Task me - ADHD and Microsoft Outlook

August 31, 2023 2:11 AM

I'm struggling with focus and motivation at my work, and my psych person told me to use technical and productivity tools to help myself. That is part of my overwhelm. I don't lack for choices and could use some advice. More inside.

I work for a hospital system, and am unable to link outside tools to Outlook. I'm really confined by the abilities therein. I've tried a number of ways so that I don't get lost in the tasks that hit my desk. The obvious option, "Tasks," doesn't work for me because its out of sight out of mind. I've tried using the Follow-up flag and find that it's hard for me to find the items that I need to work on. Using a search folder for those is fine, but I struggle with checking other folders. I've been testing using a category called Todo and leaving items in my inbox, but that almost feels too overwhelming. I spend a lot of my day panicked about missing something, trying new methods, researching methods, or missing deadlines. I also have very little motivation for success which hurts because I know I can be successful. It doesn't help that I have a peer that is perfect and it makes me look disorganized (which I am) or unfocused (which I am). We are adjusting medication which may help, but I believe in systems. I believe in inbox zero and really want a method that incorporates that.

Again, due to HIPPA restrictions, I am tied only to Outlook. I think gmail would have been helpful with its multiple mailboxes.

Do you have any suggestions or thoughts? I promise that I will think about them and try them.

posted by Mr. Hazlenut to Technology (15 answers total)

Response by poster: I should mention that all of my work comes in via email and that I can get 200 emails a day. I also looked at other similar threads but didn't feel that they covered the motivation and ADHD components.
posted by Mr. Hazlenut at 2:20 AM on August 31, 2023

To clarify: how would you define success here? What result would make you feel like "this is what I was hoping for"?

Is it making sure you don't miss any emails, or being able to prioritize emails, or finding past emails more easily, or something else?
posted by trig at 2:43 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I think success for me would be to be able to prioritize, and focus not on what I want to do, but what I need to do. I found this article but it feels a little overwhelming to me. I asked a question earlier this month about an Access project I was working on. It was a great project and fun, but there was other stuff I should be doing. I keep losing focus.
posted by Mr. Hazlenut at 2:57 AM on August 31, 2023

I use the followup flags with categories so that the flags on the always visible to do panel have colours attached to them. Some colours are linked to type of task, some are stages, and you could use them for priority too.
The category colours show up next to the flag so I can see at a glance where things are and know some colours can roll to the next day but if there's a red square, for example, I know needs to get done before end of day.

For more complicated things I create a new task (not by flagging an email) and dump all related emails into that so everything's in one place.

Mostly it works because clicking flags done and making the list shorter is very satisfying.
posted by platypus of the universe at 3:51 AM on August 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

The book "Total Workday Control Using Microsoft Outlook" offers a getting things done (GTD) implementation by customizing the task window in Outlook. I've used it successfully at jobs where I have a lot of recurring or one-off tasks, so you might find it helpful.
posted by Vicmo at 4:19 AM on August 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Hi! Adult diagnosed ADHDer here! I know you have a problem with Tasks but I can tell you how I use them. You can click on any email and make a task from it. In my Outlook, there's a box in the middle of the ribbon called "Quick Steps" and one of them is "Create a task with text of message". That pops open a task that includes the text of the message. Then I put in the due date and a reminder for a date and time and it will send me a pop up with a sound and remind me.

I love this option because it works with emails in all folders. I frequently use a Sent message to remind me to check up on whether I've received a reply. It's also very easy because it populates the task all by itself; I don't have to do anything else except add a reminder and due date; I can also add notes I need to right in the task box.
posted by ceejaytee at 5:18 AM on August 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

IME this is something that outlook is quite good at , but perhaps your requirement is more complex than mine? (I wonder whether zero inbox is making your process easier or harder)

All I do (in addition to creating tasks directly in the normal way, with due dates etc) is to flag email messages that need a follow-up - and add a date for follow-up if necessary. Then all those tasks and flagged emails appear in date order in the to-do bar on the right hand side of the outlook UI (which I’ve already enabled via the View menu, obvs), helpfully sorted into today, tomorrow, this week, next week etc.
posted by rd45 at 6:14 AM on August 31, 2023

I also have trouble with the followup flags because they just all seem to remain in the same priority. You mention multiple mailboxes in gmail --- what about using folders in Outlook? You could set up folders with priorities, like "Tasks for today" or "Top priority", "to do before lunch", "answered awaiting response", "completed", or whatever fits your task flow. You then do you have to go into those follow up, but if you make then time-bound you could have a routine for that.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:57 AM on August 31, 2023

I can't remember if this view is only available on web Outlook, and no longer have Outlook at work, but there is/was a calendar(?) layout where you could arrange things in one a grid and have several things visible at once, which may make tasks more usable.

