If you resolved to work more efficiently in 2009, you're not alone. Fortunately, common programs include many tools to help you work smarter. Here are 10 of my favorites:

Flag e-mail for recipients in Outlook: Microsoft Outlook lets you flag messages for follow-up. As your deadline approaches, Outlook reminds you to take action. Wouldn't it be great if you could flag messages you send, too? You can!

Open a new e-mail message. Click the Follow Up button and select Flag for Recipients. Select the flag type and reminder time. Click OK.

Categorize e-mail: Outlook helps you categorize e-mail. You can quickly view categorized messages related to a specific project.

Select a message and click Actions, then Categorize. Select a color-coded category for the message. You can also create a category name. Categorized messages appear in the Categorized Search Folder, organized by category.

Create search folders: Search folders in Outlook automatically collect e-mail based on criteria you specify. You can use the folders to find particular messages quickly.

Right-click Search Folders and select New Search Folder. Use the list to select your criteria. Contextual options may appear at the bottom of the box. Click OK to create the folder.

Track changes in Word: The Track Changes function in Microsoft Word marks editing changes in a document. It's handy when collaborating with others. Before editing a document, open the Review ribbon. Click Track Changes, then Track Changes.

Changes are marked in color. Recipients can select a change and click Accept or Reject. They also can make additional changes in a different color.

Select text with similar formatting: Changing text formatting in Word can be time-consuming. Fortunately, you can select all instances of similarly formatted text. This makes it easy to tweak font formatting.

Select a word containing the formatting to change. On the Home ribbon, click Select, then Select Text with Similar Formatting.

Create formulas painlessly in Excel: Microsoft Excel formulas calculate cell values for you. This is a great help when working on complex spreadsheets. Creating formulas is tricky, but Excel will walk you through it.

Open the formulas tab and find the Function Library section. Click on a function category to see a list of formulas. Select the formula you want to use. A box will open. It explains the function. Enter the relevant data to create the formula.

Remove duplicate entries: You can easily remove duplicate entries in an Excel column. Just select the column from which you would like to remove duplicates. On the Data ribbon, click Remove Duplicates.

If there are adjacent columns, you're given an option to expand the selection. Click Remove Duplicates and then OK. Duplicate entries are removed.

Create multiple home pages: Maybe you use Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Mozilla's Firefox to check several sites regularly. So, why not have your browser open them all automatically?

In Firefox, open the pages you want as your home pages. Click Tools, then Options. Select Main. In the Startup section, click Use Current Pages. Click OK.

In IE, click Tools, then Internet Options. Open the General tab. Type the site addresses in the box in the Home page section. Click OK.

E-mail a link to a page: Open the Web page you would like to share.

In Firefox, click File, then Send Link. In IE, click Page, then Send Link by E-mail. Your e-mail program will open a new message containing the link.

Create mobile Favorites: Want to create Favorites that will synchronize automatically with your smart phone? Nothing to it!

Open the page you'd like to bookmark in IE. Click Tools, then Create Mobile Favorite. Enter a name for the Favorite. Then, click OK.