I don't know about you, but my email is starting to take over my computer! I have over 2000 emails in my inbox and it looks as though I haven't read over 750. That doesn't even include my Junk Email. It can get overwhelming and difficult to remember what I have responded to and what I need to respond to. And trying to find an email that I need can take a lot of time. I recently found a few tricks that are helping me organize this chaos.
Here are my tips for Outlook Users
Flag email
Microsoft Outlook lets you flag messages for follow-up. You can highlight the email and click on the flag/follow up button. Select the type of follow up you would like and a reminder.
Categorize e-mail messages
Outlook helps you categorize e-mail. You can quickly view categorized messages related to a specific project.
Select a message and click Actions>>Categorize. Select a color-coded category for the message. If the category hasn’t been used before, you can create a category name.
Categorized messages appear in the Categorized Search Folder, organized by category.
Make New Folders
Microsoft Outlook lets you make new folders below your inbox. Right click on your Inbox and click on New Folder. Type in the name of your new folder. When mail comes in, click and highlight that message and drag it over to the new folder. Below are some of the names of my folders and how I use them.
Follow Up - If I need to address something soon, but can't do it right away, I will add to this folder. I just have to make sure I check it every day, but if I flag it with a reminder, that helps.
Organizations - I have several different organizations or areas of my life and I list them out separately. Such as Girl Scouts, the school that my kids attend, etc.
Names of Friends/Family - Some friends or family members have their own folder.
Create Search Folders
Search Folders in Outlook automatically collect e-mail based on criteria you specify. You can use the folders to find particular messages quickly.
Right-click Search Folders and select New Search Folder. Use the list to select your criteria. Contextual options may appear at the bottom of the box. Click OK to create the folder.
Please comment and let us know if you have any tips in organizing the email chaos.
Cammie Moise