We have been grappling with how to make the task list more accessible on a daily basis. With hundreds of items my eyes start to roll back in my head. A couple methods we have found useful is to either set due dates for tasks and the using the Customize Views--Filter--Advanced tab function, to filter only those tasks due today, or in the next 7 days. Still, that can dilute the power of the due dates for making sure date critical tasks get done.

Another approach we have used for whittling down the action lists is to use the Priority field. Setting all the items you think you might want to do as high priority, you can then use the Customize Views--Filter to show only high priority tasks. We typically do this to make a list of 10-20 action items that need attention today, print it out as sort of a daily menu for actions, and then remove the filter so that the whole task list is visible again by Category. The priority setting is no more than a flag really, but the advantage is it can be set from the task list, without individually opening each task. No perfect solution by any means, but it makes the Outlook tasks a bit more digestible on a daily basis.