Creating Outlook Saved Searches

I have three “saved searches” which I have created in Outlook

Task has not been completed and information I am looking for is in the subject line

Create a new “Advanced Find.” (Ctrl+Shift+F).
Change the “Look for” drop-down box to read “Tasks.”
On the “In” drop-down box, choose “subject field only.”
Click the “Advanced” tab.
On the “Field” drop-down box, choose “Frequently-used fields” and then “Complete.”
The “Condition” drop-down box should read “equals” and “Value” should be “No.”
Click “Add to List.”
From the “File” menu, select “Save Search.”
Assign a name to the search.
Select a place to save it. Since I use these searches often, I save them to the desktop. Since I use this particular one the most of all, I drug mine to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen so that it is always visible.
Task has not been completed and information I am looking for is in the note section
Create a new “Advanced Find.” (Ctrl+Shift+F).
Change the “Look for” drop-down box to read “Tasks.”
On the “In” drop-down box, choose “subject and notes field.”
Click the “Advanced” tab.
On the “Field” drop-down box, choose “Frequently-used fields” and then “Complete.”
The “Condition” drop-down box should read “equals” and “Value” should be “No.”
Click “Add to List.”
From the “File” menu, select “Save Search.”
Assign a name to the search.
Save to the desktop.
Task has been completed
Create a new “Advanced Find.” (Ctrl+Shift+F).
Change the “Look for” drop-down box to read “Tasks.”
On the “In” drop-down box, choose “subject and notes field.”
Click the “Advanced” tab.
On the “Field” drop-down box, choose “Frequently-used fields” and then “Complete.”
The “Condition” drop-down box should read “equals” and “Value” should be “Yes.”
Click “Add to List.”
From the “File” menu, select “Save Search.”
Assign a name to the search.
Save to the desktop.
The search I use by far the most often is the first one. If someone walks in my office or calls my on the phone, I can click the icon on the taskbar for that saved search, type the person’s name in the “Search for the words(s)” line, and click “Find Now.” Everything I need to talk to that person about, regardless of when it is due, is not displayed.

With these three saved searches and using the appropriate one for the information I am trying to find, I get my results much more quickly. When we compare the advantage/disadvantages of organizing digitally versus paper/pencil, one area where the digital system wins out is the ability to search data. We need to maximize that capability, and the “saved search” is one of those ways.