Creation Can Be Exceedingly Complex• To Create a Rule: Select Tools →

Rules and Alerts, Then Choose New Rule to Start the Rules Wizard

• Play Around with Different Options

The Easy Way• Right Click a Message to Choose Create Rule• The Rules Wizard Will Start, Prefilling

Certain Categories Based on the Message• Apply and Remove Settings as You Wish

X. Empty Your Inbox

• Let’s Face It: You Don’t Pay Attention to Emails That Are Below the Scroll• Admit It: You Keep Thousands of Emails in Your Inbox, BUT You Can NEVER Find the One You Need When You Need It• Follow the Tips in this Presentation to Make Certain that ONLY Immediately Critical Emails Remain in Your Inbox• Meet Deadlines, Keep Obligations, Save Time

Resources

Outlook 2007: Beyond the Manual, by Tony Campbell and Jonathan Hassell; Apress (2007)

Microsoft Office Online: http://www.office.microsoft.com

“Email Overload? Tips for a Tricked-Out Digital Communications Toolbox”, by Erik Mazzone, appearing in Law Practice Today; ABA (January/February 2009)

The Lawyer’s Guide to Microsoft Outlook 2007, by Ben M. Schorr; ABA (2008)

Questions?Contact LOMAP

Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP)31 Milk StreetSuite 815Boston, MA 02109Phone: (857) 383-3250Toll Free: (888) 54-LOMAPEmail: info@masslomap.org

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