An inbox full of unsorted, unmanaged e-mails can take up too much of your time. All those messages clog the system and slow down access to your messages. There are three things you can do to help yourself when it comes to e-mail, whether you use Webmail or a desktop e-mail program. If you practice, apply, and cultivate cleaning, organizing and filtering e-mail in your inbox, your life can become just a little easier.
If everybody applies these practices, the e-mail servers will be more efficient and responsive for all of us. Spread the word. We are all in this together.
Cleaning
Clutter. Get rid of it. It's that simple.
Letting e-mail fill your inbox makes it hard to find what you want when you want it; it also slows you down much more than you may think. Try these tips to streamline your inbox:
- Delete what you won't use
It's an information management thing—stockpiling and hoarding messages in your inbox slows you down in two ways. You spend time searching through large quantities of e-mail and it makes the server work harder. Besides, do you really need all those old "meet you at the movie" messages? There's a perk for being tidy: deleting messages from your inbox doesn't become a huge chore because they haven't piled up over time. - Empty the trash
This is one of those Life Rules that just makes sense. Empty your trash folder often—make it a habit like doing laundry or eating. You can set your e-mail client to remove deleted messages from the server daily or you can do it yourself. - Manage your sent-mail folder
If you automatically save copies of sent messages, remember to delete ones you don't need. E-mail conversations frequently include your original message. Think about it—do you really need to save the same content multiple times? - Archive old messages
If you want to archive old messages, create storage folders on your local computer and compress and save old e-mails there. You will still have them if you need the information, but they won't be taking up storage space.
Organizing
Don't lose your sanity over all those messages in your inbox—fight back! Get organized! There are things you can do to get a grip on all that information. It's a stress reliever to give up the hunt and know you can find what you want when you need it.
- Create and Use Folders
Your e-mail probably provides basic folders—Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items and Deleted Items. You can also create and use new folders to sort and store information you want to keep. This not only helps organize your information so you can find things more quickly, it helps your inbox stay at a manageable size. Learn more about managing e-mail messages in Webmail or— if you are using a desktop e-mail program—consult your program's online help for specific instructions on using folders. - Download Attachments
E-mail attachments take up a lot of space. It's a good idea to save attachments to your local computer, then remember to delete the message from your inbox. If you need to save both the e-mail message and the attachment, save them both to your computer and delete them from the server.
Filtering
Information overload applies to your inbox if you leave it untended. One of the easiest things you can do is set up filters to sort messages as they come in. Most e-mail programs allow you to filter e-mail by setting preferences or establishing rules. (Check your e-mail programs Help for specific instructions.) Filters allow you to direct incoming e-mail to specific folders rather than to your inbox. This helps maintain a smaller inbox and sorts and organizes your e-mail in ways that make sense to you. What a good idea!
April 28, 2006
