Here's a quick guide on how to create your own Outlook shortcuts (not Outlook keyboard shortcuts) on your desktop or Quick Launch bar so you can easily compose a new email message, add new notes, add new contacts, or create new appointments without even opening the Outlook window! I like these shortcuts better than the Outlook keyboard shortcuts because they still require you to have Outlook open and running.

Sometimes, though, it would be really handy if I didn’t have to open Outlook every time I wanted to compose a new email, for example. It would be so much easier to just click an icon on the desktop or in the Quick Launch bar to compose a new email. You can do this by changing the way Outlook runs with a set of command line switches.

Here's how: First, you should already have a shortcut icon on your desktop or in your Quick Launch bar for Outlook, as shown below. If not, simply go to the Start menu, All Programs, and drag the Outlook icon to the desktop.

Go ahead and right-click on the icon and choose Send To and then choose Desktop. You can also just right-click and drag it to the desktop and choose Copy if you want.