Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook

by Michael Linenberger

In this new third edition, Linenberger updates his longtime #1 bestselling Outlook book to include Microsoft's new version 2010 release and the new Outlook for Mac 2011. Outlook 2007 and 2003 are also covered. This seminal guide presents the author's best practices of time, task, and e-mail management, drawing from time management theories and applying these best practices in Microsoft Outlook. Anyone who finds they are overburdened by e-mail or working too late each day will benefit from this book.

Genres: Business, Productivity, Nonfiction, Self Help, Reference, Personal Development, Technology

398 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2005

About the author

Michael Linenberger is the reigning expert on managing e-mail and tasks using Outlook or other software (and even paper-based tools). The author of five best-selling productivity books, his newest Outlook book is Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook 4th Ed--that series has been the #1 best-selling book on Microsoft Outlook for six years running. It reveals how to apply best practices of time, task, and e-mail management to Outlook to get ahead of an out-of-control e-mail in-box and workday.

Michael's introductory book called the One Minute To-Do List helps anyone who wants to quickly learn how to create a to-do that really works.

Michael's time management and goal-setting book is Master Your Workday Now! a book that teaches anyone how to obtain Workday Mastery: the experience of chaos-free work, inspiring and attainable goals, and a career that is connected to who you really are. Techniques in this book can be used on paper or with varous software.

Michael has been called “The Efficiency Guru” by the Detroit News, and has been written up in the business magazines Fast Company and Investor's Business Daily for his unique common-sense approach to e-mail control. He leads workshops and consults on task and e-mail management, and on workplace productivity. He has been a management consultant and technology professional for more than 20 years, and was a Vice President at Accenture, the large management consultancy. As a management and technology consultant with Accenture, he advised and managed programs and projects for clients such as eBay, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Applied Materials, UPS, Adecco, and others. Before Accenture, Michael led the technology department at U.S. Peace Corps. Michael also consults on program and project management best practices. Michael also led the creation of the Project Management Center of Excellence for AAA. Tens of thousands of people around the world turn to Michael's books and trainings to help get control of their chaotic worklife. You can too.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I know it is hard to believe.

I know it sounds ... well just creepy that I'd say it, but ...


This book has actually changed my life.

If you:
* use Outlook for your email
* get inundated with actionable items daily in your inbox
* have that never ending list of "to do" items playing through your mind like the credits of a full length action thriller that was filled in ten countries with a mention of every single person that even thought about helping in the production of it

Then this book is for you.
Get it. Read it. Read it all the way to Chapter 3 before you give up on it. Then try the method he describes.

Within the course of a week, I became much more effective and organized at work and the stress of wondering "what am I forgetting" at the end of each work day has all but completely lifted.

All of a sudden I have - really HAVE - control over the tasks that make up my professional life.

Like almost every powerful concept in life, this method is so simple it is almost embarrassing that I hadn't been doing it naturally before.

One word: Empowering.

[Christopher Terrio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Read for Leaders!

This is definitely one of those “game changing” books that I will be handing out to colleagues for years to come. If you work in a leadership position (or any position for that matter) where you are overcome with emails on a daily basis...this will help you to reign in the chaos. Can’t recommend this book enough!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book when my company upgraded to Outlook 2010 and all my previous settings were lost. I love Linenberger's approach and configuring the system is easy.

Having already bought into the system, I would rather have purchased a quick short list of configurations rather than having to work through the whole book again. Additionally, would be easier if he broke it into sections for 2010, 2007, 2003 and Mac 2011 separately (e.g. they each have their own sction) rather than smashing them togeteher in each chapter. It was difficult at times to figure of if I was in the right Outlook version configuration description. Perhaps better delineation (e.g. 2010 is marked with a blue bar, 2007, a red, etc) would have helped as well.

So the presentation lacks a bit, but the overall content of the book is fantastic and has made me considerably more productive since I started following this process a year and a half ago. Easy to set up, easy to follow.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

i took the 4 hour class, the book is mostly that class (with some more information). i have been using this system for a month and I would't go back. inbox zero means nothing to me (it is a great thing to other people), but a todo list that works is revolutinary!

the biggest change from every other system is this one acknowledges that we have more on our todo list than time to do things. It allows the less important to be put off: maybe done if you feel like it latter, maybe deleted if you find it no longer matters.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Linenberger is a good salesman. By the end I knew that
* his system works with many versions of Microsoft Outlook,
* Miscrosoft Outlook was called in many ways and with a different number of words,
* the task system is one of many
* yet this is the only one that is not based on guilt
* any task system is made to fail if it doesn't automate task creation

At the end I had NO IDEA whatsoever is the miraculous trade marked system. Because the book is a mess of screen shots and sales talk and cross references. I start reading of how important is to set the task priority only to be derailed that I will find out more in the part 10 of the 12th chapter after the second page. I read about how Outlook can magically juggle with emails and tasks, and now a short publicity break: did you know that Linenberger's system is guilt free? I do, he told me so at the last commercial break as well.

