5 Rules to Tame your Inbox

14 Aug 5 Rules to Tame your Inbox

Let’s face it, organizing your e-mail sucks.  Just thinking about the number of unread e-mails that have come in while writing this post is making my left eye twitch!  So, here are my top five tips & tricks to keeping my inbox under control and my project correspondence on track.

One: Always use the Project Name in the Subject Line

This is a pet peeve of mine.  Maybe it’s because I like to search my inbox frequently, but I think the subject for every email should be the name of the PROJECT.  Period.

I hate searching for that one e-mail that has that one detail drawing for a project that I need immediately only to find it after 20 minutes of searching labeled “RE: motorized drapes”.

Two: Use Folders & Sub-folders to keep your Inbox Organized

I LOVE folders in folders.  This may be a little OCD of me, but I have my inbox organized by Main folders and then Sub-folders (sometimes even my sub-folders have sub-folders)!

For instance, under my “Projects” folder I will have a sub-folder for each project.  The name of that project folder matches what is on our H-Drive (also known as our in-house server). and is identifed by Year, Project Number and Project Name.

1905- Lawless

With all of the project correspondence organized in a singular folder, it makes archiving a breeze!  Just follow the steps here to Archive Outlook Folders.

Three: Use the Flag icon!

Flag any e-mail that requires your attention immediately.

• Do I need to respond?
• Do I need to create a detailed drawing?
• Do I need to set up a meeting?

By flagging the e-mail you are noting that you need to take action.  That e-mail should not be filed until that action is complete.  I also set up a custom filter to group the flagged e-mails separate from ordinary correspondence.

Four: Set up Group Contacts

Never forget to include a project team member on an e-mail chain again!  Some projects have one point of contact and some have 50+.  It’s hard to remember to include all the relevant parties when you are individually adding e-mail addresses, so at the start of a project create e-mail groups.  Some of these groups may be consultant specific and some may be project-specific, but trust me, it will save you time when sending out project updates.

Follow the steps here to set up Group Contacts in Outlook.

Five: Periodically Clean out your Inbox!

Let’s face it, we’re not perfect and sometimes those e-mails in the general inbox pile up.  Make it a point to clear our that general folder once a month!  With the correspondence identified by the project name, it should be easy to search by project name and drag multiple e-mails into the project sub-folder! #easypeasy

Do you have any tricks on keeping your inbox organized?  Let us know!