Clearing up a cluttered Inbox Part 4 - 10 Tips

In recent posts, I discussed different tactics for keeping your inbox clutter free.

• Cleaning up Meeting Responses

• Dealing with Out of Office Messages

• Auto Filing your Newsletters

Today, I offer up 10 more of my favorite Outlook Inbox management tips.

1. If the incoming e-mail message has time related actions associated with it, move it to your calendar.
   
2. Set a maximum dwell time for incoming messages. For example, if you cannot answer the message within 2 minutes, defer it. I move anything that I need to spend more than 2 minutes thinking about to an @Action folder. My @Action folder contains e-mails I need to spend time thinking about before responding.
   
3. Quick Review and File. E-mail folders are inexpensive. If you get an email that you may need to review later, file it in an existing folder or create a new folder to hold the e-mail. For example, I recently got an e-mail discussing my companies new parking policy. I gave it a quick review, got what I needed out of it and filed it away in a folder called "Parking Policy". If I need to refer to it later or share it with someone else, I can easily find it.
   
4. Not sure if you really need that latest message. Delete it. Be bold! 'nuff said!
   
5. If it's something not related to work, rather it's something you want to follow-up on when you get home, I recommend filing that e-mail in an @Home folder. Review your @Home folder when you are @ Home.
   
6. Don't respond immediately. Ever get an e-mail question sent to a large distribution list of people? You don't always need to drop everything and answer that e-mail. Once in a while, let someone else give the answer. You've got more important work to do.
   
7. Turn off those evil Outlook incoming e-mail notifications. Is seeing the latest incoming e-mail message really worth the interruption?
   
8. Quickly delegate the incoming e-mail message. Don't forget to create a follow-up system for your delegated e-mails.
   
9. Use an Outlook Out-of-Office reminder when you are away from the office. Let people know when you on on vacation so that they know not to fill your inbox in your absence.
   
10. Set aside specific times to check your incoming e-mail. 8am - Noon - 4:30pm. Once an hour. Once every 2 hours. Whatever works best for you. The trick here is to not let yourself fall into the easy trap of "living in your inbox".

Got any other good inbox management tips? Leave a comment!