Email can be used as a means of communication, storage or a reminder of the tasks that needs to be done. Managing email is essential to ensure that important and urgent messages are not overlooked. It also keeps your inbox organized and free from unnecessary emails.
Here are some tips to organize effectively your emails using email management software.
Emails you want to keep
You can make a filing system according to the topic of the message. This strategy organizes electronic records efficiently and incorporates files to your disposition and retention schedule. Having a filing structure allows you to view emails easily on the same topic whatever the subject or whoever is the sender. This also allows you to quickly retrieve or find emails in your inbox and gives you the ability to follow conversation threads easily. Although some may find this helpful,this strategy takes time to maintain since you need to constantly go through your folders,and delete the old mails.
Some individuals may not find the filing scheme effective. If you are receiving plenty of emails a day, file the emails you want to keep and leave the rest of the messages in your inbox. Delete those messages that are no longer needed, otherwise, keep them. If possible, delete messages regularly so you don’t have to go through unnecessary messages in your inbox.
File your emails based on the messages that need a follow-up or you want to store for future reference. Consider the content of the email, determine which messages will be kept for a short period or for a longer time. Once you read an email, decide whether to keep or delete right away.
You can also create a folder that needs an action or a resolution so you can easily view those messages. Flagging an email is also useful for messages that need a follow-up. Constantly delete the completed tasks and file the rest of your email to the filing system.
Copies of sent messages
There are email management tools that automatically save copies of outbound messages in the sent folder. If your email provider has a storage limit, you can save the copy of sent messages to an offline folder or just have it deleted if you think that you don’t need to go back to that email. For messages containing sensitive information, you have the option to delete, move to a specific folder or save it offline.
There are some email clients that prompt you to either save a copy of the message or not, prior to sending the message. You can choose to keep a copy of the email especially those that contain important messages to a specific folder which has related subjects so you can easily locate the messages when needed.
File Emails
Create a folder that has a good email structure where you can keep and easily locate messages with the same subject or category. It is important to choose a folder title that accurately defines the messages inside the folder. If possible, avoid using abbreviations or acronyms that might create confusion in the future. You can name the folder by geographic location, symbols, dates, subject topics, subject-date, sender, and records series. You can also create sub folders to effectively organize your emails.
According to Mind Tools, you can set email rules to automatically deliver article feeds or newsletters to specific folder. This keeps the primary inbox free from less important emails and if you want to read these emails, you can easily locate them in one particular folder. Email rules help you sort emails as soon as it arrives in your inbox. The best email management software gives you the ability to customize the rules of your email. You no longer need to manually classify the email, but the software can automatically do it for you, which is very convenient and time-efficient.
Subject for Emails
There must be enough information in the subject line when sending message. This helps the receiver determine the importance and value of the message. The subject line must contain what the message signifies. An abbreviation or specific word can be added especially when working on projects to quickly figure out what the message is all about.
Check reviews on email management software to learn how other people use the subject line in managing the email.
Exceeded Quota
If your email provider sets a limit of your storage, consider deleting emails or move them offline. Exceeding the quota of your email storage prevents you from sending and receiving other emails. On the other hand, the sender will receive a bounce back message.
There are steps you can do regularly to avoid exceeding the quota of your mailbox. You can browse your inbox and check for messages that you no longer need so you can delete those messages. Aside from deleting old emails, you can also delete the emails stored in the trash folder. Some email applications move an email to the trash folder once a message is deleted from the inbox. This feature is available so you can still retrieve the message if it was accidentally deleted. Deleting the message from the trash folder will permanently delete the message from the email application. If you still need the email for future reference, you can store it offline. You can use any offline storage device, such as disc or a different computer drive. You can also apply this method to messages that you don’t use regularly.
If you frequently receive newsletters, article feeds and blogs, you may use an email routing wherein it re-routes the email to a different email address so your inbox won’t be overwhelmed with non-essential messages. You can have a more organized email since the important emails will go in the inbox and the less important ones will go to your other account. Whether you are using a personal email management software or a company-provided email tracking software, this strategy is applicable to you.
You can also unsubscribe from promotional emails. Just search “unsubscribe” in your inbox and determine which of those emails you want to cancel the subscription.
Archiving
According to the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, there are email packages that offer archiving capability. Prior to taking advantage of this feature, you should go through its documentation or verify with your company’s IT staff how archiving works of that software. Some email software will automatically move older messages to the archive folder so it is best to determine first when an email is considered older.The online folder structure may be replicated so you can still maintain your filing scheme. However, older messages may not be read by subsequent email list management software. In this case, ask assistance from your IT team to ensure that messages are stored with regular back up.
Managing the Inbox
You may receive large amount of email each day, which can be difficult to manage. To avoid accumulation of insignificant emails, immediately delete messages that are spam, informational notices or advertisements. You can browse your inbox and delete messages that no longer have any value like meeting notices. Identify which emails need action from those, which do not. You can set a strategy on how you want to file your messages based on the messages to be used in the future, such as evidences.
You can make use any of these strategies, or a combination, to organize your email. Choose the strategy that you are comfortable with and the one that fits your needs. These methods may not be effective for everyone; it depends on your own preferences which of these strategies can help you with your circumstances.
The emails you receive each day come in a significant number, it can be personal, business- related, blogs or news feeds. An email is a great tool for communication, but some people overuse it.If you want to be more productive, then manage your emails effectively. If your company is using software for email tracking, take time to read and research on reviews of email tracking software to help you gain better understanding of the different ways in managing your messages. The best email tracking software should give you the ability to customize the features and settings of the software so you can properly organize your inbox.
Do you have any other strategy to effectively organize your email? Check the list of email management software at CrowdReviews.com and learn how other email users manage their messages.
Trevor Price
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