Open your mail, then put it back? Imagine this: It's time to check your mail. You go to your mailbox, sort through it and throw out the junk, then you open the remaining pieces while standing at your mailbox.  After reviewing the contents you decide that you will deal with it all later.  You then place all the opened mail back into the mailbox. What, put it back in the box? Why would you do a thing like that? I ask you the same question. 

I am not really referring to your U.S. mail. I am referring to your email. We all do it. Your email can get out of control. How do you manage it better you ask? Well, here are just a few ways that I recommend. First create inbox sub-folders in your email manager. 

Remember to set up an urgent folder and a pending folder, then categorize the rest of your folders by a persons name, a company, a subject etc ... Then set up some rules to make your incoming email go right to those folders or drag and drop them into the correct folder for later action or archiving.

Remember to check your urgent and pending folders on a regular basis. By the way it is ok and recommended that you empty your deleted items folder on a regular basis also.  Email, especially saved and deleted email with attachments, can use a lot of your computers resources.  What this translates to be slower response time and poor performance from you computer.

Valerie J. Simpson is the president of A to Z Organizing Pros®, a Phoenix-based firm that helps organizations large and small to find new ways to be more efficient and productive. She can be reached at 602-674-2649 Visit us at www.AtoZOrganizingPros.com