1800+ email messages in your Inbox?

Do you have this problem? Too many emails in your Inbox? I have 1800+ in mine!

Zero email in your Inbox is like Zero items on your Desktop. Clean, efficient and effective, not to mention easy on the eye too.

These days with so many email messages flying in from all direction (legit or spam), it could be really tough to organize our Inbox.

Well, July 2008’s issue of MacWorld has this wonderful tips for organizing your Inbox. Though it’s Mac oriented, the tips work on Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird etc.

Keep your existing folders and create 3 new folders : Filed, Action and Later.

“Filed is for everything you have finished with but want to keep for reference.”

“Action is for messages that require you to do something with them.”

“Later is for low priority messages you want to look at only when you have free time.”

Once you sort this out quickly, you are prioritizing them. If you are short of time, just work on those in the Action folder first. Can always come back to the Later folder when you have time.

In addition, try to automate as much as possible. On my Mac’s Mail, I set Rules which automatically moves certain email away from my Inbox to its respective folders. For example, some friends only forward stuffs to me. I set a Rule on my Mail program that whenever so-and-so sends me email, move this message to the “Forwarded stuffs” folder.

Thus, whenever new order notification emails come in, they are automatically routed to the “To Ship” folder.

If you send me an email using forms on my site, the subject header usually says “Message from diyparadise”. This goes straight to the Action folder.

Paypal payment received notification emails go straight to the Paypal folder.

And so on.

Once you automate the tasks and just concentrate on those in the Action folder, then sort out the rest, then the 1800+ email messages become a lot more manageable.

In less than an hour, I have sorted out my Inbox. Now have only 14 messages.