For most of us who work, shop and play online, our email is where we spend the majority of our time. An uncluttered inbox will help you easily track and respond to new emails.
Whether you use a web-based email like Hotmail or a software package like Microsoft Outlook, you can easily create new folders to meet your needs. Once you receive e-mail, you can delete it, leave it in your main inbox or move it to the appropriate folder for easier management.
At work, you could create folders for mail from your boss, co-workers in your department, company announcements and most important, funny jokes to share. At home, you might create folders for email for your spouse, children or from your Internet Service Provider. Take a look at your inbox and see what folders work best for you.
Once you have created folders, most e-mail systems let you go a step further: They offer optional automatic sorting of e-mail by topic or by sender.The name of this feature varies by e-mail system. Microsoft Outlook calls it New Mail Rules while Hotmail refers to this feature as Filtering.
A typical sorting system works like this: You specify what to sort by (such as the subject line, sender's name or email address), and what to do with the message depending upon which sorting rules or filters match the message. Most systems let you apply multiple rules or filters to each message to fine-tune sorting. This way, sorted e-mail is automatically placed in the appropriate folders in your inbox, discarded, or left in the main inbox if it doesn’t meet any of the sorting criteria you specify.
Here’s how a simple set of sorting filters could work for you...
Rule 1: If the message is from JoeB@mycompany.com, file it in the JoeB folder.
Rule 2: If the message is not from JoeB but is from another co-worker (@mycompany.com) file it in the Mycompany folder.
Rule 3: If the message is from somebody in your family (Mike@AOL.com), file it in your Myfamily folder.
Rule 4: If the subject contains “free” or is from a known spam company, send it right into your trash can. Save yourself from ever having to deal with it.
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