Imagine, if you will, a snowstorm. Individually, a single snowflake holds little threat. It is easily handled. Millions, however, can congregate to
imprison houses, cars, and any poor souls unlucky enough to be caught in their path.
Here's a guide to avoiding an avalanche:
Filter
Shoveling snow while it is still falling can be a losing battle. If you could turn off the sky, you would. Fortunately, you have a little more control over the mail you receive.
Unsubscribe to any lists, newsletters, or notifications that you no longer read. This, in itself, can save you oodles of time and junk email. With less to organize, your attention can be saved for that which is truly important.
If you must receive a message, think about setting up rules in your mailbox (based on sender, subject, etc.) that will automatically send it to a certain folder. Let the system handle these for you.
In a working environment, I like to keep my Inbox as clean as possible. Only recent emails relating to active tasks are allowed. All others are filed away into archive or reference folders.
Delete
Of course, the most important part of keeping a clean Inbox is deleting messages. When a task or message is done, I mark the flag completed and delete it. Likewise, messages without any follow-up required either go into my folders, or simply get deleted.
If you're approaching a full Inbox, start with the emails with long chains of responses, each listed below the current message. You do not need to save each of them, only the most current (or any with new information or containing old messages that have been truncated). Often, the whole conversation history is listed within the newest message. Delete the rest.
Repeat
Likewise, email can dominate your day. These messages, like
individual snowflakes, pile up and trap us.
Soon, our productivity is held immobile, caught by the drifts of digital debris. And it keeps coming, choking servers and
hard drives until it is overwhelming.
Here's a guide to avoiding an avalanche:
Filter
Shoveling snow while it is still falling can be a losing battle. If you could turn off the sky, you would. Fortunately, you have a little more control over the mail you receive.
Unsubscribe to any lists, newsletters, or notifications that you no longer read. This, in itself, can save you oodles of time and junk email. With less to organize, your attention can be saved for that which is truly important.
If you must receive a message, think about setting up rules in your mailbox (based on sender, subject, etc.) that will automatically send it to a certain folder. Let the system handle these for you.
Organize
For those in your Inbox, most
email programs have an option for flagging or color coding the messages. This can be a great boon to your organization
efforts. Depending upon your provider,
you can organize emails into differently colored groups, or simply mark them
for follow up.
In a working environment, I like to keep my Inbox as clean as possible. Only recent emails relating to active tasks are allowed. All others are filed away into archive or reference folders.
Create these folders, or even sub-folders, to house the emails that you are keeping for reference. Folders can be based upon different projects, different roles or duties for which you take responsibility, or whatever organization system with which you are comfortable. In the very least, you'll want a folder for reference messages, one for newsletters or blog feeds (if you don't read them immediately), and others for specific groups.
Tackle
Unless you are working on a particular project needing message information, email is best checked in batches. Your time is your own. Don't be a slave to every incoming message. Turn
off the message alert, and protect your time from the false "urgency" of each new message.
I like to flag the emails that represent a task or something
to which I have to
respond later, or respond and complete them outright. This helps me maintain
some organization, and keeps a handy list of pending tasks. Each time I open my account, an instant "to do" list is available, resting under my new and unread messages.
Of course, the most important part of keeping a clean Inbox is deleting messages. When a task or message is done, I mark the flag completed and delete it. Likewise, messages without any follow-up required either go into my folders, or simply get deleted.
If you're approaching a full Inbox, start with the emails with long chains of responses, each listed below the current message. You do not need to save each of them, only the most current (or any with new information or containing old messages that have been truncated). Often, the whole conversation history is listed within the newest message. Delete the rest.
Repeat
Routine maintenance is the most important (and often most difficult) aspect of any organization strategy. Without it, even a perfect system will quickly fall to shambles. Try to continuously follow your guidelines, thus eliminating the long stretches of Inbox cleaning required otherwise.
If you do have a ginormous Inbox, consider taking everything and depositing it into an archive folder. That way, you can start fresh (sort of). Pick up and continue your efforts from there. Later, you can go back and clean up the old emails (if you need them as all).
Email doesn't have to be a burden. Follow these steps, and hold back the oncoming storm. With any luck, you won't even need that snow shovel.
If you do have a ginormous Inbox, consider taking everything and depositing it into an archive folder. That way, you can start fresh (sort of). Pick up and continue your efforts from there. Later, you can go back and clean up the old emails (if you need them as all).
Email doesn't have to be a burden. Follow these steps, and hold back the oncoming storm. With any luck, you won't even need that snow shovel.
