With Outlook rules, you can automatically sort, label, and prioritize incoming emails, keeping your inbox organized and reducing manual cleanup.
We receive a massive amount of emails these days. This requires a lot of manual effort to organize them and maintain an overview. Microsoft Outlook can lend a hand here. Based on a rule, you can have a specific action performed. For example, you can automatically redirect incoming emails from a specific sender to a particular folder. This helps you see priorities faster, reduces manual dragging and sorting, and ensures you consistently maintain the same structure. In the steps below, you will discover how to easily set up these rules.
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Setting up rules
To set up a rule, go to Home and then click on the three dots in the top right. In the menu, select Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts. Then click on New Rule.
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Templates
You can add a blank rule yourself or choose from various templates that Microsoft has ready for you. For instance, you can automatically move messages from a specific person to a folder, or messages with certain words in the subject line. In the example below, we choose ‘messages with specific words’.
If you work with a large client base, for example, this rule can be relevant. For the condition, enter: Subject contains “Client X” or sender domain is @clientx.com. The action is then as follows: Move to folder “Client X” + Categorize as “Client X”.
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Exceptions
Finally, you can add exceptions to your rules. Simply put, exceptions are “unless” rules: you first create a general rule (e.g., everything from Client X to folder Client X), and then you add one or more exceptions that block that rule in specific cases.
For example: move everything from Client X unless the message is marked as High Importance, unless you are in CC, or unless the subject contains “URGENT”. Those emails will then stay in your inbox or trigger a different action. This prevents important messages from automatically “disappearing” into folders, while still neatly sorting the bulk of your mail.
Start simple
These rules can help you create a basic structure in your mailbox. However, make sure you maintain an overview of your rules as well. There are so many possibilities and exceptions that it’s easy to lose track. Start, for example, with three basic rules that already automate a large part of your work.