Who doesn't have issues with organizing their inbox!? I receive close to 600 e-mail each day due to the variety of activities and contacts I have online. Some I am truly interested in their content - most I am not.
A big part of keeping your inbox and your e-mail organized is discipline. Yep, good ole' fashioned discipline! You need to make a consistent practice of checking your e-mail and accomplishing several tasks to keep ahead of the increased traffic of bits and bytes finding their way to your inbox.
What are we to do? Let's get organized!
1. Put your DELETE button to work! If you do not recognize the sender, look at the SUBJECT: field. Are there funny characters, alpha-numeric gibberish or it just doesn't make sense? Delete! Don't fall for tricky SUBJECT: fields that say any number of enticing comments only someone you know would say: "You left your umbrella...", "They said it's free!", "Hey how is it going?", "You blocked my IM", "Meeting is Rescheduled", or the one almost everyone wants to open "About Your Tax Refund".
None of these are from friends or folks you know or even companies you are doing business with. They are from spammers - the worst kind too - the ones who underestimate your intelligence by thinking these e-mail will be something you would take seriously. If you don't know the sender and the SUBJECT: field looks off, send them on their way to the trash!
2. Once you go through all your new e-mail and follow step #1 above, you are now ready to determine what to do with the e-mails that are left. Do you have several e-mail from the same party? Do you have e-mail from folks who e-mail you quite regularly? Do you have some e-mail that is personal business and others that are more serious and therefore, you probably need to keep a copy on hand?
This is where filters come in. Filters are your friends! Filters, or Rules as they are called in Outlook, are what allow you to organize your e-mail on the download. Yes, as you download your e-mail it can go into e-mail folders setup for specific topics or contacts!
You can have a "Mom" filter that sends all e-mail from dear old Mom right into your Mom folder. Set up filters to have e-mail from some of your hobby sites, go directly into their own folder. Your best friend can have his or her own folder. Another example is to have information from your financial institutions automatically end up in a folder specifically divided into further folders - Annuity, CDs, Stock, Bonds. The sky is the limit!
A side benefit of filters is that if you organize your e-mail to go into their own folders on download - your inbox has less e-mail that you requested or were expecting leaving only the questionable e-mail for you to review. Filters only need be setup once and they are in place until you delete them. Get your filters tightly setup and you can literally find only e-mail from spammers are left in your inbox.
One thing is clear about being online and e-mailing - it behooves you to become familiar and proficient with your tools. E-mail software being probably the most important. Check the HELP area or Web site of your e-mail software for further guidance on filters or rules. This is reading and skill building well worth the time when you realize how easily you can control your e-mail's organization moving forward.
3. Another use for your filters? As if filters are not already sounding like the best thing since sliced bread, you can use them to send certain e-mail right to the trash bypassing your inbox all together! You know, the e-mails for certain male enhancement products and adult sites - right to trash. Filters and rules can be used to not only send an e-mail to a certain folder by virtue of e-mail address, company or person's name, they can be configured to find certain adult or offensive terms when listed in the SUBJECT: or BODY of an e-mail message to you can send them right to trash on the download - gotta love it!
4. Back to your inbox... We now have filters in place that organize your e-mail on the download so all the e-mail you requested and or are expecting, is in their appropriate folders for you to read at your convenience. Now your inbox should only have the orphan e-mail with nowhere to go. After following the suggestions in #1 above, begin to review your e-mail.
If you run into an e-mail that is from a new mailing list you've subscribed to and plan on getting regular e-mail from, stop right there and make a folder and filter to accommodate these future e-mail. Set up a filter to look for something specific to that e-mail (usually e-mail address works best) and moving forward, on the download, those e-mails will go right into their own folder. Do this for any e-mail topic or contact you plan to receive e-mail from on a regular basis.
5. Read and delete. Read your e-mail as time permits and then delete any e-mail that doesn't have content worth keeping for future reference. Then, empty your trash daily. Loads of e-mail files use a ton of your system's resources. Not keeping copies of e-mail you really will never need in the future helps remove the clutter and drain on system resources.
6. When reading your e-mail you can prioritize when you want to address them. Many e-mail programs allow you to label e-mail by color when viewing a particular folder. For example you could have labels that at a glance tell you how you have prioritized your tasks. Say, red for urgent, blue for later, yellow for maybe. By opening that specific e-mail box you know, at a glance, which e-mail you have set to address right away and which you can get to as time permits.
7. Empty your trash daily but before emptying your trash, you want to be sure to take a quick look-see just in case any of your filters inadvertently picked up on some terms that were included in e-mail that you possibly didn't want to trash. This happens all the time! A quick once-over before deleting your trash will ensure legitimate e-mail you do want to see didn't get lost in the shuffle.
8. Create a folder called Follow-Up, Interesting or To Do. This is where you will file some of the e-mail from your inbox that peaked your interest that you would like to review in more detail but just don't have the time. Then, when time permits you can go to that folder and check into the e-mails worth keeping. Once you review them, though, either send them to another folder for keeps or send them to trash.
9. To avoid e-mail backup, be sure your inbox is cleared each day. Move e-mail to trash, a specific folder or your "To Do" folder, and then empty the trash. If e-mail is older than 90 days in your "To Do" folder - send them off to trash as most likely the information or offer is no longer current. By doing so each day, you keep your inbox clear and your e-mail much more organized.
10. What about all these folders? Have as many folders as you need to be organized and call them whatever will intuitively work for you with a glance. This system is different and unique to each and every user - make sure you use terms and a system that works for you.
