Well, I’m still trying to find a good way to use Outlook.

It’s a pretty crappy (read VERY VERY BASIC) email client compared to the last email client I was using (TheBat!), but it’s mostly usable now I’ve spent some time with it, moving things around and making rules, etc.

But the way it works with Exchange makes it worth persevering with, I think.

I’m thinking of changing things again, a little.(Yes, this is the paradigm shift bit. BTW, don’t you think ‘paradigm’ is a great sounding word?) At the moment, I’ve got most of my email being sent off to separate folders and subfolders by rules when they arrive.

I’m considering deleting a bunch of those rules and just letting a lot of (mostly work) stuff just land in my inbox, from where I can sort it into a sub-folder and THEN file it in the relevant folder.

I’ve setup a Pending folder with three subfolders - Action, Waiting On and Visit. Action is stuff I need to do, Waiting On is stuff I’m going to do but am waiting for something from someone else before I can do it, and Visit is messages with links I need to go look at. I’ve put them in my "Favourite Folders’ section, so they’re right up the top next to my inbox, and I can drag the messages across into the new folders very easily.

Yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve stolen the idea from "Getting Things Done", but I’m yet to read it. Want to though. Read an awful lot of blogs about it.

I’ve found an Outlook add-in called "speedfiler" that allows you to move messages really quickly to the relevant folder (after actioning, etc), so I think I’ll give it a go.

SpeedFiler is an add-on for Microsoft Outlook that helps you keep your email organized by speeding up the process of filing your incoming and outgoing messages, without requiring you to change the way you work or organize your mail. If you send and receive lots of email, like to keep it filed, and have many folders in a hierarchical structure, SpeedFiler will save you time.

http://www.claritude.com/products/sf/features/features.htm