How to Turn Off Email Notifications in Outlook (or Only Get the Ones That Matter)

Every ding and pop-up pulls you out of whatever you were doing. Studies put the cost at 20 minutes or more to get properly back on task. You don't have to turn alerts off completely — but you should decide which emails are allowed to interrupt you.

1. Click the Settings cog.
2. Go to General → Notifications.
3. Under Mail, choose what you're notified about:
• All messages
• Focused Inbox only — skip the newsletters in Other
• Favourite people — only senders you've added to Favourites
• or turn mail notifications off entirely.
4. Untick Play a sound if you just want the silent banner.
5. Calendar reminders have their own section — leave those on.

Pick Favourite people, add your manager and your most important clients to Favourites (right-click a name → Add to Favourites), and everyone else waits until you check your inbox.

1. Click File → Options → Mail.
2. Under Message arrival, untick:
• Play a sound
• Briefly change the mouse pointer
• Show an envelope icon in the taskbar
• Display a Desktop Alert
3. Click OK.

To keep alerts for one important person only, turn off desktop alerts here, then create a rule for that sender: Home → Rules → Manage Rules & Alerts → New Rule → Apply rule on messages I receive, condition from [person], action display a Desktop Alert.

For a block of focused work, silence everything at once: click the clock or notification icon at the right of the taskbar and turn on Do not disturb. Or go to Settings → System → Notifications → Do not disturb and set it to switch on automatically during certain hours, or whenever you're sharing your screen.

Calendar reminders can be allowed through: Set priority notifications in the same settings page.

If you like the banner but hate the noise: new Outlook — untick Play a sound in Notifications; classic Outlook — untick Play a sound under Message arrival. To change the sound itself, Windows Settings → System → Sound → More sound settings → Sounds → New Mail Notification.

Open the Outlook app, tap your profile picture → Settings cog → Notifications. Choose Focused inbox only or Favourite people, and set Do not disturb hours (for example, 7pm to 7am and all weekend). Your phone's own Focus or Bedtime mode works too.

I turned notifications off but still get them. Windows has its own switch. Go to Settings → System → Notifications, find Outlook in the list and turn it off there. If you have both new and classic Outlook installed, check both.

I get no notifications at all and I want them. Same page in Windows Settings — make sure Outlook is allowed. Also check that Do not disturb isn't on and that Outlook is actually running (new Outlook can run in the background: Settings → General → Notifications → Run in background).

Reminders are late or missing. Reminders only fire while Outlook is open or running in the background. Pin it to the taskbar and leave it running.

Turn off alerts for everything except Favourite people and calendar reminders, then check your inbox at times you choose. Your focus — and your colleagues' patience — will improve noticeably.