Photo: dreamstime.com

Managing your email inbox can be one of those daunting tasks that you really would rather devote very little time, if any, to. After all, as a corporate sister, you already have too much to do as it is. In the midst of year-end deadlines, reporting objectives and management delays, cleaning out and organizing your inbox may not exactly sit on top of your priority list…just like laundry is not exactly your favorite, or most pressing household chore…that is, until you have to sport the mismatched sock trend to work (thank God for tall boots) or have to make an express stop at the mall to re-stock your underwear drawer…Yup, that bad…
I personally dread Laundry Day, as much if not more than Inbox Cleaning Day. Because I just know that I’ll have to face the karma gods of organization, and will most likely pay up for my extreme laissez-faire sins…Even worse than Cleaning Day, is Random Email Question from the Boss Day, when your manager kindly stops by your desk asking you to forward to him that email from random client X from say, maybe 3 months ago, and there you are, cussing out whoever invented the very concept of email…Really?
Because I’m guilty as charged, and although not yet converted to the Clean Inbox corporate religion, I’m still seeking help, here are my $0.02 of advice that I’m struggling to apply to my stack of email messages…as well as my piled-up laundry:

Treat your inbox like your laundry basket: if it’s in there, it is DIRTY and needs immediate washing! Leaving old messages in your inbox is one of the worst sins of email management. When it comes to emails, accumulation rimes with confusion, and who’d need any more of that? Whether you file it, or discard it is up to you, but it’s gotta go!

Pay attention to what you delete! Hitting the “Delete” button too soon is just like selecting the wrong cycle for the wrong type of fabric. You’re better off filing and saving more emails than necessary than getting rid of that precious piece of information. When in doubt, keep a regular check on your “Deleted Items” folder just in case you pressed the “Delete” trigger too fast…

Stop treating your inbox like a to-do list! Just like piling up already dirty laundry on top of other dirty laundry is not a reminder to buy new clothes, piling up emails as reminders of to-dos is not the most effective way of managing your emails. If you need a to-do list, get a to-do list. In the meantime, all that needs to appear in your inbox is new, fresh email ready to be addressed and filed…

Are you managing your inbox like your laundry basket?

The Corporate Sister.