Busy/Free?
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
When you add a time block (meeting or appointment) to your Microsoft Outlook calendar, you have the option to have that block “Show As:”
Busy
Working Elsewhere
Tentative
Free
Out of Office
If other people in your organization are able to see your calendar availability through the Scheduling Assistant feature, your choice of how you want your calendar blocks to “Show As” communicates a lot to others at a glance. If you want some deep work time, and it’s important that you not be interrupted, use the Busy designation when blocking off that work time on your calendar. If you want to mark time on your calendar to work but you don’t mind if someone interrupts you, you can block the time on your calendar but “Show As” Free to anyone who might need you. Being intentional about how you use the “Show As” feature for each of your calendar items can save you time. Instead of emailing back and forth with people letting them know your availability, you can tell them to check your calendar availability and pick any time that is free.
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Sincerely Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team