The calendar feature you're probably ignoring (and why it's costing you time)

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Lately I have been getting a lot of questions about Outlook in other places, so I thought I would share some tips with you all.

❓Quick question: When was the last time you actually customized your Outlook calendar?

I'm not talking about adding meetings or color-coding events. I mean really digging into the settings that could save you hours every week.

Most people treat their calendar like a static grid. But here's the thing—your calendar is one of the most flexible tools in your productivity arsenal. You just need to know which buttons to push.

➡️The Three Features That Changed How I Work

1. Custom Work Week Views

Stop forcing yourself into the Monday-Friday box if that's not your reality. Work Tuesday through Saturday? Need to see three specific days at once? You can do that. Head to Settings → Work hours and location, and suddenly your calendar reflects your actual schedule, not some corporate default from 1995.

2. The Scheduler (aka Scheduling Assistant's Cooler Cousin)

Here's where most meeting nightmares begin: someone sends a calendar invite without checking if you're even available. The Scheduler shows everyone's calendars stacked on top of each other so you can find actual open time. But here's the catch—it only works if people haven't set their calendars to "not shared."

Pro tip: Keep your default setting at "can view when I'm busy." You're not giving away state secrets. You're just preventing the 47-email thread trying to find a meeting time.

3. Draft Meetings (The Feature You Didn't Know You Needed)

Ever start creating a meeting on a Friday afternoon and think, "I should NOT send this until Monday"? Save it as a draft. Just hit save instead of send. Then on Monday, filter to show drafts, polish it up, and send. No more weekend meeting requests making you look like you have no boundaries.

📢 Your Action Steps This Week

Pick ONE of these to implement:

If you work non-traditional hours: Adjust your work week view (5 minutes)
If you schedule a lot of meetings: Turn on Scheduler next time you create an event (30 seconds)
If you create meetings outside business hours: Start saving drafts instead of sending immediately (literally just clicking a different button)

The Quick Wins You're Missing

Most people don't realize you can:

Set different reminder times for different types of meetings (15 minutes for team calls, one day for quarterly reviews)

Use Loop components to create live checklists inside meeting invites (no more "did everyone review the doc?" emails)

Print detailed agendas formatted like actual documents (yes, some situations still need paper)

➡️ Here's What This Really Comes Down To

Your tools should adapt to you, not the other way around.

Every minute you spend wrestling with a calendar that doesn't match how you actually work is a minute you're not spending on what matters. The people who seem to have their act together? They're not working harder. They're just using their tools smarter.

Take five minutes this week. Open your calendar settings. Change one thing that's been annoying you.

Your future self will thank you.

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