4 Ways You Can Avoid a Cluttered Inbox
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In today’s day and age, we are constantly emailing. We have personal accounts, work accounts, school accounts, and even accounts designated for spam and junk mail. With the steady flow of incoming messages, it’s important to be able to manage your various inboxes efficiently and effectively. A cluttered inbox can limit productivity and can cause important emails to be lost or ignored. Here are some organization tips on how to arrange your inbox so you can be more productive.
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1. Create folders. Having just one “Inbox” folder is too vague. Life has many categories, so your email should, too. Here are some examples of the types of folders you can create:
Action Folder. Having a to-do list in your email will put your upcoming tasks in an organized fashion. As you respond to the email or complete the task, you can then erase or save it.
Resource Folder. Create a resource folder that holds important information you may need to come back to. That way, you won’t have to sift and search the next time you need that list of names your colleague is asking for, or that memo your boss sent around a few weeks ago.
Finance Folder. Having all of your bills and accounts in one folder will allow you to organize your finances better. It will eliminate time and confusion when it comes time to pay the bills. Plus, if you’re an AOL user, you get an exclusive member benefit called AOL Bill Manager powered by Manilla. It allows you to access all of your bills and accounts alongside your AOL email.
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2. Unsubscribe and discard junk mail. Having unnecessary emails takes up space in your inbox and creates clutter. Furthermore, having a constant flow of promotions and advertisements in your face can tempt you to spend money that you don’t need to spend. Eliminate the temptation and don’t let them get to you.
3. Create labels. Some email accounts, such as Gmail, have auto-filters, where you can label mail so it can be filed automatically without it ever reaching your inbox. This can reduce clutter and lessens the work that you have to do, allowing you to be more productive.
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4. Clear it out periodically. Designate specific times during the day to go through your inbox. Depending on how many emails you receive, you can choose how frequently you check. This will prevent overwhelming buildups and will eliminate the chance of an important email of being missed or overlooked.
There’s nothing you can do to stop the emails from coming, but it is possible to manage your inbox to free up space and create more time.
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