Create Outlook rules to automatically sort emails

When it comes to email management, the less manual effort, the better. And this is where Outlook rules come in handy. You can customize rules in Outlook to automatically sort incoming emails to the appropriate folder, including the "To do" folder you created earlier. Here's how to create rules directly from an email.

1. Right-click the email, and then select Advanced actions > Create rule.

2. By default, Outlook will prompt you to create a rule to move emails from the sender to a designated folder. To customize your rule, click More options in the Create a rule window, and then click OK.

   

3. In the Rules window, you have a variety of ways to customize your email rule: 

• Name your rule. Give your rule a clear and concise name, so you can easily understand what it does. 

• Add a condition. Choose the criteria the email has to meet in order for the rule to run. This can include the sender's name or email address. You can even filter by keywords contained in specific areas of the email (e.g., subject line or body). 

• Add an action. Indicate what happens to the email if it meets the specified condition. Outlook provides three main action categories: Organize, Mark message, and Route. 

• Add an exception (optional). Similar to adding a condition, you can indicate specific criteria the email has to meet to be excluded from automatic sorting. 

  

  If you've created multiple rules, you can also check Stop processing more rules to tell Outlook to ignore subsequent rules, even if they apply to the email. 

Once you're ready, check the box beside Run rule now, and then click Save.