Most of us are about keeping
things simple. Especially
business people. So many
things to remember, so many
things to do, so many steps to
take.

If you work with a product or
software application long
enough, you figure out ways to
make it work for you and the
ways that you like to do
things. Take billable time,
for
more

Most of us are about keeping
things simple. Especially
business people. So many
things to remember, so many
things to do, so many steps to
take.

If you work with a product or
software application long
enough, you figure out ways to
make it work for you and the
ways that you like to do
things. Take billable time,
for example. Specifically,
keeping track of your billable
time with clients, either for
meetings or for working on
their projects.

I've simplified this process
by utilizing color coding for
calendar items. Combined with
the To Do Bar in Outlook 2007,
I'm easily able to see what's
coming up on my calendar that
is of a billable
nature...something that's
always very important to a
business owner.

For me, this is a process that
I've integrated into my
business by combining my
Outlook calendar, Business
Contact Manager 2007, and
Microsoft Office Accounting. I
track my billable time on my
calendar, link it to customer
record in Business Contact
Manager, and create the
invoice item directly from the
calendar item. See what I
mean? Simple and easy.

Also, as a bonus, you can
assign multiple color
categories to any item. What
this means is that you can
have something color coded as
a billable item AND for a
particular project. Again, the
benefit of using colors for
calendar items is the ability
to easily see what is coming
up on your calendar by using
the To Do Bar on the right.

Now, take this same concept
and apply it to other things
on your calendar that could be
color coded for easy visual
identification on the To Do
Bar. Maybe billable items are
not something you track.
Perhaps you're more project
focused. You'll benefit from
color coding items on your
calendar based on the project
you're working on. Using
these simple features in
Outlook 2007 can really help
you identify the nature of
what's coming up on your
calendar.

Category People & Blogs

Tags outlook, business, productivity, calendar, color, coding