The hate might be a little strong in this case, but I can promise that you are not doing yourself any favours if you aren't using this built in Outlook tool. One of the most frustrating email interactions you can have with a colleague is the back and forth on booking a meeting. The kicker in this whole situation is that there is no reason it should happen!
If you are planning a meeting with one or more people, you're responsible for finding time that works for everyone, the easiest way to do this is by using the built in Scheduling Assistant tool in Outlook. If everything is configured correctly by your IT department and 99% of the time it is, this tool is huge time and annoyance saver.
When you need to book a meeting next time just follow the steps below, and trust me your colleagues will thank you for it.
Go to your Calendar and click on "New Meeting"
In the ribbon go to the Scheduling Assistant tab
Add all the required attendee's and look for a gap that will work with all or most of your required attendee's.
Complete the meeting request on the Meeting tab as you normally would
Click Send
PRO TIP
When you are in the Scheduling Assistant you will be able to see everyone's individual availability and also a summary bar at the top to find spaces where everyone can attend.
Just remember the larger the group the harder it will be to find a time that works for everyone. In those cases you do the best you can and then reach out to anyone you had to book against unavailable time to see if they can accommodate your request.
HOW TO DO IT