So I have no idea what should I do, but I know that Mac users can't do it as easily.

[Viv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely helpful guide for making the desktop version of Outlook Tasks usable. If you do a lot of task management on a mobile device, I think you are better off setting up the system on another app with similar ability to filter by task priority & start date. Linenberger has another book that is not Outlook specific, but I think this one is better at showing you how to apply his ideas within a task management app. The only thing I don't find all that helpful about his system is that it is intended to manage only one-off tasks. If you also need to track routine tasks that can't be easily automated or put off, the book doesn't really address that and you probably won't be able to stick to the strict limits on the number of high/normal priority tasks.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

His system for getting through tasks is immensely helpful - as well as being a great guide on how to get the maximum juice out of Microsoft Outlook.

However, the book is 400+ pages. So I'm guessing that if you're feeling overwhelmed enough by work to want to read something like this, then you might also be feeling too overwhelmed to read a book this size.

Still, it helped get things a lot clearer in my head!

[Joel Ungar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is I think the fourth edition of this book I’ve read. I keep upgrading to newer versions to keep up with the changes in Outlook.

This is the best version yet. Extremely comprehensive, the MYN system is (1) keeping my InBox EMPTY, and (2) giving me a way to make sure I’m working on tasks I need to work on.

The changes he has you make to Outlook are easy to implement. You’ll find yourself spending less time in your InBox, and more time working on Tasks. Very satisfying!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a method for organising one's time & becoming more productive within the workplace, through the portal of Outlook.
There were some interesting concepts and I found his explanations and writing to be clear and well-articulated. I felt he didn't just provide concepts, but provided personal perspective & background to the development of the concepts.

[BookBuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Linenberger's book is simple to follow and a game changer. With this system, I reduced my email inbox messages to zero for the first time ever. I eliminated over 100 folders in my PST file and now utilize quick steps to quickly organize messages. Tracking tasks and calendar items are now efficient and I no longer miss important suspense dates.

[Anna Hiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re not bothered by blatant self-promotion, this book is great. I’ve implemented this system at work and my productivity has improved. Probably a good investment if you use Outlook and want to make the most of it.

[Al Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linenberger's a genius. This is not about saving time or being more efficient. It's about getting all that crap rolling around in your head of things you need to do to just stop. It's all in your Outlook and will pop up when you need it to, so you can forget it. He is the Outlook guru.

[Ted Gurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly focused on tasks.

[Lotzastitches · Rating 5 out of 5]

This system is helping me to tame the Outlook dragon!

[Zakiyo Fields Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tips

Great tips! Easy to implement. Excited to see how they work! I always glean good tips from the Total Workday Control books.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed that the system didn't use more Task features like macros and spent much of the describing version details.

[Lorey Barnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Links no longer work

Links in this book on instructions are unusable and cannot be found on the website!!! Why purchase a book with half the stated information?

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, Outlook Tasks makes sense!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt I could better utilize my Outlook system at work, was recommended this book through a colleague on Yammer. I gave it a shot and really liked a lot of the principles. The book is detailed in the setting up of Outlook to the author's specs and also has an appropriate amount of background information to go with it. It synchronizes nicely with Getting Things Done by David Allen. It's nicely laid out so it is easy to find what you are looking for and skip what you don't want or doesn't apply to you. It gave edits for Microsoft Office 2002-2007. The switching between editions was a little tedious, but worth the effort in the end. I would recommend this book to any knowledge worker who feels behind in there work and feels they can better use outlook to manage it...you can!

__________________________

I am upgrading from 4 to 5 stars. I am still using this system 7 months later and still loving it! Definitely a life changing system/book (work life, anyway)! Highly recommend if you get a lot of emails and much work/tasks via email. I've recommended to colleagues who have also loved it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one thing that really stands out about this books is that it is realistic and practical. It recognizes things like most workers don't have the authority to just delete tasks, that you do have more on your to-do list than you actually can do, and due dates aren't stable, predictable or reliable. The fact that it uses Outlook is tied up with this mindset, as most people have Outlook at the office, and need a system that easily ties in with e-mails. So far I've just been applying the basic principles and system in Outlook and it has been working pretty well. Now I'm trying to figure out if I can apply it's guilt free technique to Asana, which at the moment is my solution at home.

One shortcoming, which isn't huge, had to do with the presentation of the book. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the layout wasn't a joy to read. Some of the explanations of the philosophy were a little too long, and the technical setup explanations could have been more brief. But then I'm the type of person who could have figured out the setup on my own by just poking around in Outlook. These are all minor complaints as so far the system is working well for me.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Getting Things Done, but often have problems with runaway task lists. Have you ever been overwhelmed with TODO lists that are so long, you start keeping another TODO list that contains your really urgent stuff?

