How to Catch Up on Email After Vacation With Microsoft Copilot

How do you catch up on email and Teams after time off with Microsoft Copilot? In this lesson I share my screen and try it both ways: the lazy "What did I miss?" that gives a long block of text, and a better prompt with dates and three headings that marks what needs a reply today. Then I open the source before replying, and schedule a Monday version so the catch-up runs by itself every week. In this lesson: The weak prompt, and why it gives you a wall of text The better prompt: dates, three headings, and "reply today" marks How to open the source before you reply What Copilot can and can't tell you about meetings you missed How to schedule a prompt for every Monday at 8 AM Two extra lines for managers What goes wrong: no dates, encrypted email, Basic licenses Prompts from this lesson (copy and try them): I was out from [date] to [date]. What did I miss? Group by project, with three headings: decisions, requests for me, deadlines. Mark anything that needs a reply from me today. Add this line for meetings: Include the meetings I missed, with the decisions and anything assigned to me. Monday version (scheduled): Summarize my unread email and Teams messages from the weekend, and list today's meetings with one line of context each. For managers, add: List anything my direct reports asked me for that I haven't answered yet. Flag any deadline this week that's waiting on my approval. Chapters: 0:00 Catch up after time off in one prompt 0:24 The first two hours back 0:36 The weak prompt 1:25 The better prompt 2:20 Reply today, marked for you 3:03 Check the source before you reply 3:42 What about meetings? 4:09 Schedule the Monday version 5:29 For managers: two more lines 5:55 What goes wrong 6:22 Recap: three things to do today This is Lesson 7 of Copilot at Work: 30-Day Microsoft 365 Copilot Course. Watch the whole course in order:    • Copilot at Work: 30-Day Microsoft 365 Copi...   Previous lesson: Copilot vs ChatGPT for work: which one should you use?    • Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT for Work: Whi...   Next lesson: Summarize an email thread and reply in Outlook with Copilot    • How to Summarize Email Threads in Outlook ...   Sample work, fictional project. Tested in September 2026 with Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium). Independent training. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. #MicrosoftCopilot #Outlook #Microsoft365