As anyone who receives more than 50 e-mails per day can attest, effective inbox management is essential. Microsoft exec Amit Mital offers a surprisingly simple three-pronged approach to dealing with e-mail overload, starting with the creation of three inbox folders:
The first one should be just for you, so set up a rule in whatever service you’re on that will take e-mails that have been sent to you specifically, have them sent straight to your in-box, and flag them red.
The second folder should be for any messages where you’re on a list with other recipients. Mital’s got his set up to filter messages that include up to 50 other people. If it’s more than that, have it sent to an alternate folder that’s to be looked at after direct messages.
The third folder should be for VIP senders. Create a short list of people in your company or inner circle that should go directly to your inbox. People like your CEO, boss, boss’ boss, or family members. You can also set it up to give you a desktop notification, just in case you have them turned off by default.
Mital also recommends deleting or archiving messages as soon as they’re processed and turning e-mail into tasks by dragging them to Outlook’s to-do bar (similar to our recent tip on turning e-mails into appointments).
Would this approach work for you? If not, how do you keep your inbox from getting out of control?
