Get Organized
Email organization
Question: My New Year's resolution is to get organized at work, so I've sorted
through and purged files, etc. But I can't seem to get my email organized. I
get too many messages and don't have any sort of filing system. Any
suggestions?
Rachel
Answer:
Good news the email files in your computer are just like paper files,
and can be organized just as easily. In fact, most email programs, even the
one that came installed on your computer, already have wonderful organizing
features built in. That means you don't have to start from scratch with the
initial set-up, and there is much less work over the long haul. Your plan
of attack includes a system for incoming, outgoing, and filed email
messages.
INCOMING
Create folders for main categories such as: In Box, To Read, To Follow Up,
To Do. Your In Box will probably be the dumping ground for all the email
you receive, so rather than try to read every message that arrives in you In
Box, try to sort these messages before processing them. Better yet, automate
this process with a filtering system or rules.
For example, to delete spam or adult material from entering your In Box,
just turn on or select the Junk Mail/Adult Content feature on your email
program. If you have a helpful coworker, ask them how to do this; otherwise,
refer to the Help section of your software program. This will cut out a
large amount of your email, and you can begin to sort and file the remaining
messages.
But as with any organizing project, before you can organize and maintain the
paperwork, you must first sort it. If you skip this step, you'll never catch
up, so do take the time to plan for all the categories of email you receive
on a regular basis. Create a New Folder for each of the categories on your
master list (you did make one, didn't you?), then file all emails that deal
with each topic into its respective folder. For instance, you might put all
your newsletters or Ezines into a To Be Read folder to be printed and
carried home or read at your desk when you have spare time. Invoices should
go into To Pay, Inquiries from Customers can be filed in the To Call folder,
and pending complaints requiring a future action should be filed in the
Follow Up file and then flagged for action at a later date.
OUTBOUND
Not only can you filter unwanted messages, and then file others, but you can
send customized messages in response to your incoming mail. Just create a
message as a template, save it in a compatible format, and make a filter or
“rule” whereby this message is sent when a certain incoming message is
received. This is like a simple voice mail message or autoresponder you can
maintain yourself. It’s an excellent way to keep track of subscribers to an
ezine, inquiries, responses to a survey, etc. You can even create an Out of
the Office message to send out when you're on holiday to streamline your
mail management and save you hours of reading upon your return.
FILE AS YOU GO
Create folders within your email program just as you have recently done on
your organized desk top. Be as precise as you wish, creating folders within
folders and creating names that make sense to you. If you have an excellent
memory for detail, and have limited interruptions, then perhaps you just
need to make just a few folders to catch all your mail. You can even make a
folders for each person on your mailing list--the ideas are endless.
As you finish reading each incoming message, file it in the appropriate
folder: trash, client, follow-up, add to database, and so forth. If you file
on a daily basis, all the better. Consider purge your Deleted Items folder
on a regular basis to further reduce clutter. Afterall, there's no need to
look at all those messages that you have no intention of reading, which
provides you with more time to tackle those To Do's. Once you get the
system in place, filing as you go will prevent the paper monster from
rearing its ugly head again.
Good luck,
Debbie Williams
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