7 ways to organise your emails in Outlook - 06/11/2008

With meetings and the general chaos of a normal work day, your e-mail Inbox can quickly get cluttered. An unorganized mailbox can make it difficult to find the e-mail you need and know where to get started. This messy situation can be remedied. Microsoft Office Outlook offers great tools that help you organize your messages in meaningful, easy-to-control ways.

• 1. Group similar messages in folders By creating new mail folders you can group messages related to each other. For example, you can group messages by topic, project, contact, or other categories that make sense to you. You can even create a folder for all the messages from your manager or that include tasks that you have to complete.To group messages into folders: In the Outlook Navigation Pane, click Mail. In the Mail Folders section, right click one of the folders and click New Folder. Type a name for the folder. Select where to place the folder. You can set it apart as its own folder, or list it among your other inbox folders. Move the desired message into the new folder. 
• 2. Create Search Folders to find messages fast These are folders that offer a view of all the messages stored in your mailbox depending on the attributes you've defined. Outlook provides default Search folders—such as Unread Mail—but you can also create your own. Creating Search Folders in Outlook 2007 is easy. In Mail, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Search folder. Opt whether you want to use a predefined Search Folder or create your own. Follow the instructions onscreen. 
• 3. Sort messages quickly You can find messages in mailbox folders more quickly by changing how they're sorted in your e-mail folders. For example, you can arrange your e-mail by date, sender, file size, or even by conversation, which pulls up all messages by the subject line. At the top of you mail folder, select the Arranged by: tab. Click your view option. 
• 4. Route mail efficiently using mailbox rules By creating rules for Outlook, you can automatically perform actions on both incoming and outgoing messages based on the criteria you establish. For instance, you can automatically forward to your manager all messages sent by a certain person as soon as they arrive, assign the category Sales to all messages you send that have the word "sales" in the Subject line, and much, much more. Routing mail efficiently not only organizes your mail for you—but also frees up your time from performing routing tasks. 
• 5. Reduce unwanted e-mail with junk filters Keep distracting and unwanted messages out of your inbox by using Outlook Junk E-Mail filters. These filters send e-mail flagged as junk to a separate mail folder under your Mailbox. You can review the contents of this folder to ensure no legitimate messages have been sent there, and if so, you can adjust the filter to avoid flagging such messages in the future.  
• 6. Lay on the colour One quick easy way to distinguish between e-mail messages is to colour code them. On the toolbar, click Categorize. Click All Categories. In the Name list, select the check box for the category whose colour you want to change. Click the arrow next to Colour, and click the colour you want.  
• 7. Flag for follow up You can flag e-mail messages, tasks, and more with coloured Quick Flags to help classify them or mark them for action. Flags can remind you to follow up on an issue, indicate a request for someone else, or set a reminder for a message or contact.The flags are found in your message inbox, on the right of the message.
• For Outlook 2003 and Outlook Express versions of these tips click here