Fix the Inbox Part 1:Management

Managing your e-mail inbox can be discouraging, especially if you receive hundreds of messages a day. As messages build up, the task of reading and addressing each one may seem impossible. So perhaps your answer is to ignore some correspondence. The best-case scenario is that most of it is spam or junk and doesn’t require a response from you. More likely, you’re facing the worst-case scenario: A slew of broken promises and missed deadlines.

Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed. There is an effective way to process and organize your inbox; it is indeed possible to empty your inbox, says Peggy Duncan, a personal productivity expert and author of Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007. The key is learning a bit more about your software. Whether you’re using Microsoft Outlook 2003or 2007, Entourage, or something else entirely, almost any e-mail system provides the ability to flag, file, delete, save, and drag your way to a tidy inbox. Inc.com senior editor Nicole Marie Richardson spoke with Duncan about seven simple ways to improve your e-mail habits.

Source: Inc.