5 Tips to Manage and Organize E-Mail

How do you focus on your urgent e-mail and organize the rest for your review? Think about how you handle your paper mail. You probably sort your paper mail quickly before you read it to figure out what to look at first, what to read later, and what to throw away. Here are some similar ways to automatically process and prioritize your electronic mail for better and faster results:

(Although the following tips refer to Microsoft Outlook, many of these features are similar to those found in other mail systems. For specific how-to steps, and more e-mail and Outlook tips, visit The Software Pro website.)

1. Color Code to Identify Key Messages

Color code priority messages to quickly identify e-mail from your most important contacts such as management, staff, or team members. To apply colors in Microsoft Outlook, highlight a message from a contact, choose Tools > Organize, select the option Using Colors and pick how you want to color-code your incoming messages from the specific contact.

2. Streamline with Categories and Folders

Stop using your Inbox as a reference system filled with messages that don't require an immediate action. To further organize your messages, create categories and folders with useful labels such as Team Members, Projects, Personal, and others. The Categories feature in Microsoft Outlook, for instance, helps to organize and view active messages into groups within your Inbox. Create and use e-mail folders to store messages that you have already handled and wish to keep for history or folders for e-mail that contains informational reading and general reference.

Note that folders and categories sort in alphabetical order which is not likely to place your priority items at the top. Adding a letter or number at the beginning of a label, such as a-Team Members and b-Projects, will sort these towards the top of your Inbox.

3. Filter with Rules

Rules are instructions or filters that automatically categorize, organize, and prioritize messages based on conditions that you set. As new messages are received in Microsoft Outlook, right-click on the message and left click on the command Create a Rule to apply a category or move the message to a folder. If all you do is apply rules, you may be able to get through e-mail in half the time it took before.

4. Learn Easy Navigation

Stop wasting time by moving in and out of each message and start applying simple navigation tricks. In Microsoft Outlook, for instance, you can move in your Inbox with the up or down arrow key to select a message. Then press [Enter] to open the message. To move to the next message directly from the current e-mail, look for toolbar buttons with arrows or press [Ctrl] + > for the next message and [Ctrl] + < for the previous e-mail. Press [Esc] to close the active message.

5. Sort to Find Messages

To quickly sort your e-mail messages, click once on a column heading for the new order you want such as sender, subject or date. For instance, to sort messages by the sender, click once on the Sender heading. By clicking twice on a column heading, the sort order changes from ascending (A-Z) order to descending (Z-A) order. By the way, the abbreviations RE and FW in the Subject line are ignored when you sort messages alphabetically by subject.

Implementing these ideas for overcoming e-mail overload can help you become more productive and free you from your Inbox.

© 2004 by Dawn Bjork Buzbee

Dawn Bjork Buzbee is The Software Pro? and a certified Microsoft Office Expert and Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor. Dawn shares smart and easy ways to effectively use software and technology through her work as a speaker, trainer, and consultant. Visit http://www.SoftwarePro.com for great Microsoft Office software tips and tricks or to contact Dawn.

---

Tips to Starting your Own Busniess

The 9-to-5 grind can make you feel like a just... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Manage Interruptions

So many people I worked with said they got more... Read More

7 Steps Toward a Better Website

Creating a website is one thing, making it better is... Read More

Top 10 Stumbling Blocks that Limit Business Growth

Never in history have more entrepreneurs launched more new businesses!... Read More

10 Things To Do Before You Start Your Business

If you are thinking of starting a new business, or... Read More

7 Tips On Getting Ready To Put Attraction Marketing Into Action

Attraction marketing is about making a customer for life not... Read More

7 Things You Can Do To Weather The Lows Of A Business Cycle

Hey, as hard as this may be for you to... Read More

Ten Tips to Build a Culture of Inspirational Leadership

Leadership, leadership development and leadership training are "Hot" issues in... Read More

7 Ways To Profit From Other Peoples Products

If you don't possess the time, money or inclination to... Read More

Ten Tips For Starting A New Job

1. Get to know people. First meet those people in... Read More

Top Ten Tips for Improving Your Cash Flow

Cash is king-so they say. If you work for yourself... Read More

7 Tips for Home Business Start-up Success

1) Prepare a realistic business plan.Think of this as your... Read More

10 E-mail Organization Tips

Who doesn't have issues with organizing their inbox!? I receive... Read More

Surviving When Clients Arent Rolling In

As the holiday season starts to settle in, the workload... Read More

5 Tips to Manage and Organize E-Mail

How do you focus on your urgent e-mail and organize... Read More

Ten Reasons to Implement Choice Theory in Your Organization

What is Choice Theory (CT)? CT is a theory of... Read More

Top Ten Reasons to Write a Sales Letter for Each Product? - Part 1

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More

Media Training: Seven Ways to Instantly Improve Your Media Interviewing Skills

Imagine if you were going to address a stadium full... Read More

How to Become an Expert in Your Niche Business

What is a niche business? A niche business is one... Read More

10 Ways to Develop A Free Agent Attitude

Whether you are self employed or you work for someone... Read More

Top Ten Things to Do to Make your Signature File Sell

Always include a powerful signature on every email you send... Read More

10 Great E-Commerce Businesses You Can Start Now

If you've been thinking of starting a business on the... Read More

Increase Exposure, and Profits With Powerful Memorable Business Cards Using These Ten Strategies

Your business card is a valuable piece of real estate... Read More

Top 7 Tips For Writing Your Marketing Plan

A lot of people are at a loss when it... Read More

Business Goals - The 10 Commandments

The Ten Commandments of Goal Setting While it's good to... Read More

7 Tips on How To Prepare for Business Events

Are you scratching your head after business events wondering why... Read More

Sales Marketing: 10 Tips On How To Promote Yourself And Generate Sales

A lot of people are insecure about buying something or... Read More

Plan Your Success In Seven Ways

Many businesses lose money yearly because they don't think creatively... Read More

7 Reasons Why Training Doesn?t Produce the Desired Results and What You Can Do To

Seven Reasons Why Training Doesn't Produce the Desired Results and... Read More

Top Ten Reasons to Write a Sales Letter for Each Product? - Part 2

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More

7 Strategies for Handling Last Minute Meetings

Have you ever found yourself having to scramble to organize... Read More

10 Compelling Reasons Not to Downsize

Almost daily, newspapers, business magazines, radio and television carry reports... Read More

Ten Tips For Staying Connected While Working Alone

Ten Tips for Staying ConnectedMany of my business clients tell... Read More