Email Management

In my last blog, I wrote about cleaning up your office.  Now, let’s tackle email! 

• Is your in-box jammed with emails you have read and taken care of, but have not filed away?
• Are you getting alerts that your “in-box is full,” and no more emails can be delivered?
• Do you wish you could just trash it all and start over? 

Well, you can. Here’s how: 

• Sort all those old, already-read emails cluttering your in-box into two lists—One to-keep list and one to-trash list.
• Trash the ones you don’t need to keep and empty the trash can.
• Set up a folder labeled: 2011 Archive. Move the emails you need to keep into that folder. If you have time later, you can organize them. For now, they are out of your in-box, and you can still access them if you need them. 

What about managing incoming email? Here are some easy tools: 

• Sort and read emails based on your priorities for the day. Emails related to your highest priorities should be handled first.
• After you have responded to an email—
  • File it in a folder you  have labeled for easy retrieval.
  • Trash it if you don’t need it.
  • If you can’t completely handle an email, put it in a pending folder for follow up.
  • Set an intention to empty your in-box daily.

Keep your email under control and have a positively productive day!