Organizing Your Email

Keeping your email organized is imperative, especially in corporate
or small business settings. When you use email for business purposes,
you are essentially handling customer files. Because of the
importance of this for even the smallest of businesses, those files
should stay as organized as possible. You wouldn't just lump all of
your paper customer files into a corner would you? Most of us
wouldn't, so here are some ways to keep the email files
(correspondence) organized as well.

If your business email inbox is currently cluttered with hundreds of
old items, set aside some time to clear it out. This first clearance
may take several hours, so you may want to delegate some weekend or
evening time to tackle it.

Filing Methods

Before starting the actual filing of the items, you'll need to
brainstorm your organizational structure. If you do not have a solid
contact management software program, I strongly suggest investing in
one. My preference is GoldMine, and I'll explain why further on in
this section. For now, you simply need to decide how you work, and
what filing system will work best for you personally. If you need
help coming up with filing and organizational ideas, here are a few
popular ones:

1. Customer Name Folders – Create email folders that are named
the same as your customers. All email to or from a particular
customer will be filed to that customer's individual email folder.
2. Project Name Folders – If you work primarily with projects,
you can create email folders that match past, existing or future
project names. From there, you can file all email related to the
project, regardless of who it is to or from, into the corresponding
project folder.
3. Month and Year Folders – Create email folders that are named
for each month and year. Then file all email sent or received in that
month/year into the matching folder.
4. Print File Cabinet Mirror – Create email folders named to
match your Print File Cabinet system. Then file email into the email
folders in the same way that you file print papers into your hard
copy system.

Once you have decided how you want to organize your email, set up the
folders and then go through each and every item in your inbox. This
is the part that may take hours so make sure you have set aside
enough time to fully complete the job.

While you're sorting your messages, you may find several items that
have not yet been addressed but need to be. Try to address these
before filing them, or make a note on your calendar or to-do list.
Alternatively, if your email system has the capability, you can mark
them for completion later. Be aware however: If you file the messages
away you are not likely to address them later unless you have
something scheduled that reminds you to. So, if you can, it is better
to address them now and get them out of the way.

If your email program has the ability to link messages to contacts, I
strongly suggest using this feature. This is the primary reason I use
the GoldMine software. With GoldMine, I can keep a running history
for each and every person I come into contact with. All email
messages sent or received can be filed into the history right along
with the appointments, phone calls, faxes, project notes and any
other correspondence I have accumulated.

By utilizing contact management software that files email according
to the person whom the email is from or to, you do not have to
continuously search through various email folders when trying to find
a specific item.

Ongoing Habits

Now, once you have spent the initial time needed to organize your
inbox, it is fairly easy to keep it organized from that point
forward. It may take a bit of effort to get into the habit in the
first week or two, but usually the joy of having it all cleaned out
helps to motivate you into keeping it cleaned.



Article Source: http://www.BharatBhasha.com
Article Url: http://www.bharatbhasha.com/email.php/17958

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