I’ll admit it, I get in upwards of 100 emails per day, and they are often in the form of a string of conversations. Email is a way to save time, but is your Inbox getting the best of you? Microsoft Outlook gives users a variety of tools, such as folders, flags, and priority to organize the plethora of emails we receive each day, however, how many of us actually use the tools available to us and which ones are worth setting up? Maybe I’m behind the times; maybe everyone uses Microsoft Outlook best practices, but it seems to me when I get a peek at people’s Inboxes, I see either a gazillion emails, a gazillion folders and/or no organization at all.
I’ve been using Microsoft Outlook for some time now, and although I don’t profess to be a Guru, I do think I have a good grasp on organizing the Inbox so emails are accessible and intuitively dispersed. The following are a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way. Please keep in mind that these tips are for standalone versions of Microsoft Outlook 2007 or higher.
- The folder system seems to be the best way to organize emails (as opposed to using different color flags), but how you set them up really depends on your industry. A law firm would organize emails very differently from, say, a software company, e.g., folders grouped by client vs. by client helpdesk number.
- Subfolders are okay to use where they make absolute sense, otherwise forgo them. Folders should be intuitive and finding information should be simple. When you have folders, mixed with subfolders, the information is further buried. Sometimes over-organizing can get the best of us. Think about what’s going to work when you look for “that email from Suzie Soandso” 12 months from now.
- I don’t know about you, but when I have too many emails in my Inbox, I get Inbox anxiety. I read article years ago about closing one’s Inbox during the day to get work done. I just don’t think this is feasible anymore. Email is the primary form of business communication and to close the Inbox would just make me get behind. So, with that said, the constant stream of email can be contained using common sense. I try to deal with emails right away or pass them along to someone who can. If I cannot, I flag it until it can be dealt with. Once I respond, the email is either filed or deleted – very simple.
- SPAM is an Inbox reality, too. If you have a good anti-SPAM system, you are in luck, but there is always the one or two that slip through. Honestly, I try to never use my business email when I sign up for outside information, etc. I actually have a generic email address set up for this. This is not to say I don’t sign up for newsletters or special offers on my real email account; I just try to keep the junk at bay. If you are receiving a lot of junk emails via your real email account, the best thing to do is enable junk and email filters or, simply, unsubscribe.
As always, please feel free to share your Outlook best practices and good luck in your organization endeavors!
