Simplifying My Computer: Outlook

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I’ve been trying to simplify my computer so that I can work faster and with less distracting visual clutter. Today, I’m taking on Microsoft Outlook. (I’m currently using Outlook 2010 Technical Preview.)

Here’s what I did to simplify my Outlook layout:

  1. I hid the Navigation Pane: on the View menu, in the Layout group, I clicked Navigation, and then I clicked Minimized.
  2. I hid the To-Do Bar: on the View menu, in the Layout group, I clicked To-Do Bar, and then I clicked Minimized.
  3. I minimized the Ribbon by pressing CTRL + F1. (You can show the Ribbon by pressing CTRL + F1 again.)
  4. I turned off all of the e-mail notifications: I clicked the Office Button, I clicked Outlook Options, I clicked the Mail tab, and in the Message arrival area, I unchecked all of the boxes, and then I clicked OK.

Now that my Navigation Pane is minimized, I use the following shortcut key combinations:

  • To view my Inbox, I press CTRL + 1.
  • To view my Calendar, I press CTRL + 2.
  • To view my Tasks list, I press CTRL + 4.
  • To view my Outlook Folders, I press CTRL + 6. (To hide my Outlook Folders again, I press ESC.)
  • To compose a new e-mail, I press CTRL + 1, and then I press CTRL + N.

What have you been doing to simplify your computing experience? Please let me know in the comments following this post.