Are you trying to book a meeting with someone or a group of people? Do you find that you book a meeting date/time, but one or more people from the group let you know that they can’t make it during that date/time?

This happens to me quite frequently. People are using their Microsoft Outlook calendars incorrectly. They either block off time that they shouldn’t have or they block it off so that it either shows that they’re busy, but really out of the office or vice versa. Then you end up going back and forth to try to figure out what works for everyone. Imagine if you had a large number of people doing this. How many times would you have to contact each person to find out what works for everyone?

Make sure to block off your calendar, whether it be tentatively busy, busy or out of the office. I can’t comment on the colours at this point, since each person can customize their calendar the way that works best for them. The default colours would be:

• Tentative: Blue with white diagonal stripes through it

• Busy: Blue

• Out of Office: Purple

Keeping these tips in mind will create a more productive environment for you and your staff members.

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Until next time,