Stop forgetting to respond to that email: Flag it for follow-up

Outlook lets you flag messages and Contacts, but you can't flag other types of Outlook items, such as calendar items and tasks (which have their own reminder behaviors you can set). You can't flag notes or journal items either. To flag a message for follow-up, display your Inbox and open a message that you need to respond to or one that's asking you to perform some kind of action. Usually, such an email message contains precisely the information you need to have on hand when you respond or when you get around to acting. Outlook users typically might create a task or appointment (appointments aren't just for meetings, you know) by copying information from the email message into the other Outlook item they create.

Instead, choose Actions | Flag For Follow Up, or press [Ctrl+Shift+G]. You can also click the Flag For Follow Up tool. The Flag For Follow Up dialog box displays. From the Flag To dropdown list, choose from a variety of flags, each designed to jog your memory at some point in the future. Some of your choices inlcude Call, Follow Up, Forward, Read, Reply, or Review.

Choose the type of flag that's most appropriate. Often the default Follow Up flag is sufficient. Or, you might prefer a flag reminder to call, reply, or even not to forward a specific message.

Open the Due By dropdown list and when the calendar displays, select the due date. By default, 5:00 p.m. is set. You can edit that time in the Due By text box.

When your choices are complete, click OK. Your full flagged information displays in the message box. Choose File | Save and then close the message window. In the Inbox, a red flag marks the message.

Different flags for different views
The view determines if and how flags display. In Inbox views that group messages, such as By Sender, you must expand a group to see any flags. A Contacts table view, such as Phone List, uses the same kind of flag you see for messages. In the Inbox By Follow-up Flag view, a Follow Up Flag: (flag type), reports which type of flag is set.