Even though email has been around for ages, managing the sheer volume of emails that come in on daily basis can be a struggle.
Here are some top tips on how to organise your inbox:
- Unsubscribe from junk mail! Be strict about this, if you don’t find the content interesting or relevant then they must go.
- One-click rule. This means that you should always open an email with the intention of doing something with it such as reply, forward, snooze or delete!
- Get to inbox zero daily. This may be daunting the first day but blocking off time to do this each day will allow you to work more efficiently.
- Anything older than a year? Make sure you archive it or delete it. You’re unlikely to need the email again but archiving it frees up space whilst saving it just in case.
- Use filters and rules to automatically guide incoming emails to a particular folder to ensure your main inbox window stays clear.
- If you are going to use folders, try organising them by project A/B/C etc. and then create sub folders within those for each month.
- Create a folder for your CC’d emails. If an email isn’t sent directly to you and doesn’t demand your immediate attention you can direct them to a designated folder in your inbox and review them when convenient.
- Use the categories tool. Applying a category is much like moving an email into a folder however with this tool you can apply multiple categories to the same message.
- Use the flags – these allow you to choose a deadline for acting on the email such as today/tomorrow/next week and they will alert you when the deadline is near.
