Start up Outlook to show ANYTHING but mail

You're a rogue, a character, a one-of-a-kind. You care for neither paper nor plastic (as if).

So maybe, when you open up Outlook for the day, you don't WANT mail to show up first. Why paint yourself into a corner, answering all those mails right away when you don't have to? Maybe you need to ease into your work day.

Lucky for you, you can start Outlook showing your Calendar, Contacts, or Tasks (or even Notes or Journal) or anything else in Outlook you feel like seeing first thing. If there's one thing I'm known for, it's not settling, and maybe it's time you shouldn't either.

In Outlook 2010:

1. Click the File menu, then Options, and then in the left column, click Advanced.
2. In the right pane, under Outlook Start and Exit, click Browse and then choose what folder you want Outlook to show you first: Calendar, Contacts, SharePoint Lists, RSS feeds, or any of your other folders

In Outlook 2007 & 2003:

1. Click the Tools menu, click Options, click  Other tab, and then click Advanced Options.
2. Under General Settings, next to the Startup in this folder box, click Browse, and in the Select Folder box, go make your choice.

Pretty simple right?  And if you want Outlook to open right away to your Junk Mail folder who am I to tell you that is kind of nutty and off the charts weird? Again, you're your own person and you should start your day at your computer exactly as you want to.

— Annik