In the world of PR, our inbox is flooded with emails from co-workers, clients, media, newsletters, alerts — the list can go on forever. The best way to tackle your inbox is to take charge and maintain an organized system, especially when you’re traveling. Here are a few simple tips I’ve implemented to make sure my inbox stays neat and doesn’t consume my day:
Set up various folders
Folder, sub-folder, sub-sub-folder…Sounds crazy but this tip leaves my inbox tidy and makes it quick and easy to reference emails based on client, initiative, media market, press release, etc. Each email has a “home” so stay diligent and file away!
Color Code
I’m an Apple mail gal and one thing that works best for me is color-coding ‘flags’ to mark priority emails with assignments or tasks that require me to send items for internal review or go directly to the client. Red flag obviously means, “Get this done ASAP,” yellow flag is for deadlines “Do this sometime this week,” and green means, “For review with client,” — It might be organization overkill but it’s definitely been one way to keep track of status updates for projects and other items.
Unsubscribe
If you aren’t reading emails from a particular outlet or newsletter, it’s time to wave goodbye and unsubscribe! Instead of letting these annoying newsletters and junk mail clutter your inbox, not to mention spending a little time each day pressing ‘delete,’ why not just remove yourself from the list forever?! You can usually find this option at the bottom of every newsletter.
Obviously, there are endless tips that can make your day-to-day easier, so always find the best ones that work for you and your inbox 🙂
