There are times when I need to know that an e-mail has come from a specific sender. At other times, I find that a reminder to follow up with an e-mail that has already been received is similarly helpful. Outlook allows me to address both concerns quite effectively. In short, when my wife e-mails me I know it. Why? Because, her e-mail displays in purple and everyone else’s remains black. I will never again forget to pick up the dry cleaning on my way home from work!

This Outlook customization tweak is quite useful actually. Color-coding certain e-mail allows me to quickly see that e-mail from an important sender has arrived. I also rely on this feature to remind me that I have some action to take on received e-mail. If a color coded e-mail remains in my Inbox, I know that I have not yet followed up on it as I only delete (or save to a file) color coded e-mail once I have done all that the receipt of the e-mail requires. While overuse of this tweak could be quite distracting, I find that thoughtful use of the tool truly is helpful.

Here are the steps to take if you wish to customize Outlook in this fashion for all e-mail coming from an important client, your boss, opposing counsel, your spouse, or anyone else:

Select a message from the sender that you wish prioritize if one exists. If there isn’t one, that’s fine as information about the sender can be manually entered in an upcoming step. With Outlook open, click on “Organize” under the Tools menu. In the “Ways to Organize Inbox” pane, click the “Using Colors” link. In the first condition statement, choose “from” in the first drop-down list. If you selected a message at the outset, the sender’s name should appear in the text box to the right of the first drop-down list. If the name in this text box isn’t the right name or a message wasn’t available to select, this is the space where you can manually enter the individual’s correct name or e-mail address. Choose a color from the second drop-down list. Click “Apply Color” and close the pane. Outlook will now display all existing and new messages from the person selected in the color that you have selected. That’s it, and oh, don’t forget the dry cleaning.