Outlook Calendar Reminders
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
In Microsoft Outlook, when you add new entries to your Calendar, each of those entries has a 15-minute reminder automatically attached to it. So 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin, your computer will give you a visual and audio reminder. But you can change reminders if the 15-minute default isn’t what works best for you.
If you want to change the default reminder for all of your calendar entries, you can do that! Simply go to File, then Options, then Calendar. Under the Calendar options section, find the Default reminders. Click on the drop down menu and you can choose from a plethora of options from 0 minutes to 30 minutes to 18 hours to 2 weeks. Once you’ve made your choice, click OK at the bottom of the screen.
You can also change your reminders one-by-one as you add meetings or appointments to your calendar. For example, I prefer the default 15-minute reminder for appointments that I have with other people. However, I also like to time block my calendar with entries for my eyes only. For example, I block my calendar with time to exercise, get ready, rest, do deep work, etc. These blocks on my calendar aren’t really set in stone. If I start exercising a few minutes before or after my estimated time block, it’s really no big deal. So I like to have my reminders for these personal items set to None. Having no reminder at all for these personal time blocks helps to limit the number of distracting dings that I listen to throughout the day. In order to set a reminder to None, just open a new or existing meeting or appointment in your Outlook Calendar. Under the Appointment tab of the calendar entry, find the Options group, which is where the Reminders options are housed. Click the drop down and select None (or 0 minutes or 5 minutes or whatever time period you would find most helpful for that particular Calendar item).
Like so many options in Outlook, the reminders 15-minute default is not something you have to live with. Experiment with different reminder time periods to find the options that work best for you.
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