The To-Do Bar is the panel on the right side of Outlook. It displays a calendar, your upcoming appointments, and a unified task list, which includes:

  • Flagged messages: Messages you need to respond to.
  • Flagged contacts: Contacts you need to call.
  • Spontaneous tasks: Tasks that come up unexpectedly.

Best Practices for Setting Up the To-Do Bar:

  1. Show a Date Navigator: This is turned on by default.
  2. Show tasks: This is also turned on by default.
  3. Show favorite contacts: Display your most important contacts.

The default task arrangement is by Due Date, but you might consider changing it to Start Date based on how you use flags.

  • Arrange by Start Date: If you want to see tasks that you have scheduled for next week on Monday.
  • Arrange by Due Date: If you prefer to see tasks on the day they are due.