An Easy Process to Simplify Your Email - By: Heidi DeCoux

Combing through my emails, I find that I receive four main types:

1. Junk—solicitations, spam, and worse
2. Emails that call for an action or a response from me
3. Emails I’d like to read or refer to later. These don’t require any kind of response or action on my part.
4. Emails that are hanging fire—I’m waiting for a response from someone else, or waiting for someone else to take an action before I respond to the email.

I’m guessing that your inbox looks pretty much like mine. You know what to do with the junk: delete it immediately. As for the “action” messages, respond to them right away if you can.

Some messages require an action but not an immediate one. You could create a folder titled “Warm Action” for them. (But don’t let that folder go cold! Schedule a weekly appointment with yourself to go into that folder and take care of those warm actions.)

Store the emails you want to read or refer to later in a "To Read" folder.

Emails “in waiting” go into a “Waiting for Response” folder. (You’ll need to check that folder once or twice a week, of course, so you can follow up with the senders and anyone else involved. Schedule a reminder in your calendar.)

And clear out your inbox—I mean have everything gone from it—by the end of each business day.

And remember--
• Use your “delete” button a lot.
• Forwards are optional. Don't feel obligated to respond, or to even read them. A forward you might like to read later goes into your "To Read" folder.
• Never put “hot” emails--messages that require an action or response-- in your "To Read" folder.
• Respond to personalized emails right away.
• Stop responding when an interchange has served its purpose.

About the Author

Heidi is a professional organizer specializing in organizing paperwork , creator of The Fast-Filing Method home filing system, & publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine. She energizes her readers’ lives by teaching effective systems to help you accomplish more in less time! Visit ClearSimpleLiving.com to get a complimentary subscription & a FREE Home Organization Kit.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Heidi-DeCoux/106643

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