Enhance Your Productivity with These Top 5 Microsoft Outlook Calendar Tips

Microsoft 365 comes with a whole range of apps. One of the most used is the Calendar function which is found within Outlook. While there is a lot of variation in reported market share, it is safe to say that at least 50% of businesses utilise Outlook, with that percentage reported as high as 83% in more office based environments. 

Outlook Calendar continues to undergo the adding of new and enhanced features. In this blog post, we'll explore five top tips for harnessing the power of your Microsoft Outlook Calendar, perfect for business owners and their employees. 

1. Let people book meeting times directly through your calendar for added convenience.

There are many different stand-alone apps that allow people to book meetings with you. Outlook now has an inbuilt ability to run booking pages so you don’t have to subscribe to other services such as Calendly. Calendly and others are perfectly good services, but do carry an extra cost. 

Bookings pages allows you to share your availability with others and enables them to schedule meetings with you seamlessly. Whether you're a business owner coordinating with clients or an employee scheduling team meetings, bookings pages are invaluable. By eliminating the back-and-forth emails trying to find a suitable time, you can save precious time and ensure efficient meeting scheduling. Additionally, bookings pages can be customised to include specific time slots, meeting durations, and even buffer times between appointments, providing flexibility and convenience for both parties involved. 

People simply follow a link that takes them to a calendar where available times are shown, and they book that time in your calendar. Easy. 

2. Make the most of polls to schedule meeting times efficiently.

Finding the perfect meeting time can be a challenge, especially when dealing with multiple stakeholders with varying schedules. That's where polls come in handy. By utilising the polling feature in Microsoft Outlook, you can easily gather input from participants and identify the most suitable meeting time for everyone involved.  

This not only simplifies the scheduling process but also ensures that meetings are held at times convenient for all attendees, maximizing participation and productivity. Additionally, polls can be customised to include multiple options, allowing participants to vote on their preferred time slots, ensuring inclusivity and collaboration in the decision-making process. 

It’s a fairly simple task to accomplish. You send people a poll with different possible meeting times and they respond with the preferred time. 

3. Say goodbye to flicking between email and calendar with this feature.

Multitasking is a common requirement in today's fast-paced business environment. With Microsoft Outlook, you can easily manage your email and calendar simultaneously by opening your calendar in a new window.  

This enables you to keep an eye on your upcoming appointments and deadlines while staying focused on your email correspondence. Whether you're coordinating meetings, checking availability, or simply planning your day, having your calendar readily accessible in a separate window enhances efficiency and organisation. By optimising your workspace and minimising distractions, you can improve productivity and stay on top of your schedule with ease. 

Alternatively, you can click on the My Day feature and have your calendar appear beside your emails. 

4. Set automatic replies and decline meetings seamlessly.

Taking time off or going on a business trip? Make sure to leverage the automatic replies feature in Microsoft Outlook to notify others of your absence. By setting automatic replies, you can inform colleagues and clients of your unavailability and provide alternative contacts or resources for urgent matters.  

Additionally, you can choose to automatically decline new meeting invitations during your absence, preventing your calendar from getting cluttered with unnecessary appointments. This not only ensures that your schedule remains clear during your absence but also helps manage expectations and maintain professionalism in your absence. 

While it might be one we are all used to, you can maximise its use by have automatic reply messages for different days or occasions that you want people informed about. 

Quite commonly, people use automatic replies in time management. The reply is always on and lets people know that emails are only read or addressed at particular times of day, or within a certain time frame. 

5. Adding emails to your calendar is now easier than ever.

Ever received an email containing important information or a meeting request that you want to add to your calendar? With Microsoft Outlook, you can do so seamlessly by simply dragging and dropping the email into your calendar interface. This feature allows you to quickly convert emails into calendar events, ensuring that important deadlines, appointments, or discussions are never overlooked. Whether it's a project milestone, client meeting, or team brainstorming session, adding emails to your calendar ensures that you stay organized and on top of your commitments.

Mastering your Microsoft Outlook Calendar can significantly enhance your productivity and streamline your scheduling process. By implementing these Top Tips, you can optimise your calendar management, save time, and improve collaboration with colleagues and clients alike. Whether you're creating bookings pages, utilising polls for meeting times, or leveraging automatic replies, Microsoft Outlook offers a plethora of features to help you stay organized and efficient in your business endeavours. 

Bonus: You can add calendars for your favorite sports teams or holidays.

In addition to managing your work schedule, Microsoft Outlook allows you to stay connected with your personal interests by adding calendars for your favorite sports teams or holidays. By incorporating these calendars into your Outlook interface, you can stay updated on upcoming games, events, or celebrations without having to switch between different platforms or applications. Whether you're a sports enthusiast eager to catch your team's next match or someone who enjoys celebrating holidays and cultural events, adding these calendars to Outlook enhances convenience and keeps you informed about important dates and activities. Plus, with the ability to customise which calendars you subscribe to, you can tailor your Outlook experience to align with your personal interests and preferences. So go ahead, add that football schedule or mark your calendar for the next national holiday (if work permits it) – with Microsoft Outlook, staying organised and engaged has never been easier. 

Where to find more information

Loyal I.T. Solutions provides advice and implementation of the right hardware and software for your business. We are here to help. Please contact Loyal I.T. Solutions at 02 4337 0700 or reception@loyalit.com.au.