My Obsession with DESKTOP Outlook

You know, it seems almost old fashioned these days to not primarily be using a web or smartphone version of a mail app, or anything else, really.

Obviously, Gmail and the Google Docs started that trend to web-based apps being primary, and then Microsoft responded swiftly and smartly with their web (and smartphone) product line. And there are a ton of other web-based productivity tools out there, of course.

But, when I have a choice with Microsoft Office, I just can’t bring myself to use the web-based versions much. Rather, I am still obsessed with the desktop versions—the Windows desktop versions specifically.

For good reason of course, they are so incredibly feature-rich compared to all other versions, and I use a lot of those features.

Case in point. I use Quick Steps all the time in Windows desktop Outlook. Probably 40 times a day. I’d feel super cramped without it. And it does not exist anywhere else. Not in Mac desktop Outlook, not in Outlook online, and of course not in the Outlook smartphone app.

There are probably ten or twenty other features just like that. And they aren’t just fun features, they are features that enable me to get through my mail a ton faster—I am talking major productivity improvements.

In fact, that’s largely what my Outlook Inbox Ninja video course is about: tools (and corresponding processes) in Windows desktop Outlook that you can use to get through mail quickly, and then near-empty your Inbox each time.

And it’s really only made possible by using Windows desktop Outlook (at least part of each day).

So, while many people are in love with the online and smartphone app world, don’t forget the power and productivity that is possible with a good, traditional, Windows application. And Outlook is probably the best example.

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4 Responses to My Obsession with DESKTOP Outlook

  1. Melody says:

    I agree with you that the desktop version of Outlook on the PC is most functional compared to web based systems, but I also notice the ultimate functionality is Outlook that is connected to Exchange rather than IMAP accounts. The calendar and email looses functionality when brought into Outlook from iCoud or GMAIL accounts.

  2. Peter says:

    Outlook has been a revolutionary tool when it comes to productivity. Microsoft understands the connected nature of email, tasks, and calendar appointments and built a product that can handle anything. Having a singular portal for professional oriented items (that is actually fun to use) is such a productivity boost.

    The key to outlook is having a system such as MYN, 1MTD, or GTD. That’s where it really shines!. Spend a day setting it up and it won’t let you down – dare I say, it’ll help you “excel” in planning and improve your productivity “outlook.”

  3. Melody says:

    I have been using a tasking workflow for a number of years, but I truly love the added value of the start date and FRESH prioritization systems. Although I am a fan of Exchange, so many people in regular businesses have gone Google/Gmail. Michael have you heard of Sortd as a workflow for tasking emails from Gmail? I know it may lack some of the bells and whistles of Outlook/Toodledo, it does seem to have flexibility where you can create boards, and these boards could reflect the priority zones we value in 1MTD/MYN… Have you explored Sortd? Would you recommend it as a light tasking alternative for the GSuite folks who are enmeshed in their Google workflows?

    • Michael Linenberger says:

      Melody, I’ll take another look at Sortd, sounds interesting and I need to look again. But in the meantime, yes, the light or deep tasking alternative to Outlook that I promote for GSuite or Mac folks is the software called Toodledo. It’s, in my mind, perhaps the absolute best task mgt software out there. Works well with GSuite. Find my perspective about Toodledo at link below, and at many other places on my blog (blog article today for example). https://www.michaellinenberger.com/ToodleDo.html
      Hope that helps, Michael

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