Not every email you receive requires the same kinds of actions—or any action at all. If you’ve got an avalanche of messages in your inbox, the first step to making sense of it all is to create subfolders for each of the different kinds of messages you receive—project-related messages, newsletters, etc. Once those folders have been created, you can use a tool called filters or rules to automatically sort your incoming email. This can be a huge productivity booster!

Filters or rules are found in the settings for virtually any email program. By creating filters or rules, you can automatically file any messages coming in from a particular sender to a designated folder, bypassing your inbox entirely. This way you don’t have to see it or read it until you have time to deal with it. As new messages come in you can skip past those messages you know will not require your immediate attention. They will be in a special folder waiting for you. You’ll know that there are messages waiting for you in that folder because your email program will alert you.

You might use this feature for specific clients, vendors, co-workers, or resources. When it’s time to read through your email, you can go into the individual folders and take the corresponding actions then. Everything is already pre-sorted for you, so it should be easier and less time-consuming for you to go through your inbox.

If you’re wondering how to implement these strategies, we’d be happy to chat with you. Contact us for a complimentary strategy session by going to http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/Apply

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