How to set up multi-day meetings in Decisions | Outlook

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on organizing multi-day events in Outlook and crafting detailed agendas for each day using Decisions. Ideal for seamless planning and execution of extended meetings.

Organizing a multi-day meeting can be a challenge, but it's simplified with Outlook and Decisions. Whether it's for a conference, workshop, or a series of meetings, this guide helps you efficiently schedule your multi-day event in Outlook and then seamlessly transition to creating structured agendas for each day using Decisions. Let’s dive into the steps:

Step 1: Schedule Your Multi-Day Event in Outlook

• Begin by opening Outlook and creating a new meeting. 
  
• Assign the meeting a general title that captures the overall theme or purpose, you can tailor the title of each day later on. Crucially, avoid adding attendees at this stage to prevent premature notifications. Instead, focus on setting the meeting framework by selecting the "Make Recurring" option, establishing your event as a structured multi-day occurrence.
  
  
  
• In the Appointment Recurrence setup, detail the "Appointment time" for the first day (e.g., from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM if it includes evening activities).
• Choose "Daily" under "Recurrence pattern" and set it to "Every 1 day" to ensure the event occurs on consecutive days.
• Finally, under "Range of recurrence", specify the event's end, either by selecting a specific end date or by opting for a duration like "end after 3 occurences."
  
  
  
  
• When your recurrence setup is done, click ok and add only yourself as a participant. This step is essential as it allows the meeting to be saved in your calendar without involving others yet. Click send when all the steps have been done.
  
  

 

Step 2: Customize Individual Days in Outlook

• Upon creating your multi-day event series, it will appear in your calendar. Depending on your meeting's structure, you might want to assign different names or adjust start and end times for each day to accommodate various activities.
  
• To make these customizations, click on any of the events in the series. You will be prompted to choose whether to update the entire series or just the selected event. To customize individual days, select "Just this one." This allows you to modify details such as the event name and timing for that specific occurrence in your calendar, enabling you to tailor each day according to its unique schedule or theme.
  
  
  
  
  

Step 3: Add Attendees to Your Outlook Meeting

• After finalizing the structure of all the days in your multi-day event, you have the option to invite attendees. The decision to invite them immediately or after creating the agendas depends on your preference and the meeting's requirements.
• If you choose to invite attendees right away to ensure their availability and block the time in their calendars, edit "The entire series" in Outlook. This approach is beneficial for securing participant availability early in the planning process.
  
  
• In this example, we'll proceed with inviting attendees first. To do this, open the series in Outlook and add the participants. This ensures they are included in the entire series of events, not just a single day.
  
• Alternatively, if you prefer to finalize the agendas before sending out invitations, you can delay this step until after the agendas are set up in Decisions.

 

Step 4: Agenda Creation with Decisions

• Begin crafting your agendas by selecting the "Single agenda" option. This choice allows for the creation of unique and distinct agendas for each day of the event, catering to the specific needs and topics of each session.
  
  
• Choose the appropriate team in Decisions for storing and managing your agenda items. The members of the team will have access to the agenda once it is published. 
  
  
• When building your agendas, you have the flexibility to either complete the entire agenda for one day before progressing to the next, or to mix things up by alternating between days as you add each item. To switch days, simply use the instance selector located at the top left to choose your desired day.
  
  
  
  

Step 5: Finalize and Share Agendas

• Once your agendas are set in Decisions, take the final step of updating your Outlook meeting invitations. Include links to the agendas to ensure all attendees can easily access them. This ensures seamless access to meeting details, enhancing participant engagement and preparation.
  
  

Following these steps will ensure that you are well-equipped to organize and conduct your multi-day meetings with efficiency and precision. Each day will be meticulously planned, ensuring that all participants are thoroughly informed and prepared.

We wish you a successful and productive meeting!