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Email management - Microsoft Outlook 365 Classic Version

(Please note that the below is a manual process - very old school and no technical knowledge required)

 

How to manage and categorize emails (Inbox Management)

 

Introduction

The below instructions are for the Microsoft Outlook 365 “Classic” version only, because the "new" Office 365, version looks a lot different! You can call this your own "email management system.

 

 

So, to save time you need to create categories for your emails. You will find emails much faster this way. For business purposes, create an email sub-folder for each of your clients. You can manage your personal emails in the same manner, you can create a folder for: accounts, online shopping, newsletters etc.You can also refer to this process as "email inbox management"

 

How to create sub-folders in Microsoft Outlook (Classic Version)

Go to “Home” in Microsoft Outlook. Click on your email address, right click and select “new folder”. Name the folder “Clients”. Next right Click on your newly created “Client” folder and select new folder again. Now create sub-folders using the name of each client, so that you can save email correspondence per client.

You can rename and drag these folders, so that your folders are sorted in alphabetical order.

You can also “drag” these folders by placing the cursor on the name of the folder, you want to move. Next, hold down the left-hand side of the mouse and drag the folder to where you want the folder and let go over the black line that will appear.

 

Manage Your Emails

 

Daily (except for some weekends) I follow the steps below:

1. I delete junk or unwanted emails.

1.1 I "scan” through all my emails and delete everything that I don't need. (Remember to “unsubscribe” from emails you no longer need.)

2. I categorize the remaining emails into 3 Categories:

2.1 My first category is "Must Reply" Emails.

2.2 The second category is "Must Read" Emails. Newsletter that you need for your business or job, are good examples of “Must Read” emails.

2.3 I call my last category "In Process" Emails. (These are emails that you are waiting for a reply)

- By right clicking on a message, you will see the “Categorize” function. This will allow you   to choose different colors. A name field will appear, you can change it to whatever you like; but I have chosen yellow for “Must Read” emails. I use red for "Must Reply" emails and blue for "In Process" emails. 

The above process will save you a lot of time once implemented.

 

Take Action Step

 

- I start off with the “Must Reply” emails and reply to as many as possible.

- Next, I go to the “Must Read” emails and read as many as possible.

 

General Tips:

 

Time management is very important in any business. But time management is applicable to emails as well. It doesn't make sense to spend your full working day on emails and then spend after hours, to do your normal work!

Most people waste a lot of time on emails because of bad "email and/or time management".

The best method is to set aside a maximum time per day for "Must Reply" and "Must Read" emails. Your specific circumstances will dictate the amount of time needed. The secret is to spend less and less time per day on emails, not more and more.

 

Most common email mistakes:

 

Many people scan through important emails and don't read them with the proper attention needed. This will happen, because this person doesn't spend enough time on emails!

The other side of the coin is that people don't spend enough time writing good professional emails. So, the reader becomes bored with the contents and start "scanning" the email for the important parts.

When you write an email, one paragraph must lead to the next paragraph. The contents must be professional, but also friendly. The email must read like a "short story".

 

Final step

 

The final step will be to move your finalized emails for the day to your newly created sub folders and repeat the above steps, every working day.

It is all about saving the important emails and deleting the rest, so that you can spend less time on emails.

 

Summary:

 

So, if you apply the above "email management principles", you will be able to react faster to important emails. Look out for future blogs about structuring your emails in a professional manner. Some people type email messages in the same manner as they do, when they type messages in WhatsApp.