(This is yet another Inside Business column, but I've broken it into three parts.) It sometimes seems like organizing your work setup is a
major undertaking, a project that will require a few hours, at least. And who
has that kind of time? Fortunately, you can do a few things in 15 minutes that will make a major impact in how you work.
Option 1: Set filters for your email.
Your inbox has vital notifications from your manager and co-workers. But it almost certainly also has emails of the company newsletter that you’ve never read, jokes your aunt sends you and even a bit of spam. Using filters can remove the worst offenders from your inbox altogether, eliminating visual clutter, decreasing that sense of overwhelm a full inbox gives you and potentially preventing you from getting the dread “your inbox is over its size limit” email.
If you’re in Outlook, go to the “Tools” menu and select “Rules and Alerts.” If you’re in Gmail, click on “Settings” in the upper right-hand corner, then click on the “Filters” tab. You can set filters based on the source of the email (such as your aunt), the recipients (the whole company), the subject matter (“Funny!”) or the importance level, among others. Some emails can be sent straight to trash, while you might want to create a folder for others so you can read them later.
To eliminate that trickle of spam that still gets by your company’s firewall, spend a couple of minutes unsubscribing from any mailing list that has your name. If it doesn’t have your name, it’s more likely that an unsubscribe request will just trigger more junk mail, so delete it outright.
These 15 minutes will ultimately save you hours in email. Next time: Your physical desk.

