Taming the Email monster

Taming the Email monster

• 1.
  Taming the emailmonster Welcome Introduction Author name Information Services Julie Adams, Information Services June 2012
• 2.
  Session overview • Whywe need to manage mail better • Some techniques to manage mail better • Using some Outlook features to help – Viewing and organising your mail – Using flags and tasks – Using folders and Personal Folders – Searching within Outlook – Outlook Rules • Dealing with spam
• 3.
  Why we needto manage mail • Everyone gets too much mail… • Takes too long to deal with • Takes up storage space on the server • Makes your email account slower to load • Makes it hard to find the things you do need! • To stop email managing us!
• 4.
  What are your main email monsters?
• 5.
  4 ways totake control Set up a simple and effective email reference/filing system Schedule uninterrupted time to process and organise email Process one item at a time, starting at the top Use the "Four Ds for Decision- Making" model
• 6.
  Types of emailinformation Reference • not required to complete an action; keep in case you need it later. information Action • information you must have to information complete an action
• 7.
  4 ways totake control Set up a simple and effective email reference system Schedule uninterrupted time to process and organise email Process one item at a time, starting at the top Use the "Four Ds for Decision- Making" model
• 8.
  Four D’s fordecision making The "Four D's for Decision Making" model (4 D's) is a valuable tool for processing e-mail, helping you to quickly decide what action to take with each item and how to remove it from the Inbox.
• 9.
  The Four D’smodel Do it Delete it (2 minutes or less) Delegate Defer it. it
• 10.
  Delete... • If themessage is not about something you need to action or know about...GET RID OT IT! Or • Move to a folder ”Stuff I daren‟t delete”! (in the short term)
• 11.
  Deleting email: Some questionsto help you decide what to delete: • Does the message relate to a meaningful objective/project you're currently working on? If not, delete it • Does the message contain information you can find elsewhere? If so, delete it • Does the message contain information that you will refer to within the next six months? If not, delete it. If not, delete it • Does the message contain information that you're required to keep? If not, delete it.
• 12.
  Delegate... • If it‟snot your job to deal with it - don‟t do it; forward it to the right person if necessary. • If you can delegate it, do so right away – After you have forwarded the message, delete the original or move it into your email reference system.
• 13.
  Do it... • Askyourself, "What action do I need to take?" and "Can I do it in less than two minutes?“ If you can, just do it. • If you can confirm or reject a meeting request immediately, respond to it!
• 14.
  Defer... • Some emailwill need more thought or take longer than 2 minutes to respond to – Defer, organise and plan • Use Outlook features such as Categories, Folders, Flags and Rules to help you organise messages. • Turn it into an actionable task, or turn it into an appointment.
• 15.
  Quotas • There isa limit on the amount of email you can store • The standard limit for staff is 250Mb • The email server is set up so that: • Warning sent when mailbox size reaches 280Mb • You can no longer send when it reaches 300Mb • You can no longer send or receive at 500Mb
• 16.
  What makes themailbox big? • Your main email folder is the Inbox. • Other folders that contain email include – Deleted Items – Drafts – Sent Items – RSS feeds • Check how much space is taken up each of these • Watch out for attachments!
• 17.
  Reducing the sizeof your mailbox • Delete all your unwanted email items. • Empty your Sent Items folder • Empty your Deleted Items folder – – set it to prompt to do so on exiting Outlook. • Save messages/attachments and delete from mailbox. • Save only the last message in a „conversation‟
• 18.
  Checking your mailboxsize • Right-click on icon for “Mailbox – your name” • Select Properties • Click on button for Folder Size… • Total size and sub-folder size is displayed • Demo
• 19.
  Viewing messages • Messagesin each folder can be viewed in various ways – By date received (default) – By who it is from/sent to – By size – With attachments • Selecting different views can help locate items or decide which to get rid of • Demo
• 20.
  Setting flags/reminders • Outlookallows you to set ‘ flag’ as a reminder to take action • Click flag to right of message in active folder pane – Set to ‘Follow up’ – ‘Mark as complete’ once taken action • Can also set the colour for these • Demo
• 21.
  Sent items • Easilybuild up in size – messages saved there automatically • Delete forwarded docs - otherwise can end up with 2 copies • Delete earlier versions of documents sent in drafts
• 22.
  Removing attachments from messages •Attachments can take up a lot of your quota • Don’t use email as your main file store! • Can keep an email message, but save the attachment elsewhere or just remove it. • Demo
• 23.
  Create folders • Foldersand sub-folders can be used to organise messages • Can be used for specific topics or for messages from particular contacts • Move messages to folders by: – drag and drop – Move Items dialogue box
• 24.
  Archiving messages • ArchiveFolders can be used to store messages, contacts etc • Can use Auto archive settings or archive manually • Not saved on Exchange server so don’t count towards quota • Can help make main email easier to organise
• 25.
  Creating Personal Folders •Personal Folders are used for archiving • By default located on your PCs hard drive, so only accessed from there – so not backed up automatically • Can be in another location e.g. H: drive • All messages saved in one Outlook Data File (.pst) • Demo
• 26.
  Searching for messages •Several options for searching - helps if mail organised first! • Viewing by various headings may help • Simple searches – but not always enough • Advanced searches – By person, by date, by location/folder, with attachments • Search Folders • Demo
• 27.
  Using rules tofilter messages • Rules can automatically filter mail into specific folders – move messages from particular people to specified folder. – move messages based on their subject • Rules are applied to messages as they arrive • Can get quite complex – especially if have a number set up • Demo
• 28.
  Dealing with spam •Some messages filtered by IS • Can set your own preferences: – https://www.staffs.ac.uk/spamprefs-ext – Add addresses to whitelist • Check Probably Spam folder – some real messages can slip through • Also use Outlook Junk mail settings - add addresses to list
• 29.
  Practice • Select theactivities which will be of most use to you: – Check your account quota – Explore sorting/view options, flags and categories – Set up custom search folders – Create a rule for your email – Explore archive settings and set up personal folders – Look at Outlook Today – Practice with Tasks
• 30.
  Any questions?