Enter a few plug-ins…
1. FranklinCovey PlanPlus
a. Ever wonder what Outlook would look like if you could see your folders, monthly calendars, daily tasks (prioritized by A1, A2…B1, B2…C1, C2…), work week calendar, daily journal (for voice mail tracking, etc.), and up to 2 e-mail inbox folders --- all on ONE SCREEN? This is it and so much more!
2. David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD)
a. Buried by a mountain of stuff and not sure what to do with everything? Based on David Allen’s best-selling book, Getting Things Done, this plug-in provides a simple way to process all the data you receive in a way that ensures you do what you need to with it. Combine this with #1 above and you’re 80% of the way to a simpler and more fruitful life!
3. Plaxo
a. Ever lose your Outlook file or have a PST corruption? Never again. Plaxo is an ideal online (and free) backup tool for your Outlook information. It is also a way to automatically keep your contacts updated. Everyone else who is a Plaxo member will automatically synch with your contact record of them and there are tools to request updates from non-members. Great lifesaver and also provides web-based access to all your Outlook information without requiring OWA and Exchange.
4. Linked-In
a. This is a “social networking” tool, but ultimately, it provides a way to connect with and stay current with your casual to almost friend contacts. It’s a network that enables you to reference for and others in your network reference for you to make new contacts. It’s up to you and your contact group on how you use it and what advantages you receive, but I’ve met some key contacts through this network and I’m sure you will/would too.
5. ClearContext Inbox Manager
a. I first heard about this from a Microsoft marketing guy. He claimed over 600 e-mails a day. I get about 200 a day, and that’s hard enough to manage. I just started using this tool, but it enables a scoring and weighting to those who e-mail you, so that you can sort by the most important e-mails in your inbox and not just those that come in next. Very valuable in quickly clearing out a few hundred e-mails (I recommend in conjunction with the other tools mentioned above) after being out of the office for a day or two.
6. MSN Desktop Search
a. Why on earth this wasn’t included by default in Outlook 2003 is beyond me. This is the fastest way on the planet to find information in Outlook. It’s way beyond Google because it’s built into Outlook (and other Office apps) and allows you to determine much more refined searches – say for contacts with a specific phrase or e-mails, or tasks, etc. It’s faster (or as fast) as Google and the results I’ve seen are amazing.
These plug-ins add some start-up time for Outlook (which, let’s face it – isn’t so fast anyway). However, they’re worth the overhead and then some. I can’t imagine living without them. I can’t do what I do without them – at least not in a reasonable amount of time.
If you’re looking for results in a quick and easy-to-use way from a tool you’re already familiar with – please check out these plug-ins. You’ll be glad you did.