So, where I work, people can't seem to live without Outlook. They aren't capable of making a meeting on time, or even remembering to complete daily tasks. However, I have a slight problem. I don't have Outlook at home, old laptop, and if work is ever closed or opens late, such as tomorrow because they are foreasting freezing rain in the area, I won't get the e-mail till I get to work.
So my question is: Is there anyway to check my e-mail without having outlook?
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
Yes. Outlook is just software for viewing and organizing the e-mail, not any kind of mail format in and of itself. Try downloading Mozilla Thunderbird and configuring it exactly as you would Outlook.
Alternately, try going to mail.<youremail'sdomain>.com<or whatever> and seeing if there is a web-based way for you to log in. There often is.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Bah.
Posted by Hume (Member # 11457) on :
I can send e-mail from the company's website, but not receive.
Posted by Hume (Member # 11457) on :
So how do I configure my e-mail account in Thunderbird?
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by Icarus: Alternately, try going to mail.<youremail'sdomain>.com<or whatever> and seeing if there is a web-based way for you to log in. There often is.
Or sometimes webmail.<youremail'sdomain>.com
Posted by Hume (Member # 11457) on :
Oh thanks ricree! I'm in and hoping for freezing rain.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hume: So how do I configure my e-mail account in Thunderbird?
Next time you're at work, look at all the settings for accessing your account in Outlook, and copy it all into Thunderbird when you get home.
Alternately, try to guess. Go to Tools --> Accounts (I don't have Thunderbird here, so I'm guessing a bit) and create a new account. Under Your Name, put whatever you want people to see when they receive e-mail from you. Under e-mail address, put the full e-mail address. Under incoming mail server, take your email address and replace the @ and everything before it with the word mail. (eg: mail.hatrack.com) If there's a checkbox for what kind of e-mail account it is, try POP3. Experiment with turning Secure Password Authentication on and off. Set the outgoing settings to be the same as the incoming ones. Experiment with turning SSL on and off on the incoming and outgoing servers. Again, these are all guesses, but I've typically been pretty lucky in setting up e-mail access based on these guesses, and on playing around with it until it works.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Note: if your work is heavily Exchange-reliant, it may not support POP3 or IMAP connections at all. (Mine does not, for example.) In that situation, you'll have to either acquire Outlook 2003 or 2007 (for its HTTP over RPC connections to Exchange) or else use Outlook Web Access (which is webmail provided by the Exchange server).
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hume: So, where I work, people can't seem to live without Outlook. They aren't capable of making a meeting on time, or even remembering to complete daily tasks.
My brethren! *weeps for joy*
Posted by baduffer (Member # 10469) on :
My version of Outlook will set the reminder automatically if you create a new appointment but if you take an old one and change the date or time on it it does not automatically set the reminder and sometimes I don't notice that. So, yesterday I had a meeting that I had missed setting the reminder on and only 1 person showed up. He was said that he had never seen a company so reliant on those reminders; that he always reviewed and printed out his daily schedule at the beginning of the day. That seems to be a lost skill these days.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Reminders are nice, but I default to the Outlook Today view, with all of my appointments for the next week showing. I also use Google Calendar, and it emails me my schedule for the day each morning.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
I'm guilty of missing a meeting because of over-reliance on Outlook reminders.
I've finally taking the drastic step of creating daily and weekly checklists so that all I need to do is remember to look at the checklist first thing in the morning. Which is hard to do because the instinct is to go straight into e-mail and start tackling all the fires.
Posted by Hume (Member # 11457) on :
Well I have the firm policy of never doing work at home, so I don't believe I will go through the process of setting up Thunderbird, when the quick bypass should satisfy my occasional needs to check my work e-mail. I suppose if I had more than two e-mail accounts Thunderbird would be a great asset, but I prefer to keep things simple. One e-mail account for home, and one for work.
When it comes to using Outlook's calender function, I only use it to make sure I don't drop in on a coworker, while they are in a meeting or a conference call. I prefer to keep my "to-do-list" as a Word document, so that it is easily accessible, easy to alter, and, in case I'm running behind on a project, invisible to wandering eye of a supervisor checking Outlook. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote: I've finally taking the drastic step of creating daily and weekly checklists so that all I need to do is remember to look at the checklist first thing in the morning.
This is actually what the Outlook Today view is for, believe it or not. Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by Zalmoxis: I'm guilty of missing a meeting because of over-reliance on Outlook reminders.
I've finally taking the drastic step of creating daily and weekly checklists so that all I need to do is remember to look at the checklist first thing in the morning. Which is hard to do because the instinct is to go straight into e-mail and start tackling all the fires.
[/corporate shill]
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Eh. I'm not real fond of the Today view. Probably because (thankfully) I don't usually have very many meetings per day.
I like to open up inbox and tasks and switch between them as needed.
Edit to add:
And I prefer GTD to Franklin-Covey.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I actually have no idea if PlanPlus is any good. It just amuses me to shill products that I don't care a thing about.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hume: So my question is: Is there anyway to check my e-mail without having outlook?
So.. you really never totally answered Tom's point above -- does your work not have Outlook Web Access? (Where you can access your Outlook mail from work from a web browsing window at home?)
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