The above 10 tips when practiced daily will make the world of difference in keeping your inbox organized and clutter free. Just a bit of discipline is all it takes to be on the road to less time spent dealing with e-mail which frees you up to do other important things... like responding to e-mail.
About the Author:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology
Muse who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for
over a decade. Check out her popular E-mail Etiquette site @:
http://www.NetManners.com
MORE RESOURCES updated Sat. December / 21 / 2024 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES:
The Warning signs of Online Fraud and How To Avoid It The number may seem grim for Web-based commerce. In 2004 in the Unites States alone, computer users logged in more than 207,000 Internet fraud reports to the U. 7 Ways To Profit From Other Peoples Products If you don't possess the time, money or inclination to create your own hot selling product there is plenty of scope for profit by using other people's.In this quick article I'll detail the best ways to take a third-party product and use it to fill your own bank account. Media Training: Seven Ways to Instantly Improve Your Media Interviewing Skills Imagine if you were going to address a stadium full of people. You'd probably spend hours (if not days or weeks) agonizing over every word you were going to say. The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make Managing Organizational Performance mistake #1: rely just on financial statements. Profit and loss, revenue and expenses these are measures of important things to a business. But they are information that is too little and too late. Shaking Your Money Tree: Seven Ways to Make Quick Cash Does your business have a money tree you can shake when a little extra cash is needed? Every business should have one! What I mean by a money tree is something you can do to quickly generate revenue when you need it. Where can you find a money tree? Although you can't buy one at your local garden store, they are more common than you might imagine. Top Ten Listening Skills for Speakers Good Speakers need good listening skills to become Great Communicators. Speakers spend a lot of time developing speaking skills and often don't focus enough on the equally important communication skill of listening. As a Speaker trained in the art of listening I have put together the tips below. 10 Steps for Simplifying Business Plan Financial Statements For most business owners and entrepreneurs, preparing, and communicating the financial statement section of a business plan is like trying to give driving directions to someone who doesn't speak the same language."Numbers" is the language most investors speak. Why Clarity Is Essential To Building Massive Momentum In Your Business Clarity is an absolutely essential ingredient for you to achieve your full potential in business. Napoleon Hill, in his classic book Think & Grow Rich, said "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. 1 Step Program to Achieve All of Your Goals In Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen's original "Chicken Soup for the Soul," I am reminded of the short story titled "Another Check Mark On the List." This is a story about a 15-year-old boy named John who, on one rainy day, when it was too wet outside to play, he decided to write a list of goals. 10 Incredibly important business basics EVERYONE needs to know BEFORE they start a business! In my career, I have had a total of 3 businesses myself and a few others where I am in partnerships. Each time you start a business the basics are pretty well the same. Plan Your Success In Seven Ways Many businesses lose money yearly because they don't think creatively about the future. They run their businesses doing what they think they should: dealing with customers, dealing with problems, ordering for their business, and paying their expenses. 10 Tips for Effective Proofreading Proofreading may not be terribly fun, but it's one of the most important parts of writing. Have you ever read a web page or a document that had typos, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes? This reflects badly on you and your business, and you could easily lose a customer over a simple spelling mistake! Here are some tips for quick and effective proofreading:1. How To Make $20.00 For Every $1.00 Invested It has been said you can lift the Rock of Gibraltar if you have a fulcrum point and long enough lever. When we refer to "financial leverage" we are talking about the same principle. Top 10 Ways Websites Makes Me Suffer I believe some people create and publish websites for the sole purpose of tormenting their visitors. Browsing various websites and navigating the Web can often be like trying to read on an airplane while a kid kicks the back of your seat and the baby next to you alternates between screaming, crying and drooling on you. 5 Things You Must Do Well When Buying a Business to Not Get Burned Are you not sure what Business to buy? Need to know what is a fair deal? Martin Smith thought he was buying an established business with good credit and collectable accounts receivable. The day after settlement the surprises began. 7 Ways To Get One-way Links To Your Site One way links will help you gain better rankings in the major search engines. Here are 7 ways to get them :1. How To Eliminate Your Competition Without Bloodshed So how do you eliminate your competition without bloodshed? You must create a niche for your business. A niche is something that makes your business different from your competitors. Top Ten Tips When Business is Slow How's your business going to keep growing with the holidays just around the corner? What can you do when most people don't want to spend money now? If you are concerned the cash flow won't flow and you won't have enough income for the next months, check out these ten tips:1. Create written copy to email your subscribers and other email lists. 10 Things To Ask Your Accountant This is a quick checklist of a few things that you, as a new business, should expect to ask your accountant (or potential accountant).1. Tips to Starting your Own Business The 9-to-5 grind can make you feel like a just another cog in the corporate machine, constantly punching the clock for someone else's vision. One day, while dreaming of the world outside the cubicle, you have your big "Eureka!" moment-you've come across an idea so perfect that you need to start your own business around it.
|
Akron City Directory
www.AccessFreedom.Does.It
www.Akron.Has.It
www.NoGas.Drives.It
|
 |
auction news and listings for Akron, Ohio Akron crafts and hobby news center Advertising and promotions Akron, Ohio The Akron blogging news center Akron Ohio web site design news Akron Mortgaging and refinancing Best Home Remedies and do it yourself tips
|
|
|
HOME |
SITE MAP
© 2012 - 2024 All Rights Reserved |
|
