Stephanie - Do you need to get the e-mails with the blog comments ? You could just check in and read the comments....I changed this setting from my blog and it made a nice change with my inbox.....And I agree that you may have to many folders.....keep it simple and in perspective....Love the new BLOG !!!!
Shannon S. - I love David's comment!!!! It made me laugh out loud. Another tip. Scroll down in your inbox to the email from "Shannon Suiter" and answer that one first. She's the most fun anyway. :)
DJ - HOLY CRAP - those folders!!!! An awesome tip for clearing out your inbox - EDIT -> SELECT ALL -> DELETE. :)
mary beth tyson - Oh! If you learn how to organize your email PLEASE pass on the info!! :-) See you next month!!
Erin - The two-minute rule is fantastic. If it can be done in two-minutes or less, do it right then. Other wise it goes into a to-do folder, archived, or deleted. Everything suddenly has a place to go! Hope this helps and good luck :)
Amanda Harris - An Addendum to my comment: I think you are suffering from too many folders :) I had a friend who had about 200 folders going but then she could never remember quite where she put it. The search capabilities of email are so powerful now that I find an "archive" folder will pretty much do the trick - then you can just search by name or date or anything else you can come up with! And I actually use GMAIL for all my business and personal communication as that means wherever I am in the world I can access my emails - no taking up space on my hard drive and slowing it down (and also no three ring binders of papers)! I've been using GMAIL for five years and hardly delete anything and I am only using 34% of my allocated space! I could talk about email management all day but I'll stop filling up your comments section :) Feel free to email me to talk more
Julie Morris - I am always afraid to delete e-mails. My I used to have thousands saved. Now I print off the ones that I am done with but might need for reference down the road. Now a have a huge 3 ring binder. It is still a mess to sort thru but it keeps my current e-mails easier to manage.
Paul - I feel for you sooooooo much. But Hey...Look at the bright side....You're good enough, You're smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like you:)
Aleasha - One organization tip that really helps me with emails that need to be addressed in the future is to have folders for when those outstanding deadlines are. I keep folders for "tomorrow" and "next week" so I don't loose track of anything. Hope that helps!
Dennis - Hi Melissa! I used the tips from Amanda Harris that she linked to here on your blog and it is great. I recommend it! Also....I see my name on this screen shot. Sorry that I added to your issue.
Liene - Tim Ferris just posted a bit about this on his blog. It's good advice, and it will force you to really think through what you need to do and what you can have your assistant do. ( http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/category/e-mail-detox/ ) Also, I set up filters on mine. All non-essential but still important emails get filtered straight to specific folders and I go through and read them at a set time so they are not continually interrupting me.
Chris Enzaldo - Inbox Zero changed my e-mail life. It's so simple, and it's actually easier than you think. You are the perfect candidate for this! (http://www.43folders.com/izero) Watch the video for details. Also, look into the Two-Minute Rule if you don't already practice it. This very comment exists because of it! Ciao~
Amanda Harris - Hey, I actually just posted the other day about some tips for keeping your inbox down. Hope it's helpful - http://orchardcovephotography.blogspot.com/
amy - yikes! I recommend sorting into folders. ... you should be able to create a rule so it will automatically appear there. i.e. one whole folder for things like ... blog comments that don't need to be addressed right away, one whole folder for autism stuff, etc ... good luck!