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AnchorDesk

AnchorDesk Staff
End Inbox Blues: Common-Sense Ways to Control Email Overload

AnchorDesk Staff
ZDNet AnchorDesk
Wednesday, July 5, 2000
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Unless you read this article, you can never have a happy vacation again.

Heavy email users everywhere are becoming terrified about taking time off and returning to hundreds -- even thousands -- of unread messages.

Email -- the Internet's killer app -- is killing our ability to get away and have a life. And it's getting worse. Jupiter Communications predicts the number of commercial emails the average U.S. consumer receives each year will skyrocket from 40 in 1999 to 1,600 by 2005. That's in addition to personal and non-marketing email, which will jump from 1,750 to 4,000.

If that scares the *#$*# out of you (hey, it does me!) -- you'll want to adopt these four tips the experts use to keep their inboxes under control.

Automate tasks. If you always include contact information when you sign your emails, create a signature. If you always forward mail from certain senders to someone else, automate the procedure. If you haven't created work group aliases, set them up. ZDTV's Back to Basics feature provides step-by-step tips for a variety of email clients.

Preview messages. How many messages do you really need to open? Sometimes I can glance at the subject line to know I can hit delete. Other times I need a little more info. The preview pane integrated in Outlook 2000 allows me to quickly scan an email without opening it, and scroll by pressing my spacebar.

Discipline yourself. Efficiency experts recommend dealing with a piece of paper only once. That's good advice for managing email, too. Once a message arrives, read it and act on it. Delete it. Respond to it. File it.

Don't duplicate. Announce your preferred means of communication. How many times has someone emailed and faxed you identical information -- and then phoned to see if you received it? That kind of duplication is a time sink -- for everyone involved.

Stay safe. Email viruses can create one of the biggest time sinks you'll come across. And we've had way too many of them in recent months. Be vigilant, even skeptical when you receive mail from someone you don't know. Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date. The experts at ZDNet Help have a laundry list of virus dos and don'ts.

I've linked more email resources in the sidebar. But remember, these tips won't completely eliminate inbox stress. And if they did, you probably wouldn't need that vacation.

How do you keep your inbox under control? Use the TalkBack button to send me your best email tips and tricks. I'll post responses under this story, so be sure to come back and see what other readers are doing.

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