I love using email. And I have several email accounts. But several years
ago I found that I was suffocating under the weight of a zillion messages in my Inbox.
I could not keep track of who to answer or what to do next. So I have learned to be
disciplined using the guidelines below. I’m sure you can add more, but this checklist
will start you off.
Be sure to make use of any spam filters available, and remember that the
Delete key can be your best friend.
Clear your inbox. This is where mail is delivered and mail should not sit here. Just like your postal mailbox, you need to check it and remove the delivered mail daily.
Don’t use your Inbox as a to-do list. Set up folders to sort mail from your Inbox. Suggestions to use: Requires Action, Urgent, Follow-up, Archive, Review, Reference or any combination of folders you require. Set up at least 3 but not more than 5 to start.
Process your email as you read it – answer it, move it to the correct folder or delete it!
If you can, set up Rules or Filters that move certain messages to a folder automatically. This might include non-emergency alerts/notifications you receive for monitoring or newsletters that you subscribe to.
Unsubscribe yourself from unneeded retail sales announcements and newsletters. This is clutter that requires a delete and wastes your time.
Learn to archive old messages. You can archive by the year, by a project, by a specific person or by subject.
Keep up with your mail. Review that newsletter folder and if you haven’t read the last 6 newsletters, you probably won’t. So delete them and reduce the clutter.
Don’t save redundant emails. If you have several back-and-forth emails for the same subject, then you really only need to save the last one received if the entire thread is viewable in that last email. Delete the others.
