Email Overload? OASIS Can Help.

Email management is a life long process and different for every person.  Here are a few tips that have helped me as I have worked to manage my email, and thus increase my productivity as well. 

• Unsubscribe from listservs that you don't need to be a part of, or announcement lists you never read anyway.
• If you can't unsubscribe, use Filters and Rules to automatically move mail to folders -  here is some information for setting up filters in Microsoft Outlook.
• Limit your Time in Email - If you can manage it, only check email a couple of times a day.  Don't let your inbox become your constantly growing to-do list.  Make a list of the things you need to do and close it or minimize it after your "email checking time" is done. 
• Use a 2 Minute Rule - Simple stated, if you can do it in 2 minutes, do it NOW!  This applies great to email.  During your email checking time reply to the emails you can within 2 minutes.  Put the rest on a task list. 
• ZERO INBOX - Use your Inbox as a information source, not as a place to work.  During your email checking time, work to get your email down to zero and then go and focus on your to-do list.

Here are a couple of other good articles with further information and ideas.

• Feeling Bogged Down by your Email? - http://drdewett.livejournal.com/3769.html
• Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload (Read the 'How to read and receive email' section) - http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4438.html
• Zero Inbox - "From 10,000 to 0 emails in an inbox in 24 hours" - http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/04/10/from-10000-to-0-emails-in-an-inbox-in-24-hours/

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