You've Got Mail
And in my first official (non-introductory) blog post, I’ll be touching on a topic that is near and dear to my heart and also a topic you’ll see me write about often. ORGANIZATION. Cue my ridiculous level of excitement.
Once in a while, I will catch a glimpse of a colleague’s inbox full of 1,000+ emails and all of a sudden my pulse starts to race and my palms begin to sweat. HOW DO YOU FUNCTION WITH THAT MESS?! Seriously. I know I am really showing my obsessive organization colors right now, but with all the dependence on electronic communication these days, I fully believe that an organized email account is a happy email account. And also a happy Jade.
So below are my tips for keeping your inbox (and in my opinion, your life) an organized and stress-free atmosphere.
1. DELETE. DELETE. DELETE. How many of those hundreds of emails in your inbox are e-newsletters, advertisements, or just plain ol’ junk mail that you already know are not needed, but you just haven’t taken a second to delete them yet? These are emails I waste no time in deleting when they pop up in my inbox. Emails that also need to be deleted right away are ones with simple reactions (think “thank you” or automatic replies) or ones that will serve no future purpose.
2. ALL THE FOLDERS. Anyone care to guess how many folders I currently have in my work email account? FORTY. The important thing to remember here is it is not about how many folders you have, it’s about having enough folders for a system that makes sense to you. I could cut the number of my main folders in half if I created one called “Annual Events” and then dropped a bunch of the existing folders into it. However, for as often as I have to look at emails on my phone, I hate utilizing sub-folders for things that I work on year-round. That extra click might not bother you the way it bothers me, so go on with your bad self and sub-folders if you want. I do have one folder that is labeled "Old Files" for things that I no longer work on frequently, but can't quite get rid of yet. Yes, creating a filing system will require a bit of time right off the bat, but that’s what wine is for. Just make sure to stick to one glass until you’re done or your system might not make any sense the next day.
3. TAKE ACTION. Do one of the following with every email as soon as you read it:
Delete. See tip #1 above. Also, if you’re getting e-newsletters that you’re not interested in anymore, take a moment to unsubscribe from their mailing lists. It’ll help keep junk from piling up in the long run.
Reply now. If you can reply right off the bat, do it and then either delete or file the email instead of leaving it in your inbox. Don’t save your reply for later “when you have more time” if you are fully capable of providing all the necessary information right now. That's how they build up.
File. If the email you received is just an update that requires no action on your part, file it right away or delete it if you don’t need it.
Add it to your to-do list. I keep a to-do list in a notebook and always add action items to it if they come in via email and don’t need to be done the same day the email is received. After I add the project to my list, I file that email in an appropriate folder.
Leave it (temporarily). If there is an email that you can’t quite respond to right away because you need to gather some information, leave it until you get what you need and then file/delete as soon as you send off your reply. There aren’t many of these that I usually leave in my inbox for more than a day because I’ll add these items to my to-do list if I don’t think I can finish it before close of business.
Most people don’t usually put a lot of value in keeping their email accounts neat and organized, because they think it’ll take too much time to sift through everything in order to clear out their inboxes. However, having an organized email account will save you loads of time, effort, and frustration in the long run. And maybe it’ll even help you find your soul mate. I’m pretty positive Meg Ryan had an organized AOL account. If not, how could she have possibly figured out that she was in love with Tom Hanks?!