I would like to see Outlook support dynamic or flexible appointments (choose
your marketing term). What I mean by that is let's say I need to perform
work this week that will take 4 hours, and I'd like it to be in at least
2-hour blocks. I'd like Outlook to schedule a 4-hour block, or 2x2-hour
blocks for me to work on that task.

However, if I'm invited to (and accept) a meeting that conflicts, and
there's another available block of time in my schedule, have Outlook move the
flexible appointment, making room for the static appointment. If/when there
are no other options for the flexible appointment (when I've got no time left
other than the spot where it is), mark the time as 'busy' (as long as there
are options, leave the time as 'free' or 'tentative' so people using
free/busy search will know they can schedule at that time).

Each dynamic/flexible meeting would need a set of rules, but these are
conceptually fairly simple. Programatically, this may be more complex,
especially when taking into account synchronization with mobile devices.
However, in concept, the rules would be something like, "date between 10/22
and 10/26, time between 8:00am and 5:00pm, need 2 x 2 hour blocks of time to
work on XXX project". You could also have preferences like Microsoft
Project, such as, "as early as possible", or "as late as possible", or weight
different times, such as "avoid 12:00-1:00 if possible" - keeping your lunch
hour free unless you absolutely have to work through lunch, or "work after
5:00 Friday only if absolutely necessary".

As a practical example, I wish to set aside 2 hours each week to perform a
weekly review using David Allen's GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology.
While it would be nice to block 2:00-4:00 each Friday, in practice, this time
often gets scheduled over, and individual occurrences of this recurring
appointment often get moved around. It would be nice if Outlook did the
moving around automatically.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

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http://www.microsoft.com/office/comm....calendari ng