Managing Your E-mail Inbox: Use Categories
Categories can be particularly helpful when organizing multiple projects on which you're working. For example, if you get many requests for speaking engagements, and you're teaching seminars, all while juggling a major project at work, e-mails concerning these topics can be assigned to a category as well as assigned a color. Once you've set up these categories, you can create a search that instantly displays all the messages in a particular category, no matter where you stored them. "This is great because no matter where the message is filed, you can view groups of e-mails all together," says Duncan.
For example, an invoice for a Texas business conference at which you were invited to speak may be filed in your invoices file, while travel expenses to that event may be filed in travel expenses. However, a category named Texas Business Conference would pull in the invoice, travel expenses, as well as any other correspondence associated with that event. The category colors can make these events and projects stand out in your files or inbox, and on your calendar and to-do lists. The trick is assigning messages immediately to a category. Remember, you should be making a decision about each e-mail as soon as you open it, Duncan says.
Dig Deeper: How to Organize Data
Managing Your E-mail Inbox: Redirect Messages with Rules
You can also create rules that send messages into file folders automatically, advises Duncan. For example, if you receive a newsletter on Tuesday that you don't have time to read until Friday, have it automatically filed. You can do this by setting up a rule. In Outlook, you're able to create rules to do the following things:
• Move messages from one source to a folder. This option allows you to move messages that come from a specific sender or distribution list into a file that you select.
• Move messages with specific words in the subject to a folder. This option, for example, allows you to redirect all the messages with the words "invoice" in the subject line directly to the invoice file.
• Move messages sent to a distribution list to a folder. This option allows you to file messages you've sent to a specific person or distribution list to a file that you select.
• Delete a conversation. This option allows you to delete any incoming message with the words "great deal," for example, automatically.
• Flag messages from someone with a colored flag. This option allows you to flag any message from a specific sender, such as your sales manager, with a specific color.
Dig Deeper: E-mail's Little Helpers
ManagingYour E-mail Inbox: Flagging Messages for Follow-Up
Outlook specifically has functionality that allows you to drag message into to-do list and onto your calendar, but another way to remember tasks is to flag messages for follow-up. "If there's something that you have to do or remember, such as return someone's call or meet a certain deadline, flagging the message will help you remember," Duncan says. You can assign a date and time to a flag and assign a flag to a particular message or contact.
Implementing these 7 tips will help you begin to take control of your inbox. "With my tips," says Duncan, "you should never have to scroll through your inbox. You'll always be able to see your very last message."
Dig Deeper: How to Compartmentalize E-mail
