By Guest Contributor: Michelle Stephens, director of Marketing & Communications at Covenant Health System
E-mail management doesn’t have to be the bane of our existence. Here are tips to help you stay on top of keeping your inbox clean.
Top 10 Microsoft® 2010 Tips
1) Limit the time spent checking e-mail. Spend 20 minutes in the morning going through your messages, then get on with your day. Wrap up your day with another 20 minutes checking e-mail.
2) Get organized. Create cabinet folders that are customized to the broad categories of e-mails you receive.
- Step-by-step instructions
- Watch a video
- Ideas for folders: Share with Staff; HR; Best Practices; Core Measures; Recognition; Reflections; Productivity; Budget
3) Manage e-mail with the 4D’s: When you receive an e-mail, do one of the following the first time you read it.
- Do It – Take whatever action is required/requested as soon as you read that e-mail.
- Delete It – Delete the e-mail after it is read. No further action is required.
- Delegate It – Don’t just forward it. Assign it to someone as a task.
- Date Activate It – Assign it to yourself as a Task.
4) Create rules
- Rules automatically organize your incoming e-mails into your cabinet folders or other folders. Creating rules takes a bit of time initially, but it saves a tremendous amount of time in the long run. Watch video.
- More ideas for rules:
- Send “Out of Office” replies to the deleted folder.
- Send e-mail with a certain topic to a folder.
- Send e-mail from a certain sender to a folder.
- Send e-mail with a certain topic to the deleted folder.
5) Access your e-mail remotely.
6) Create an Out of Office Message.
7) Turn off the E-mail “pop-up” Notification.
8) Prevent your mailbox from getting full:
9) Create a meeting appointment and “busy searching.”