Coping with email overload is tough, between the worry of missing something important, and the fatigue that comes from scanning the same messages over and over. Try these tips to conquer the bulging Inbox:
1. Think of email like regular paper mail: reply / file / or toss, the same day it arrives.
2. Adopt the Lifehacker.com strategy: Use three folders below the Inbox:
- Follow-up (or Current)
- Archive
- Hold
3. File more. Instead of rereading messages and thinking "I should do something about this. I'll get back to it later." try filing the message in an appropriate folder. Either make a folder below your Inbox, or save the message in a project folder. Just click File / Save As and drill over to the project. Then your email correspondence is filed in the same place as documents, budgets, and spreadsheets.
