Are You Suffering from Inbox Overload? Expert Provides Tip for Managing Email Clutter

Do you ever feel like your inbox has become the enemy? While email is an efficient and effective way to communicate, the downside is that by sheer volume, email can also be overwhelming. Whether you wake up to an overflowing inbox, feel like you are drowning in emails, or just need help in managing "electronic clutter," these eight tips from nationally-recognized professional organizer Tonia Tomlin can help conquer the chaos

Plano, TX (PRWEB) March 3, 2009 -- Do you ever feel like your inbox has become the enemy? While email is an efficient and effective way to communicate, the downside is that by sheer volume, email can also be overwhelming. Whether you wake up to an overflowing inbox, feel like you are drowning in emails, or just need help in managing "electronic clutter," these eight tips from nationally-recognized professional organizer Tonia Tomlin can help conquer the chaos:

Remove yourself: take some time to look at who is sending you emails. Are you on automatic distribution lists that aren't of interest? Unsubscribe yourself. Be mindful, too, of ordering online, as many online retailers will automatically send you promotions, emails, and special offers unless you specifically check the box indicating that you do not want to receive the correspondence.

Resist the urge to check emails constantly: put yourself on a schedule. For instance, set aside time each morning, midday, and late afternoon for checking and replying to emails. If your job involves work that is more time sensitive, check your emails every two hours, or even every hour. Find a schedule that works for you, but leave yourself plenty of time to focus on your other tasks, and don't allow yourself to be frequently distracted by emails.

Set up an email cleaning schedule: take 10 minutes each day to cull through your inbox and delete the files you no longer need. No only will this free up space, but it will make it easier for you to find correspondence that you need.

Create a folder system: organize all of your emails into folders. When filing your emails into folders, stay focused on the task. Don't talk on the phone or let yourself be otherwise distracted so that you might accidently mis-file the correspondence. That will only lead to frustration, in the event that you need to access that correspondence again.

Embrace the "new" etiquette: the next time you have the urge to send a brief "thank you" note when someone has answered an email of yours, think again! You may be well-intentioned, but what you are really doing is just creating more email clutter for the other party - and the odds are good that you may even get a "you're welcome" reply back, which is just more email clutter for you. Limit your email communication to only the most important correspondence. There are certainly going to be instances when an acknowledgement is needed or necessary, but try to find the right balance. If it is not absolutely necessary, don't send it.

Print with caution: have you noticed that email clutter has a way of turning into paper clutter if you are not careful? Think before you print. If you must print an email, print only the portion of the email that is relevant. Otherwise, you might wind up with a number of unnecessary printed pages of past correspondence that is neither needed nor relevant.

Recognize your role in creating the clutter: do you dread opening up your inbox each morning? If you worked late into the night answering emails, or spent the weekend replying to work-related correspondence, recognize your role in creating the clutter. Think of it this way: most of the emails you send will result in a reply, and if you're working late into the night responding to emails, it's only natural that you would find a slew of emails in your inbox in the morning.

Know the difference in "replying" and "sending:" Just because you reply does not mean you have to hit "send." Most email systems allow you to save emails as drafts without actually sending them. Do not be afraid to use this function when you are working late, or checking your emails on the weekends. Give yourself the luxury of "work hours" - specific times and days when you will--and won't --send email correspondence. Send your drafted emails only during these hours. For instance, try this for a week: put yourself on a schedule - say Monday through Friday 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM -- and use this as the time when you will send work-related email correspondence. You might be surprised by how much of your time that frees up. Set boundaries, but remember that they key to structure isn't rigidity, but flexibility. There are going to be instances where you probably will need to respond to a work related matter "after hours." Be flexible, but if it can wait, let it wait.

A sought-after media guest, Tonia Tomlin has been featured in numerous local, regional, and national media print and broadcast media outlets, including HGTV's "Mission Organization" program. Tomlin lives in Plano, Texas, with her husband, Rob, and their identical twin girls, Peyton and Sydney. Tonia is the author of Chaos 2 Calm: The Moms-of-Multiples' Guide to an Organized Family, which is available where better books are sold. Members of the news media wishing to request additional information are asked to contact Maryglenn McCombs by phone - (615) 297-9875.

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