Email Overload Blues: Managing Your Inbox

It's happening again: my inbox is getting ridiculously overcrowded, with many unread ezines and marketing stuff left glaring at me in bold font...

I've learned to use the rules function in Microsoft Outlook, and most junk now goes into the junk folder, which helps keep the overwhelm feelings down. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why legitimate newsletters and orders go to "Junk," and some viagra and stock garbage still gets into the inbox. I know I need to play around with the folders and rules function a little more, but who's got time. Sometimes just deleting is the fastest way to go.

Here's a great resource, a blog with several email management tips, for those of you who also struggle with email overload blues: http://www.43folders.com/izero/

It shows you how you can get your inbox to zero! I just want to keep it under 100, and I'll be happy.

Go read their posts on email management tips, and then share with us your favorite.

Comments

[Annie D.]

Patsi, what an excellent resource!

I find that my email box also gets clogged with purely informational email nuggets that require no response, but could very well be be useful for my business at some point in the future. I flag those emails.

At the end of each week, I pick the best of those flagged informational emails, print them up and put them in a three-ring binder for future reference.

Any informational email nuggets that DON'T get copied for the three-ring binder get deleted.

Any informational email nuggets that DO get copied for the binder get deleted.

That's a whole bunch of email, cleaned out of my box every Friday!

-Annie