You can create a quick electronic to-do list of your New Year's resolutions, personal errands, or work-related tasks by using the Tasks list in Outlook. Click the Tasks icon in the Outlook bar and you get a simple grid to make your list.

Here's a quick way to enter a Due Date for a task: Instead of typing a date in the Due Date column, you can type a brief description of the date, such as "Friday," "tomorrow," "next Thursday," "one month from now," or even "Valentine's Day," and Outlook can translate it into a regular date.