Bogged Down With Emails? Email Organization Tips to Clear the Clutter!
A crowded, disorganized email inbox is no different than constantly disorganized work environment. It slows you down, and saps your effectiveness. Potentially important communications are buried in lengthy email conversations, or obscured by outdated or irrelevant emails. If your email inbox is overflowing, then your work, your energy, and your ability to respond to important events in the workplace may be compromised.
Sorting through thousands of old emails may seem like an impossible dream. However, if you are willing to implement a few email organization tips and set aside five to ten minutes a day to work on your emails, your NYC Professional Organizer promises that you will have things under control in short order. And you will be able to keep them under control going forward.
The first of our email organization tips: Learn to love the delete button on your keyboard. Erase old messages, newsletters, invitations, jokes and similar emails. Be on the lookout for emails where you have been cc’d, or fyi’d. Most of those emails probably required no action on your part then, and are possibly completely irrelevant now. Hit delete and let ’em go. Among your email collection, there will be some important communications that you will want to retain for future reference. Keep on top of those by creating a folder filing system for your emails just as you have for your paper work. Already read emails should live in your folders, not in your inbox. Create main headings that make sense to you, and follow with sub-folders as appropriate. The idea is that your emails should be organized in such a way that makes them easily accessible and supports your work flow.
Practice good email habits with your own outgoing messages, and set the example for those around you: cc only those colleagues who actually need to know the content of your email.
Make your subject lines very specific — words like “important” or “fyi” are vague and you risk having your email lost among many others. Avoid one-word replies like “thanks,” or “okay.” They just clog up someone else’s inbox. Proofread all emails before sending. Be a leader in clear and concise email communication.
One of the most effective email organization tips is also one of the most obvious. Answer all emails as soon as you can. Set specific times in your day to focus on processing emails.
Respond to any email that takes two minutes or less. For longer emails or ones that you feel you cannot respond to immediately file in a to-do folder, add responding to them to your to-do list and schedule time to do so by the requested deadline.
By clearing your cluttered inbox, you will be able to easily and quickly navigate through the new incoming messages. For additional assistance clearing out your inbox and starting fresh, reach
out to your NYC Professional Organizer for a consultation!