How to Set Up and Create Your Own Outlook Shortcuts

Working in Microsoft Outlook

Working in Microsoft Outlook is an essential part of daily routines for many office workers, professionals, and even individual users. Outlook isn’t just an email tool; it’s also a powerful platform for scheduling meetings, managing tasks, and organizing important data. As such, optimizing your workflow in this application is crucial for productivity. One of the most effective ways to streamline your tasks is by creating your own keyboard shortcuts in Outlook.

Using the keyboard instead of the mouse for navigation and task execution not only speeds up your work but also helps reduce strain on your hand and wrist. In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to set up and create custom keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Outlook, explain the key benefits, and provide step-by-step instructions to help you work faster and more efficiently. Let’s begin with why this matters.

Why You Should Use Custom Outlook Shortcuts

Before diving into the process, it’s important to understand the advantages of using keyboard shortcuts in Outlook. Many users don’t realize how much time can be saved by minimizing mouse usage and relying on their keyboard for common tasks. Here are some key benefits:

  • Speed and Efficiency: Shortcuts enable you to execute commands much faster than navigating menus with a mouse.
  • Reducing Physical Strain: Constant mouse movement can lead to fatigue and discomfort over time. Keyboard shortcuts offer a more ergonomic way of working.
  • Customization: Custom shortcuts allow you to tailor Outlook to your workflow, giving you control over the tasks you perform most often.
  • Multitasking: With custom shortcuts, you can switch between different tasks quickly, improving your overall productivity.

Understanding Default Outlook Shortcuts

Before you start creating your own outlook shortcuts, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the default shortcuts that Microsoft Outlook already offers. These are built-in combinations that cover many common actions, such as composing a new email or moving items between folders.

  • Ctrl + N: Create a new email message.
  • Ctrl + R: Reply to the current email.
  • Ctrl + Shift + M: Open a new email window.
  • Alt + S: Send an email.
  • Ctrl + Shift + K: Create a new task.

These are just a few examples of the numerous shortcuts available in Outlook by default. Familiarizing yourself with these can already significantly enhance your workflow, but creating your own shortcuts will take it to the next level.

Set Up Outlook Shortcuts

How to Create Custom Shortcuts in Outlook

Unfortunately, Outlook doesn’t allow for full customization of keyboard shortcuts directly within the application, unlike some other Microsoft Office programs such as Word or Excel. However, there are a few alternative methods you can use to achieve similar results.

1. Using Quick Steps to Create Custom Actions

One of the most effective ways to create custom shortcuts in Outlook is by using the Quick Steps feature. Quick Steps allow you to automate a series of actions that can be triggered with a single command, effectively serving as your own shortcuts. Here’s how you can set them up:

  1. Open Microsoft Outlook and navigate to the “Home” tab.
  2. In the “Quick Steps” group, click on “Create New.”
  3. Give your Quick Step a name that reflects the action it will perform (e.g., “Move to Folder”).
  4. Select the first action from the dropdown list. You can choose from actions like moving a message to a specific folder, flagging it for follow-up, or marking it as read.
  5. If needed, click “Add Action” to include additional steps.
  6. Once you’ve defined the action(s), you can assign a shortcut key by clicking “Finish” and then choosing a shortcut key from the list (e.g., Ctrl + Shift + 1).
  7. Click “Save,” and your custom shortcut is ready to use.

Now, whenever you press the assigned shortcut key, Outlook will execute the custom action automatically. This feature is especially useful for repetitive tasks like filing emails into specific folders or applying multiple actions to an email at once.

2. Using Macros to Automate Tasks

For more advanced users, another way to create shortcuts in Outlook is by writing macros. Macros are small pieces of code that can automate a variety of tasks in Outlook. While they require a bit of programming knowledge, they’re incredibly powerful for streamlining your workflow.

Here’s a brief overview of how to create a macro in Outlook:

  1. Open Outlook and press Alt + F11 to open the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) editor.
  2. In the VBA editor, click Insert and then Module to create a new code module.
  3. Write or paste the code for the macro you wish to create. You can find pre-written Outlook macros online, or if you’re familiar with VBA, you can write your own.
  4. Once the macro is written, save and close the VBA editor.
  5. To assign a keyboard shortcut to your macro, go back to Outlook and press Alt + F8. Select your macro from the list and assign a shortcut key to it.

While this method requires some technical expertise, the ability to automate complex tasks with a single keypress can save you a tremendous amount of time in the long run.

Additional Tips for Efficient Workflow in Outlook

Beyond creating shortcuts, there are other ways to make your Outlook experience more efficient. Here are some additional tips that can complement your use of shortcuts:

  • Organize Your Inbox with Rules: Set up rules to automatically categorize, move, or flag incoming emails based on criteria you define. This reduces the time you spend sorting through messages.
  • Use Categories and Flags: Label and prioritize your emails using color-coded categories and flags, making it easier to identify important tasks and messages at a glance.
  • Search Folders: Create custom search folders to filter your emails based on specific conditions. For example, you can have a folder that displays only unread messages from certain contacts.

Conclusion

Customizing your Outlook experience with shortcuts is an excellent way to enhance your productivity and reduce unnecessary steps in your daily workflow. Whether you’re using Quick Steps to automate frequent tasks, default keyboard shortcuts to speed up navigation, or macros for more advanced automation, these tools can help you work smarter and faster.

While Outlook doesn’t allow for full customization of keyboard shortcuts natively, the available features are more than enough to significantly improve your efficiency. By investing time in setting up these shortcuts, you’ll save yourself hours in the long run. So, go ahead and start building your own shortcuts today—you’ll thank yourself later!