You're Using Outlook Wrong (Don't Worry, Everyone Is)

First Contact is a managed IT service provider (MSP) based in Whitefield, Manchester, supporting businesses across Greater Manchester with Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, networking and day-to-day IT support. Part of that job is stopping Outlook from running your life — so here's how to actually use it.

Outlook gets a bad reputation, but that's only because most people treat it like a haunted house: emails lurking in corners, ghosts of tasks you forgot to do, and the occasional jump scare from 2018.

Outlook isn't the problem. How you're using Outlook is. Let's fix that before your inbox becomes self-aware and starts charging rent.

If your inbox has more unread messages than your group chat, congratulations — you've invented a new form of digital hoarding.

Your inbox should only contain:

• Things you haven't dealt with

• Things you're about to deal with

• Things you're pretending you'll deal with but won't (we'll fix that too)

Everything else? Sort it, label it, or yeet it into the archive.

1. Folders Are Where Emails Go to Die — Use Categories Instead

Folders are the email equivalent of shoving everything under the bed before guests arrive.

Categories, on the other hand, are:

• Colour-coded

• Searchable

• Stackable

• Actually useful

Give emails multiple categories like:

• Client: John Smith

• Project: Website

• Status: Please Make This Stop

Suddenly your inbox becomes a dashboard instead of a landfill.

2. Stop Using "Mark as Unread" as a To-Do List

If your workflow is:

1. Read email

2. Panic

3. Mark as unread

4. Hope Future You is a better person

…then I have bad news about Future You.

Use Tasks. Use Reminders. Use Follow Up. Use literally anything except "I'll remember this later," because you won't.

3. Your Calendar Isn't Just for Meetings — It's for Saving Your Sanity

Most people only open their calendar to see when they're being forced into another meeting that could've been an email.

But your calendar should also include:

• Actual work

• Admin time

• Deep work

• Lunch (yes, you're allowed)

• That thing you keep forgetting until 11pm

If it's not in the calendar, it doesn't exist. If it is in the calendar, you're more likely to do it. (Still not guaranteed, but better odds.)

4. Stop Playing "When Are You Free?" Tennis

If you're still sending emails like "Does Tuesday at 3 work?" / "No?" / "What about Wednesday?" / "No?" / "Thursday?" / silence — stop.

Use Scheduling Assistant or Bookings. Let Outlook do the arguing for you.

5. Your Email Signature Is a Tiny Billboard — Make It Look Like You Tried

Your signature should not:

• Be 14 lines long

• Contain inspirational quotes

• Include a 4MB PNG that breaks on mobile

• Look like it was designed in Microsoft Word 2003

Your signature should:

• Look clean

• Match your brand

• Include your booking link

• Not embarrass you

Think "professional but not trying too hard." Not "I made this in Paint at 2am."

6. Quick Steps: The Button That Does All the Things

If you do the same action more than twice a week, automate it.

Quick Steps can:

• Categorise

• Move

• Flag

• Forward

• Reply with a template

• Make you feel like a wizard

One click. Boom. Workflow sorted.

7. Search Folders: The Secret Feature Nobody Knows Exists

Search folders are like having multiple inboxes without the chaos.

Examples:

• "All unread client emails"

• "Stuff I'm avoiding"

• "Things I need to reply to today"

• "Emails from people who scare me"

Set them up once. Never lose an email again. (Unless you want to.)

8. Use the Outlook Mobile App — Not the Default Mail App That Hates You

The default phone mail app is fine if you're a civilian. You are not a civilian. You are running a business.

Use Outlook mobile so your categories, signatures, tasks, calendar and sanity all sync properly.

The Real Point

Outlook isn't broken. You're just using it like it's still 2009 and you're waiting for your mum to get off the landline so you can check MSN.

Use it properly and it becomes your command centre, your memory, your project tracker, your scheduling assistant, your brand ambassador, and your inbox bouncer. And yes — occasionally something you threaten with a hammer.

If you want Outlook to behave (or at least stop gaslighting you), get in touch with First Contact.

FAQs

What's the best way to organise an Outlook inbox? Use Categories rather than folders. Categories are colour-coded, searchable, and let one email carry multiple tags (client, project, status), turning the inbox into a dashboard instead of a storage unit.

How do I stop forgetting things in Outlook? Stop relying on "Mark as Unread." Use Tasks, Reminders, or the Follow Up flag instead, and put anything time-sensitive directly into the Calendar rather than leaving it in the inbox.

What are Outlook Quick Steps used for? Quick Steps automate repeated actions — categorising, moving, flagging, forwarding, or replying with a template — in a single click. Ideal for anything done more than twice a week.

What are Outlook search folders? Search folders are saved, dynamic views (e.g. "unread client emails" or "needs reply today") that pull matching messages automatically without moving or duplicating them.

Should I use the Outlook mobile app instead of my phone's default mail app? Yes, for business use. The Outlook mobile app keeps categories, signatures, tasks and calendar properly synced with the desktop version — the native mail app typically doesn't.