This phenomenon is well documented in Dwayne's blog post here: http://www.genuinecuriosity.com/genui...

This book remedies this with some surprisingly small changes to the Outlook task lists, and allows you to quickly empty your inbox, but also keep your tasks to a small number that allows you to focus on them and complete them.

Since then, I've been able to get my inbox to empty at least once every two weeks and get my tasks down to less than ten. I wrote a guest posting on Dwayne's blog here: http://www.genuinecuriosity.com/genui...

This book is very practical. David Allen's book is 50,000 ft. This book covers 20 ft to 10,000 ft.

[Conrad Zero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title should tell you that this is a very niche book, but it may not prepare you for the very very specific system inside. For those who live in outlook, Michael Linenberger provides a highly-structured system for managing the neverending flood of incoming tasks disguised as emails. Once set up, the system auto-focuses on items that you need to do today specifically and this week in general, while those items that are 'over the near horizon' get hidden from the list. But don't worry, they are still there, and they will pop up on the list at a more appropriate time.

The only problem with this system is that it is extremely outlook-customized-specific, and none of the rules will traverse SMTP or POP. So if you have just one outlook running, this will work great. If you are syncing your email to multiple computers, (and your non-outlook phone) the system breaks down.

This aside, there are many good tips, tactics and outlook wisdoms here. Info on time-management, delegating tasks effectively and more. Highly recommended for those with a primary outlook inbox.

[B.D. Crowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great! I've been recommending it to people I work with. Using his techniques, I'm missing fewer emails, my inbox is consistently empty (or at least low) at the end of the day, and I'm saving a lot of time that I previously wasted searching through my inbox looking for emails that needed action, if I even remembered them. The use of Outlook tasks has made me much more productive. I don't stress about email. I sometimes stress about the number of tasks I have when that number grows large, but that's just because I've gotten used to keeping it to less than a dozen. The only thing this system doesn't do well (and that's a limitation of Outlook, not Michael's system) is large, complex projects, and I use Trello for that. Otherwise, this book has saved me a lot of time and stress and has made me more reliable, focused, and productive. I'm so glad I stumbled upon his book.

[Joel Ungar · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Saturday night we were at Borders while waiting to pick up our daughter from a Bar Mitzvah party. About 10:00 pm I was in the technology section, found this book and sat down to browse through it. About 30 minutes later I owned it.

I'm not going to say I'm in a condition of Total Workday Control, but the book has changed how I use Microsoft Outlook. My inbox currently has one email in it. Read it, reply to it, set a follow up task, file or delete. Makes a lot of sense.

The tips on how to turn emails into tasks were alone worth buying the book.

[Kier O'Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is ideal for anyone that receives 75+ emails per day with tasks to complete embedded in those emails. You must also use MS Outlook, preferably the most recent version.
This book is actually a methodology for managing tasks and emails and includes how to configure Outlook to be most productive.
Nothing will fall between the cracks any more and I would say that my personal productivity has doubled because of this book.
Highly recommend to managers in the IT world.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not one to say "this book changed my life" but seriously - this one has. I've been using the system for about 3 weeks now, still adding layers and maturing my system, but the amount of stress this system has saved me is incredible. It's probably not for everyone - you have to be willing to get a bit geeky with Outlook. But I can't speak highly enough of how amazing this has been at helping me manage my inbox and my workflow.

[Josh Tatum · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever tried using Outlook's tasks to manage your to-do list but have found yourself overwhelmed with so many great ideas and too little time—in part because you spend too much managing your tasks—this is the book for you. I thought had a decent system of managing tasks and e-mail but just needed some tweaking. Then I read this book. It has step-by-step guides to implement an effective and unique system that understands how busy professionals deal with day-to-day work life.

[Tyshawn Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book and found that it was not a user friendly book for someone who was looking to learn how to use Outlook 2010. It is really a book that is geared towards the person that wants to organize their work life. If you want to learn how to organize your work life get this book. However, if you want to learn the Outlook 2003, 2007 or 2010 software this is not the book for you.

[David Steigerwald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows a workable way to manage work using Outlook which I implemented as part of a web class Linenberger gave. Two weeks in and I am loving it, but we'll see how long it actually works. My inbox is empty and I think I was getting measurably more done each day, but most of all I was having more fun! I love clicking off those tasks!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a total nerd for liking to read about a system to control a system. But with a few of my own tweaks this MYN system is giving me back a sense of control of my life and things I must do. I've just implemented this on my personal/family/side businesses and I am feeling so much less anxious overall.