Mid-semester is upon us and I am sure your Siena and personal inboxes are looking pretty messy. Here are 5 tips to help keep that inbox clean, be it personal, school or a mixture of both!
1. Unsubscribe.
Seriously! We all say we are going to do it, but never follow through. That can no longer be your mantra. If you no longer buy a product or frequent a store, unsubscribe to their email list. Unsubscribing to their email list does not mean you are off the stores’ rewards points system or anything like that. You can also look at the email settings and get monthly emails, as opposed to weekly. This will definitely help keep unwanted emails to minimum.
2. Label.
Use your labels! Create labels for different classes, study abroad info, your internship, your job search, etc. After you have read or responded to the email, you will be able to neatly slot them into a folder or label. Later on, you will thank yourself for keeping all the emails regrading that one tricky assignment or job offer you really want.
3. Use your “Stars,” “Flags” or “Markers.”
Use these options to indicate what is important and needs your attention. Use a star or flag to mark a crucial correspondent with an interviewer. This will allow you to quickly find that email when needed.
4. Archive or Trash.
Archive emails that you are finished with and trash emails that are not relevant. For example, archive a correspondence about last week’s shifts at work. Trash an email that is about a sale from Express that is no longer running.
5. Respond in a timely fashion.
If an email requires a response, respond to them as soon as you are done reading them. Don’t ever leave anything for later because there is a good chance you will forget. If you are reading an email on your phone and can’t respond to it using your phone, mark it as unread so you know to reopen and respond to it on the email. Sometimes you won’t be able to respond right away, so rather than letting the email drift down your open section of your inbox, mark it “Unread” until you have actually responded.
Remember, it is incredibly important to keep yourself sorted throughout the semester. It will keep you on track, informed, and less stressed.