I am new to Outlook, so this may have been covered, but on the ToDo Bar
(just under the small calendar), a reminder shows up for appointments I have
scheduled for next month. I have tried changing the notification period,
but the reminder remains. Is there a way to make it only visible during the
time of the notification period I have chosen, like a week or day ahead of
time?

These are recurring appointments if it makes any difference. Maybe everyone
just leaves the ToDo Bar closed and just waits for a popup reminder---

Thanks,
Clark