There's also a "how to use Outlook effectively" article written by Microsoft that I went through at one point that pointed out some email features I didn't know about (categories, I think), even though I already had rules set up and generally thought of myself as a person who knows how to use email.
posted by hoyland at 7:07 AM on August 31, 2023

Has your workplace enabled Viva Insights? It can scan your emails and add items to your calendar so you don't forget them. I don't like it, I need to set the actual tasks I'm working on, but a lot of co-workers use it.
If I'm busy and liable to forget, I'll put a task into my calendar as a meeting with a list of what I need to do. Then it will keep popping up as a reminder until I dismiss it.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:44 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Just in case, I want to amplify what rd45 said about the task bar. I always had mine enabled on the right side of my main reading pane, so it wasn't "out of sight out of mind" at all.

Is your challenge with setting the priorities or with following them? If you tend to get sucked in to tasks that you need to stop, you could set up an alarm for every hour or so to check if you're working on the right thing, or a morning fifteen minutes every day to think about what's most important to get done that day. Several productivity folks recommend writing down your top 3 goals for the day each morning and that can also help or at least help you narrow down the problem.
posted by Lady Li at 7:58 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

I personally have found that technology makes things harder rather than easier.

I’m a programmer, I don’t hate technology. I have tried a lot of technological tools without much success. For me, the tech solutions often encourage a level of complexity and detail that I find difficult. I overthink it until the work of managing the organizing system becomes overwhelming.

If your tasks don’t directly mention confidential information, could you take notes or make a to-do list on paper? That’s what’s been most effective for me.

I like to list of my tasks on a 3x5 index card. Just a few words per task—I still have to refer back to my emails for details, the index card is more of a “what do I need to search for in my emails” level of reminder.

My inbox has a lot of stuff in it (including reminders about things I’d forgotten and now feel bad about), so i get a flash of overwhelm, guilt, and shame every time I think about opening Outlook. The volume of emails is overwhelming even if not all of the emails actually need my attention (most of my tasks are emails, but i also get a lot of emails that are not tasks—lots of department listserv messages and the like).

One or two index cards with 3-4 tasks on each is enough to remind me what I should be working on but it’s a small enough amount of information that I don’t get anxious or overwhelmed. And unlike the computer it doesn’t have any other distractions built in.
posted by threecolorable at 8:43 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have ADHD and mainly have to use Outlook at work with similar restrictions and volume.

I despise Tasks in Outlook because it is too easy to use and ends up clogged - there's no way to easily sublist or prioritise it, so it is an undifferentiated flood.

Instead what has worked is to set up a filing system that I match to my desktop files - anything in a folder in Outlook has a matching folder on my desktop. I use Johnny Decimal which I highly recommend for being able to quickly find anything and expand as needed.

I use a lot of filters to sort things - things I only need to file go directly into their folders, then the rest go into two subfolders in my inbox: Direct to me (I'm in the to: folder, or it's coming from a work VIP), CCd to me (I'm in the cc or bcc). I have three additional subfolders in my inbox, By Today, By Tomorrow and By End of Week. I review what's in Direct to me and CCd to me, then sort them into the three subfolders to deal with appropriately.

I also have a category label I use "For Review" that creates a smart search folder - these are emails I've sent or filed but I need to keep an eye on if they haven't been answered. Once the matter is dealt with, I remove the label.

Separately, I use Windows stickies (I'm not allowed non-approved apps and can't put things in the cloud easily for security reasons) to manage my todo list. One sticky has a very very long running list. The other sticky has just today's todo list, about a dozen items cut from that long list.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 7:26 PM on August 31, 2023

How many of the emails require delayed action beyond 1 day?

I sometimes have a system of leaving emails marked unread until dealt with, and I archive all not requiring action with the backspace key. But for anything waiting to be dealt with longer than one of two days, I try to print the email or create some other representation of the task.
posted by lookoutbelow at 5:26 AM on September 1, 2023

Response by poster: Thank you for your responses. I had read Mr. Linenberg's book and since lost it so I ordered a new copy. I also read that article that Microsoft made. It was illuminating. I've started implementing some of it. All of my work comes in via email, so to make a paper list or cards feels like I'd be adding more work. Most of the work that is quick hit, I just do. It's the longer project items including, well maybe especially the ones that I find boring and unengaging that I struggle with. I'm worried that I'm losing sight of these, and also... lacking momentum and motivation. How do you meet tasks with momentum?
posted by Mr. Hazlenut at 12:06 PM on September 3, 2023