Keeping emails organised – using folders

Emails are such an integral part of our working lives, but we get so many emails that it can be overwhelming to keep up with them all.

I personally start to get “inbox claustrophobia” if I can’t see the bottom of my email inbox. I worry that I’m missing something important that I should be working on.

Emails can’t just be deleted, emails need to be filed like documents in your filing cabinets. Having a clear filing system means your emails will be easily accessible when you need to reference them quickly. It’s easy to keep emails organised if you use folders.

Today, I’m going to show you my email organisation system that I set up quite some time ago and I find that it works really well.

If you’re looking for other email tips and tricks, why don’t you take a look at our archive of posts about email?

I love when I’m able to quickly find an email (even if it’s from years ago), especially when I can impress a coworker in the process.

Virtually all email programs (especially “enterprise” versions that are used in corporate environments) have the ability to create folders within your inbox.

Here’s an example of how I use folders in my inbox:

You will need to think of a system that will work for you. I use a system based on my roles and the departments I deal with most often (e.g. a folder for my direct manager as I’m his PA). I have sub-folders for specific tasks (e.g. when I book registration/travel/accommodation/etc for my manager to attend his annual conference in Brisbane). Then I have folders for departments e.g. human resources, finance, the helpdesk, etc.

Some email programs allow you to manually order folders (I prefer to have them listed in order of how frequently I access them). Most email programs will sort your folders into alphabetical order and in these cases you can just number folders to make sure they are in the priority order that suits you.

By having a good system in place, you will be able to easily use productive practices to get you working smarter, not harder.

By having a good system in place, you can start to file emails as soon as you’ve read them. If you don’t have to action the email or reply to it – just file it! Easy!

By having a good system in place, you will know exactly where to find your filed emails, even when it’s urgent and you’re in a flurry!

I hope you found these tips about email management helpful and help you to work smarter, not harder. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve got any other tips to share! Please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on Twitter or Facebook.

Wednesday rant: group email, how I hate you

Hi everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Wednesday afternoon rant, a column dedicated to de-stressing about the mundane, trivial and sometimes just plain simple annoyances of office life.

Everyone is welcome to submit a rant, which will remain anonymous to protect the guilty ;)

Today’s rant is from Smarter reader “Deliah” [real name withheld], our first male ranter who has something to say about group emails. Thanks, “Deliah”!

Oh email how I hate you. You make it far too easy for our Senior Managers to issue lengthy missives which are neither clear in their message or pleasant in tone.

Oh and in case your wondering it doesn’t soften the blow if you put a smiley face next to the request to ask us to PUT IN SOME MORE EXTRA HOURS/WORK OVER THE WEEKEND, OR PICK UP YET EVEN MORE WORK.

Oh and those of us who are already doing what you have asked and then some just think you show poor leadership skills or possibly are JUST PLAIN LAZY because you cannot even be bothered to target those who are not following your instructions. NO you send a blanket mail to our entire management mailing address.

And no putting on the bottom PLEASE IGNORE if you are already/are about to do this does not excuse you. It just shows you have NO CLUE over who is doing what in your organisation.

Blanket emails are a crime against the office worker and are just a way for Senior Management to pass on some more crud for us all to shovel.

Oh and SENDING the mail does not mean that your stressed out middle manager has ACTUALLY HAD THE TIME TO READ YOUR MASTERPIECE, because contrary to popular belief we do actually have a life. So unlike YOU who reads and answers mails from home at 10pm and beyond we are more likely to be drinking our own body weight in red wine whilst watching back to back episodes of Come Dine with me because YOUR incessant stream of email drivel has driven us to the edge.

Just STOP with the emails try using a TELEPHONE you know where you can actually speak to someone, or better yet pop by my desk and just ASK….

Phew, I feel better already.

Do you hate group emails? How to you put up with them? Tell us in the comments!

How to write an effective out of office message

Today I thought I would share with you my thoughts on Out of Office messages for your email.

I love them. They tell people when I’m on holidays, on a course for a couple of days…but I’ve often wondered if my standard message is good enough.

My usual out of office message has been quite short and to the point:

Thanks for your email.

