Advanced Tips for Triaging Email

by | Jun 12, 2022

(Optional) Advanced Tip: Auto-Task Rule for W/F Emails

You can automatically create W/F (“Waiting For”) tasks from emails.

This method works if “(W/F)” appears anywhere in the Subject (title) of the outgoing email. Just add (W/F) to the end of the Subject line if you want Outlook to automatically track the email as a task. (Include the parentheses.) Set it up in as follows:

  1. Set up a [Process Later] folder if you do not already have one.
  2. In Outlook, while in your email Inbox go to Tools > Rules and Alerts.
  3. Click New Rule…
  4. Select Start from a blank rule, “Check messages after sending”, and click Next.
  5. Check “with specific words in the subject”.
  6. At the bottom, click the word “specific” to open a box for options.
  7. Enter “(W/F)” without the quotation marks and click Add.
  8. Click OK, then Next.
  9. Check “Move a copy to the specified folder”.
  10. At the bottom, click the word “specified” to open a dialog box for options.
  11. Select the [Process Later] folder. It should be at the very top of the list of folders. Click OK.
  12. Click Next, selecting nothing, until you come to the end of the wizard.
  13. Select the option to Turn on This Rule, but do not check the option to Run this rule now in folder.
  14. Click Finish.

Emails you send with “(W/F)” in the subject will now be echoed into the [Process Later] folder for follow-up. You will process these as needed during your regular processing times.

NOTE: When someone replies to your (W/F) email, (W/F) will still be in the subject line. If you reply to that email, a copy of your reply will also be placed in [Action] unless you remove the (W/F) first. To avoid duplicate tasks, remove (W/F) from the subject line before replying.