It's Time for Some Email Spring Cleaning

Email has been around since 1965, and the clutter and buildup seem to get worse every day. The volume seems to have snowballed. Here are some tips that help me contain the chaos.

• I’ve linked my email account to my phone. If I delete it on my mobile device, it deletes it, and I don’t have to look at it again on my PC. Just be careful not to delete something important.

• I leave anything that I need to remember or address in my inbox until I take care of it.

• Add new contacts to your list when you read the email. This helps from losing them when you delete the corresponding email.

• I create a series of folders in Outlook. Make sure not create them as subfolders under the Inbox file. I move anything that I want to keep here. This gets emails out of my Inbox. File sizes build up quickly with attachments, and this keeps my inbox size from maxing out.

• Remember to empty your “junk,” sent, and trash email folders regularly.

• Delete spam or scam emails that happen to slip by your filters. Don’t unsubscribe, reply, or click on any links. A click can often trigger the download of viruses or worms to infect your system.

• I have multiple email accounts. Some I use to subscribe to things I might be interested in. This reduces the number of ads, newsletters, and alerts in my primary email box.

Taming the Email Box

Email has been around for a while, but it seems to take over my life from time to time. I get about 400 emails a day among all my personal and work accounts. If I don't stay on top of them, they expand exponentially. Here are some ideas I use to control the chaos.

1. I have one home email address that I use when a company or website asks for an email address. I skim that inbox and delete the junk quickly.

2. I have one email that I use for my writing, publishing, and book promotion. I also have one that is for personal things like hair and doctor's appointment reminders. This helps me keep my life organized.

3. I create folders in my email program for emails I want to keep for reference. I have LOTS of folders (e.g. book events, book marketing, critique group, etc.). I make subfolders if needed. This helps me keep contacts with book events and reporters with news articles.

4. Only things that are not addressed stay in my inbox. Emails either gets deleted or filed.

5. If I receive a new contact, I add it immediately to my contact list - before it's lost.

6. I update my calendar immediately when things change.

7. If I need to keep my reply for some reason, I move a copy to its folder. When I'm booking events, this helps me remember details of proposals, recommendations, and confirmations.

8. I make sure to keep a copy of all contracts, royalty reports, and any other important documents.

9. I read and delete emails throughout the day on my phone. If there is something I need to address, I leave it in my inbox as a reminder. 

10. I also print all receipts for tax purposes when they arrive. This makes it easier at tax time.

What else would you add to the list?