The people who never drop the ball aren't remembering everything; they flag it. One key turns an email into a follow-up so nothing important slips through.
Insert
Step by step
- Select the message in your message list.
- Press Insert to flag it.
- When you've dealt with it, select it and press Insert again to mark it complete.
Tips & troubleshooting
- On compact laptop keyboards, Insert may share a key with another function and need Fn.
- Mark messages you'll come back to as unread with Ctrl+U.
Flags with a date
Pressing Insert sets a flag for today. For anything else, right-click the flag icon on a message and choose Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week or Custom to set a start date, a due date and a reminder. In classic Outlook, Ctrl+Shift+G opens the same custom dialog from the keyboard.
Where flagged emails appear
- In the message list, with a red flag. Use the Filter button above the list and choose Flagged to see only those.
- In Microsoft To Do, in the Flagged email list, if that list is switched on in To Do's settings. The task links back to the original message.
- In classic Outlook's To-Do Bar and Tasks view, sorted by due date.
- In a search folder. In classic Outlook, right-click Search Folders, choose New Search Folder and pick Mail flagged for follow up to gather flagged mail from every folder.
Flag, pin, category or unread?
- Flag: something you must act on. It has a date and can be ticked off.
- Pin: something you need to keep in sight, such as joining instructions. It stays at the top of the folder but is not a task.
- Category: a coloured label for grouping by project or client.
- Unread: a short-term reminder only. Unread messages are easily lost under new mail.
Keep the list honest
Flags only work if the flagged list stays short enough to read. Mark messages complete as soon as they are dealt with, clear flags from anything that no longer matters, and review the list once a day. If a flagged email needs more than a reply, drag it to the calendar to block time for it.