How to Manage and Clean Up Your Email

You receive A LOT of email everyday that you need to manage.  We all manage our emails differently; you need to find a method of madness that works for you. There is the inbox zero crowd, the automation people, ignore it all but star the important ones group.  As long as things are not getting lost and you can find stuff relatively quickly, create a method that works for you. We are going to show you five techniques to help you manage and clean up your email.

There will be specific instructions for browser-based Gmail, Outlook program, and Apple Mail program.  If you don’t use one of these, then you can either google “how to create a folder in [email program]”. Remember you want the instructions for the email program that you use, not the email provider.

Folders/Labels/Mailboxes

All email programs have a folder feature.  The folder feature allows you to create folders and put emails in those folders. There are two separate steps here, creating the folders and then using the folders.

Browser-based Gmail

Gmail calls folders labels and they are used a bit differently than regular folders.  Gmail uses labels so users can put one email in multiple locations. With folders, each email can only exist in one folder at one time. Whereas multiple labels can be applied to one email at once.

1. Open the email you want to label.
2. Select Labels button in the horizontal navigation under the search box.
3. At the bottom of the drop down, select Create New.
4. Name the Label and select where you want it. (You can nest labels like you would nest folders.)
5. Gmail automatically applies that label to the email you are currently reading. You can see the labels next to the subject line. All the labels that apply to that email are in a grey box with an X at the end. The X allows you to remove a label.

To apply an already created label to a single email, open email, choose labels, select label.

To apply a label to multiple emails, from the inbox select all the emails, choose labels, select label.

Outlook Program

In the Outlook Program, there are many ways to create a new folder, right-clicking, using a button on the ribbon, and a shortcut key. There are also many ways to put an email in a folder. I will be writing instructions, for the method, I think is easiest. If it isn’t working for you let me know, and I can send you other ways. Ultimately, pick the way that works for you.

1. Right-click in the left navigation pane, select New Folder.
2. Name the folder.
3. If it is in the wrong spot, drag and drop it to where you want it.

To put an email in a folder, from the list of emails, drag and drop the email into the folder. If the email is open

To put multiple emails in a folder at once, hold your control (Windows) or command (Apple) and then click on each email you want to move. Drag and drop emails into the folder.

Apple Mail

Apple calls folders mailboxes. There are many ways to create a new mailbox, right-clicking, using a button on the ribbon, and a shortcut key. There are also many ways to put an email in a folder. I will be writing instructions, for the method, I think will work for the most people. If it isn’t working for you let me know, and I can send you other ways. Ultimately, pick the way that works for you.

1. Select the Mailboxes tab in the top horizontal navigation pane.
2. Select New Mailbox.
3. Give the mailbox a name and location.

To put an email in a folder, from the list of emails, drag and drop the email into the folder. If the email is open

To put multiple emails in a folder at once, hold your command key and then click on each email you want to move. Drag and drop emails into the folder.

Flags/Stars

Most email programs give users a flag or star feature. This feature allows users to quickly mark emails. There is a star or flag outline next to the email. When you click on it, it puts a star or flag next to the email and it puts into a folder called “Starred” or “Flagged”. People use this feature in a variety of ways.  I use it to mark emails that I have to take further action on or are important but will expire (think reservations).  This feature along with the search box is my personal method of madness.

Browser-based Gmail

In the list of emails, hover over an email, an outline of a star will appear on the left side, click on it. In the left navigation pane, select the Starred folder.

Outlook

In the list of emails, hover over an email, an outline of a flag will appear on the right side, click on it. In the left navigation pane, select the Flagged folder.

Apple Mail

In the list of emails, hover over an email, an outline of a flag will appear on the right side of the subject of the email, click on it. In the left navigation pane, select the Flagged folder.

Unsubscribing

You probably get a lot of emails that you didn’t request or think you didn’t request. When you purchase something online or visit a website, you often give them your email address. The company then signs you up to receive emails about that company. There is something in the Terms of Service or a check box that was selected that allows for this. Then you receive a bunch of emails from this company.

This process is called subscribing, so if you want to stop receiving these emails, you need to unsubscribe. President Bush in 2003 passed the CAN-SPAM act that makes it a law for companies and people to request permission before emails are sent.

The process is the same in all programs. Although Gmail is now suggesting emails to unsubscribe from making the process a bit simpler.

Open the email and scroll to the bottom of the email and find the “Unsubscribe” button. They normally make it small

Marking As Junk/Spam

There are other emails that you did not request, not even accidentally. These are true spam emails. All email providers have a feature that attempts to identify these emails. A developer identified characteristics of an email and told the email program that if an email has these characteristics put it in the spam/junk folder. The feature is not perfect. Some emails that are spam end up in the inbox and some emails that are real end up in the spam folder. The spam/junk folder self-deletes after 30 days.

You can help this feature by marking true spam in your inbox as spam. This does a couple things, first it helps the developer improve the feature, and second any more emails from this address will automatically end up in the spam folder.

Open the email, then press the Spam/Junk button in the horizontal navigation bar.

Filters/Rules

Filters/rules allow a user to set automated processes. The one I will be showing you how to do is automatically sending emails to a specific folder/label/mailbox based upon who sent them to you. This is super handy, because it limits what ends up in your inbox and so you don’t need to manually move emails into folders/labels/mailboxes. People often do this for emails that they subscribe to that they are interested in, but necessarily important. This is for the brave ones out there, as it can get complicated with the jargon.

Browser-based Gmail

1. Make sure the label is already created.
2. Open an email that fits the rule you want to make, copy the sender’s email address.
3. Click on Settings.
4. Click on See All Settings.
5. Select the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
6. Select Create a New Filter near the bottom of the screen.
7. Paste the sender’s email address field in the From field.
8. Select Skip Inbox.
9. Select the Apply Label box and select the appropriate label.
10. Click on Create Filter at the bottom of the pop up box.
11. Now every time that sender sends an email, it will not be in your inbox and will automatically go to the label that you specified. On the left navigation pane, the label will be bold, if there are unread emails.

Outlook

Outlook calls filters rules.

1. Right-click on the email that fits the rule.
2. Hover over Rules.
3. Select Always Move Messages From: [Sender].
4. In the  pop up box, make sure From [Sender] is selected and in the Do the Following section, select Move the Item to Folder and select the folder.
5. OK

Apple Mail

1. Open an email that fits the rule you want to make, copy the sender’s email address.
2. Choose Mail tab > Preferences > Rules tab.
3. In Description, name the rule.
4. If ANY of the following conditions are met: FROM: CONTAINS: [paste the senders email address]
5. Perform the following actions: MOVE MESSAGE to mailbox [select mailbox]
6. OK