Recurring appointments and tasks are a great way to stay organized without having to recreate the same event over and over again. Whether you schedule weekly team meetings, monthly reminders, annual events, or recurring personal tasks, Outlook makes it easy to automate your schedule.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create recurring appointments and recurring tasks in Microsoft Outlook. This walkthrough explains how recurrence works, the different scheduling options available, and how to set up repeating events and reminders that fit your schedule.

---

What You’ll Learn

• How to create recurring calendar appointments
• How to create recurring Outlook tasks
• How to schedule daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly recurrence patterns
• How to customize recurring schedules
• The difference between appointments and tasks
• How recurring reminders help you stay organized

---

Common Uses

• Weekly staff meetings
• Monthly reports
• Project deadlines
• Bill payment reminders
• Annual birthdays and anniversaries
• Quarterly business reviews
• Routine maintenance reminders
• Personal to-do lists

---

Requirements / Compatibility

This tutorial was originally recorded using Outlook 2016 (Classic Outlook).

The instructions remain accurate for Classic Outlook included with Microsoft 365 and Office desktop versions.

If you’re using New Outlook or Outlook on the web, the feature works the same way, but you’ll use the Repeat drop-down menu instead of the Recurrence button. Both versions support daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and custom recurring schedules.

---

Follow Along

You can follow along using any Outlook calendar and task list.

For a quick reference, download the printable PDF guide that summarizes the steps for creating recurring appointments and recurring tasks in both Classic Outlook and New Outlook.

---

Video Tutorial

---

Breaking Down the Concept

Recurring events allow Outlook to automatically create repeating appointments or reminders based on a schedule you define.

Instead of manually creating the same meeting or reminder every week or month, you simply choose a recurrence pattern such as:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Yearly
• Custom

Outlook then generates the future occurrences automatically, helping you stay organized while reducing repetitive work.

Appointments appear on your calendar, while recurring tasks appear in your task list and can include reminder notifications.

If you want to…	Use
Schedule a meeting or event on your calendar	Appointment
Remind yourself to complete something	Task
Repeat every week	Appointment or Task
Receive reminders	Both
Block time on your calendar	Appointment

---

Step-by-Step Instructions

The steps outlined below are for classic Outlook, but if you’re using New Outlook or Outlook on the web, please see the “If using New Outlook or Outlook on the Web” below for guidance.

Create a Recurring Appointment (Classic Outlook)

1. Go to Calendar in the navigation pane.
2. Click New Appointment (or New Meeting if inviting others).
3. Enter the subject, location, and any details. Add attendees now if needed.
4. Click the Recurrence button (found in the Options group on the Appointment/Meeting tab).
5. In the Appointment Recurrence window, set the start and end time, then choose the pattern: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
6. For a monthly reminder on the last day of the month, select the option for “the last day of every month” under the Monthly pattern.
7. Set the range of recurrence — no end date, end after a number of occurrences, or end by a specific date.
8. Click OK.
9. Set your availability status (e.g., Tentative) if you don’t want to appear “busy.”
10. Click Save & Close (or Send if you invited others).

Create a Recurring Task (Classic Outlook)

1. Go to Tasks in the navigation pane.
2. Click New Task.
3. Enter the subject and start date.
4. Click Recurrence (or press Ctrl+G).
5. Choose the pattern (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) and set the start/end range.
6. If you’d rather have a new task appear only after you mark the previous one complete (instead of on a fixed schedule), choose Regenerate new task and set the interval instead of a recurrence pattern.
7. Click OK, then Save & Close.

If using New Outlook or Outlook on the Web

Steps are similar but the button is different:

• click New Event
• fill in the details
• then use the Repeat dropdown (instead of a Recurrence button) to choose Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Yearly/Custom
• then Save

---

Additional Tips

• If your schedule doesn’t fit one of the standard options, use the Custom recurrence settings to create more complex patterns.
• Editing a recurring appointment or task may prompt you to update either just one occurrence or the entire series—be sure to choose the correct option.
• In Classic Outlook, use the Recurrence button on the ribbon.
• In New Outlook, select the Repeat drop-down next to the date and time fields.
• Pair recurring tasks with reminder notifications so Outlook alerts you automatically.

---

Related Features

If you regularly schedule meetings, you may also find these Outlook features helpful:

• Reminders
• Categories
• Calendar sharing
• Scheduling Assistant
• Color-coded calendars

---

---

Stay Updated

There are two easy ways to get notified when new tutorials are published:

Subscribe on YouTube for new video tutorials: @SimpleSoftwareTutorials

or enter your email below to receive new blog posts directly in your inbox: