Home
>
Top Quick Tips
>
5 Tips to Manage and Organize E-Mail

5 Tips to Manage and Organize E-Mail

How do you focus on your urgent e-mail and organize the rest for your review? Think about how you handle your paper mail. You probably sort your paper mail quickly before you read it to figure out what to look at first, what to read later, and what to throw away. Here are some similar ways to automatically process and prioritize your electronic mail for better and faster results:

(Although the following tips refer to Microsoft Outlook, many of these features are similar to those found in other mail systems. For specific how-to steps, and more e-mail and Outlook tips, visit The Software Pro website.)

1. Color Code to Identify Key Messages

Color code priority messages to quickly identify e-mail from your most important contacts such as management, staff, or team members. To apply colors in Microsoft Outlook, highlight a message from a contact, choose Tools > Organize, select the option Using Colors and pick how you want to color-code your incoming messages from the specific contact.

2. Streamline with Categories and Folders

Stop using your Inbox as a reference system filled with messages that don't require an immediate action. To further organize your messages, create categories and folders with useful labels such as Team Members, Projects, Personal, and others. The Categories feature in Microsoft Outlook, for instance, helps to organize and view active messages into groups within your Inbox. Create and use e-mail folders to store messages that you have already handled and wish to keep for history or folders for e-mail that contains informational reading and general reference.

Note that folders and categories sort in alphabetical order which is not likely to place your priority items at the top. Adding a letter or number at the beginning of a label, such as a-Team Members and b-Projects, will sort these towards the top of your Inbox.

3. Filter with Rules

Rules are instructions or filters that automatically categorize, organize, and prioritize messages based on conditions that you set. As new messages are received in Microsoft Outlook, right-click on the message and left click on the command Create a Rule to apply a category or move the message to a folder. If all you do is apply rules, you may be able to get through e-mail in half the time it took before.

4. Learn Easy Navigation

Stop wasting time by moving in and out of each message and start applying simple navigation tricks. In Microsoft Outlook, for instance, you can move in your Inbox with the up or down arrow key to select a message. Then press [Enter] to open the message. To move to the next message directly from the current e-mail, look for toolbar buttons with arrows or press [Ctrl] + > for the next message and [Ctrl] + < for the previous e-mail. Press [Esc] to close the active message.

5. Sort to Find Messages

To quickly sort your e-mail messages, click once on a column heading for the new order you want such as sender, subject or date. For instance, to sort messages by the sender, click once on the Sender heading. By clicking twice on a column heading, the sort order changes from ascending (A-Z) order to descending (Z-A) order. By the way, the abbreviations RE and FW in the Subject line are ignored when you sort messages alphabetically by subject.

Implementing these ideas for overcoming e-mail overload can help you become more productive and free you from your Inbox.

? 2004 by Dawn Bjork Buzbee

Dawn Bjork Buzbee is The Software Pro? and a certified Microsoft Office Expert and Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor. Dawn shares smart and easy ways to effectively use software and technology through her work as a speaker, trainer, and consultant. Visit http://www.softwarepro.com for great Microsoft Office software tips and tricks or to contact Dawn.

shuttle from O'Hare Bingham .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Attackers use caller ID spoofing and AI voices to steal money. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson provides seven ways to protect yourself.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about the Genesis GV60 MIV, an electric rescue EV with snow tracks for extreme missions.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you ensure a smooth online experience with a reliable, secure home network setup.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about Vollebak’s Shielding Suit, which blocks EM radiation, infrared and tracking for privacy.

Even Apple products are vulnerable to cybercriminals, and a new report suggests the owners of Mac products will have to be more vigilant this year.

An inflatable six-person tiny house from a firm called 2001 looks like a space station with its inflatable dome that is transportable and eco-friendly.

Scams cost Americans an estimated $159 billion every year and average about $3,500 in losses per victim. The CyberGuy has advice to protect yourself.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents

Zeekr and Waymo are joining forces for the world's first mass-produced autonomous vehicle, combining an electric vehicle with self-driving technology.

A humanoid robot training center has opened in Shanghai, a big step in China's efforts to become a global leader in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Security experts have discovered that hackers are targeting apps on the App Store to spread malware that steals information from saved screenshots.

A new luxury SUV combines military-inspired design and high-end luxury transportation and includes two military-grade gas masks to protect against chemical warfare.

80% of stalking victims are tracked using tech. GPS trackers, like AirTags, are among the most popular ways to do it. Here's how to protect yourself.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how to protect yourself against artificial intelligence-fueled romance scams, which have become the most common type of fraud in 2025.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains the steps to declutter text messages on a Mac or iPad. Apple offers ways to do this more efficiently.

Here's how to take control of the algorithms on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok if your social media feeds aren't showing you content you want to see.

Beware of iCloud scams using urgent messages. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you spot the red flags to protect yourself.

Travel abroad worry-free with these top translation apps for travelers. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson highlights some favorites.

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope was going through preliminary tests in September 2023 when it captured images of an Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says hackers are using Microsoft Teams for phishing, vishing and quishing via social engineering.

Red light camera tickets: Not liable to ID the driver; some are fishing expeditions. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you fight back against tricky fake tickets.

The apps collecting the most data about you are among the most widely used. Kurt the CyberGuy takes a look at 20 of these apps and how you can protect personal information.

AST SpaceMobile of Texas is developing the world's first global cellular broadband network that can connect directly to your smartphone without special equipment.

Community Health Center, a Connecticut-based healthcare provider, has disclosed a recent data breach affecting over 1 million people in the U.S.

5 Tips to Manage and Organize E-Mail

Top Quick Tips