Getting Your Inbox Under Control
Email often consumes us! There are times when a user's Inbox has grown to 1000's of messages. When this happens, it becomes difficult to find things, and not feel totally overwhelmed. Today's tip is designed to provide users with a strategy for managing email.
Remember, if you have ideas for the Computing Tip of the Week,please send them to Pat Fellows.
Getting Things Done
David Allen is a master of "Getting Things Done". His philosophy on how to manage email makes sense, and can be very helpful. While many people don't adopt all of his suggestions, even using one or two will help to get that Inbox down in size and easier to manage. Here are the tips he suggests:
- After reading a mail message, if there is no action associated with it and it isn't needed for future reference, Delete it!
- After reading a mail message, and there is no action associated, but it might be needed for future reference, File it!
- After reading a mail message, if there is an action associated with the message do one of two things:
- If it will take less than 2 minutes to deal with Do it right then!
- If it will take more than 2 minutes, flag it or File it in a folder called "Needs Action"
- After reading a mail message, and there is action required by another individual, hand off the message/task to that person. While waiting for a response File this message in a folder called "Waiting For Response"
- The only mail messages that should be left are messages that the user has not yet read.
Flags
There are several Computing Tips already written which address the use of Flags in Outlook. The one that I use all the time is a tip which explains how to create a custom toolbar in Outlook with names for each flag color. Naming Flags Tip.
For most users the following tip will be the most helpful explanation of the basic use of Flags to set reminders.
Set a reminder to follow up on a message
- Right-click the message you want to set the reminder for,
- Click on Follow Up , and then click Add Reminder .
- In the Due By list, click the date when you have to complete the reply. In the second list, click a time. In the Flag color list, click the flag color you want, and then click OK .
- The Flag to: item allows users to tag the reminder for Follow Up, Reply, Forward, etc.
- Flags with reminders can be used in lieu of the Needs Action and Waiting for Response folders mentioned above. This of course would leave mail messages in the Inbox, but they would be flagged.
- Remember a user's mailbox can also be filtered for flagged items by using the For Follow Up Search Folder in the Favorite Folders list. Click on the For Follow Up folder.
- The For Follow Up folder will display all Flagged Messages, sorted by color.
Good Luck getting that mailbox under control!