Allyson Otey Offers Tips on How to Keep an Organized Inbox
November 12, 2015
Five years ago, there were 2.8 million emails sent every second, totaling up to 90 trillion emails a year, according to a study by Inbox Codex. Try to imagine what that number would be today. Email has remained a crucial tool used both personally and by all types of businesses, and has evolved so that we’re seamlessly able to access our emails on our tablets, mobile devices, laptops and desktops.
Here at All Points, using email is a major component of our everyday work. We rely on it to not only communicate internally, but also with reporters and clients. We need to be on top of our email to ensure that every question, request and comment gets addressed in a timely manner.
We send and receive hundreds of emails a day, which can really clog up our inboxes. When juggling multiple franchise clients, how can we remember to respond to a specific email when it’s been buried by 20, 45, or in some cases hundreds of emails? It’s easy to see how important things can fall through the cracks.
For our November APPR Seminar, PR Associate Allyson Otey presented to the team her techniques for keeping email inboxes at zero. An organized inbox helps to save time, increase productivity and efficiency and decrease stress.
The first step to organizing your inbox is to do something with each email as you review it. Whether you deal with it then, delegate it to a team member, file it or delete it, it’s important that you don’t let them sit in the inbox. Allyson suggests two techniques to consider when going through email.
Her first piece of advice is to color code emails based on priority. This will allow you to clearly identify the emails that require action. You’re less likely to skim over or forget an email if it’s highlighted bright red. Explore your email preferences – many email platforms offer a color/highlight option.
Another tip of Allyson’s is to create main folders and subfolders. She breaks down her folders into different categories – in some cases by market; others are organized by campaign. This is an easy way to be able to find every email in its own special place. Once the action required in the color-coded email is complete, it can be filed away in one of the folders.
Allyson showed the importance of an organized inbox to our overall peace of mind and productivity, and how some simple tricks can mean the difference between feeling overwhelmed and being on top of the game.
Stay tuned for the December seminar!
