Organizing Outlook: Rules, Folders, Flags, Tags & Quicksteps

Managing emails, setting up folders, and creating rules to help sort your emails can seem like an overwhelming task. However, with the right techniques, managing Outlook can become a breeze. Here are some tips and tricks for staying organized with Outlook.  

Creating Rules 

Creating rules in Outlook can help you sort your emails in a more efficient way. You can set rules for specific emails to be sorted into certain folders, or to have specific flags or tags. This way, you can quickly and easily find the emails that you need.  

Outlook rules allow you to automatically redirect emails to different folders, mark them as read, or even delete them depending on their content. To create rules in Outlook: 

1. Open Outlook and select the three-dot icon in the top right-hand corner. Then select Rules and select Manage rules

2. Select Add new rule 

3. In the condition dropdown, select the condition you wish to use to trigger the action. 

4. Then select the action from the drop down.

5. Once you are finished, select Save.

Now that you have learned how to optimize organization inside of Outlook, let’s take a look at how you can use Outlook for reminders, scheduling & away messages 

Folders vs Tags 

Folders are a great way to sort emails into specific locations. Tags are a great way to categorize emails with similar topics. 

Folders are located on the left had navigations panel.  

Using Folders 

1. You can create a folder by scrolling to the bottom of the folders dropdown and selecting Create new folder.
2. Drag individual messages from your Inbox or any other folder to the new folders you make to organize your email.  
3. You can also set up rules in Outlook to filter emails from specific senders to a folder or apply a category. 

Using Tags 

To add a tag, select the tag icon at the top of the screen. You can customize your tags by selecting Manage categories.  

Using Flags 

Flags can be assigned to emails in order to designate them as important or as tasks. Flags can be used in combination with rules in order to organize your emails even more efficiently.  

Creating a flag or reminder in Microsoft Outlook is a simple process. Here are the steps you need to follow: 

1. Open the Outlook application on your computer. 
2. Select the desired email whose flag you’d like to create. 
3. Click the ‘Flag’ icon in the message tab.  
4. Select “Mark Complete” to complete a flagged e-mail

Now you can easily keep track of important emails and tasks by creating flags in Outlook. 

How to Create Quick Steps  

Quick Steps are a powerful Outlook feature that streamlines and automates email tasks especially for large volumes of emails. Using Quick Steps, you can archive emails, move emails to folders, mark them as read, and more.  

To get started, open Outlook follow these steps:  

1. Select “Quick Step” at the top of the navigation pane. 
2. Click on New quick Step 
3. Next, you will name your Quick Step and select an action. You can also add multiple actions  
4. There is also an option to assign shortcuts to these Quick Steps.  

Now that you have learned how to optimize organization inside of Outlook, let’s take a look at how you can use Outlook for reminders, scheduling & away messages