I’m [on leave/on a course/doing something very important] and will action your email upon my return on Monday. Please contact reception for urgent matters on [phone number]“

I read other people’s out of office messages to get ideas on what I do or don’t like about them. Some are short and some are honest. In this day and age, it’s becoming expected of many of us to be accessing our work emails on our iPhones or home computers and I’ve realised that it’s becoming a necessity to spell. it. out. to people that I’m not checking my emails, even when I say I’m not in the office.

Before going on my most recent holiday, I took a couple of minutes to find good examples of out of office messages. There are plenty of bad examples, but this example from the Microsoft Outlook templates site was the one that I liked the most:

Using this example, my standard out of message is now

Thanks for your email, I’m currently [on leave/out of the office] with no access to email.

I will return 9.00am on Monday 13th and action your email then.

If you need assistance before Monday, please contact reception on [email address] or [phone number].

Kind regards, Laura

And hopefully my message is being more helpful when I’m not around.

Do you use an out of office message?

I hate forgetting to attach files to emails

Thank you to everyone who has entered my Post-it Note giveaway so far – don’t forget to enter if you haven’t already!

One of my pet hates is forgetting to attach a file when I’ve written a beautifully-worded email referring a whole bunch of people to the attached report.

Um, what report? D’oh!

I wish Outlook could take a leaf out of Thunderbird’s book. Thunderbird is an email client that I use at home and every time I type “attach”, “attachment”, “attached” or similar, it pops up an alert:

Which is just fabulous for those forgetful moments.

A Microsoft developer has created the Forgotten Attachment Detector, which is a plugin for Outlook that is complicated to install (I tried it on Office 2007/Windows XP and Office 2010 Windows 7) and doesn’t seem to work in any scenario I’ve tried.

Dear Microsoft

Please make the Forgotten Attachment Detector a standard feature in Outlook.

Love,
Outlook users who forget to attach emails

x

Do you check your work emails at home?

I’m lucky at my current job, I’m not expected to be checking my emails constantly at home or on my Blackberry to keep up with my workload. But I know many people who are glued to their smartphones in their own time, working long after home time.

The General Manger of recruitment agency Kelly Executive is warns us to monitor the amount of time spent outside of work hours on mobile devices.

“Employees may become overwhelmed and overworked by technology. Employees may feel that they are unable to escape work and they may begin feeling powerless about the pace of job goals and tasks. Technology offers greater convenience but can potentially fuel the flames of stress that may cause more mistakes. It is crucial that employers communicate the importance of rest and down time outside of work to avoid these issues.”

Read the rest of the article from Kelly Executive.

I have, on occasion, logged into my work emails at home. Most often because of a huge workload, tight deadline or because I forgot to send an email. Thankfully, I haven’t done it in at least 18 months and I don’t intend to do it any time soon!

Do you check your work emails at home or on your smartphone? Share in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook!

Tuesday web roundup: do nothing for two minutes

Every Tuesday, Smarter Admins brings you the best tips and tricks from around the web.

Six Revisions: 9 tips for Emailing Important People

“In many cases, getting a fast response to our emails can mean the difference between enjoying our job and stressing about deadlines.”

Edhom: The Procrastination Flowchart

We don’t like to admit it too often, but we’re all guilty of pfaffing at our desks every now and again.

Do Nothing for Two Minutes

I love the concept of this site. “Just relax and listen to the waves. Don’t touch the keyboard or mouse.”
This one could also be filed under “if only I had the time to do this”.

Tuesday web roundup: cover your butt

Every Tuesday, Smarter Admins brings you the best tips and tricks from around the web.

Lifehacker: Use A Weekly Countdown To Stay On Top Of Your Goals

“The head of London’s planning committee for the 2012 Summer Olympics argues that measuring far-off events in weeks helps to keep projects on track.”

OfficeArrow: How good are you at saying no?

“You see, when it comes to managing our time, there is nothing more important to that process than saying No. Don’t believe me? Consider right now how many things you “wish” you could get out of or “wish” you weren’t involved in because they are sucking your time and energy away and you aren’t truly invested or engaged in them.”

The Professional Assistant: Cover Your Butt: Using E-mails To Track Dialogue

“It’s so important to keep a log of information.  E-mail helps you track who said what.  That’s the beauty of covering your butt when times get tough.  You can always go back to an e-mail that you or someone else sent and prove that what you or the other person said is valid.”