![]() When you receive one, it would be better to delete it instantly instead of file it so don’t create a folder for those. For example, if you use auto bill pay, then bill reminders won’t be very important to you. Only create the folder if you’ll reference the emails inside frequently. Instead of more folders, search folders and search tools. Tip #3 Create the fewest number of folders possible.įor most people 5 or fewer is ideal, after that filing becomes more difficult and takes more time. Name your everything folder after the current year and archive it at the end of the year so you can start each year fresh and keep your Outlook file from getting too big. If you think you might need it for later but it doesn’t fit into your existing structure then into the everything file it goes. You can avoid this with an everything file. Since you don’t have time to create folders that fit into you complicated system for all these new types of emails, they stay in the inbox. Tip #2 Create an “everything” folderĪ lot of the emails you don’t know what to do with are probably one-off conversations or random emails that are only important for a short period of time. You can do this for other groups of emails, like newsletters or reminders. If you need to separate them within that folder, group your emails by sender, so they subdivide themselves. Tip #1: Don’t create a separate folder for every type of email.įor example, Instead of creating a folder for every bill that you receive: water, electric, credit card, heating, student loans, day care etc. Now that you know about search folders, let’s go through some best practices for creating folders to give your email some structure. How to Create a Search FolderĬreating a search folder is easy, go to search folders, right click and and select new search folder.īest Practices for Creating Folders in Outlook Search folders do this work for you, so if you need to organize information differently, you can do so in a few minutes instead of a few days. The other advantage is, If you decide you want to change the structure of normal folders, you have to go through every email manually to sort them into a new structure. Search folders can help you avoid this problem. In complicated systems, I’ve seen people create a different folder for each coworker, but this system fails once they get into a group email because the thread has to be split between folders, making it harder to follow along with the conversation. Unlike with regular folders, an email can be in two search folders at once. Or if you want to group all of your emails with attachments together. Search folders work great if you want to group all the emails from one person like your boss or your assistant in one place. With a search folder, you tell Outlook what you want that folder to contain and it finds all the emails that fit that criteria and puts it in the folder for you. One of the most overlooked search tools in Outlook are Search Folders. How to Organize Your Email with Search Folders You can use search to find the exact email you need fast so a complicated file system isn’t necessary. The bigger the drawer, the more things you have to rummage through to find what you need, so you use boxes and dividers to keep it neat and you make a mental map so you can find things later.īut Outlook has something your drawers don’t, search tools. Throwing a bunch of things in the drawer haphazardly is quick and easy, but it makes it harder to find something later. Of course a simple system is better, but people resist creating one because they think it more difficult to find emails later if everything is lumped together.
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