Lately, I have begun to wonder if I am just that anal retentive. While at work, I have several windows open, one of them being my email client. I like to keep my inbox nice and empty. As soon as an email comes in, I 1) scan the preview to see if it is junk or needs to be read, 2) delete the junk or read the business stuff and finally 3) move the message to the correct folder. It bugs me to no end to come back from lunch and have a bunch of unread stuff in my inbox.
With regards to my personal emails, I like to keep those relatively uncluttered. I have 3 that I use pretty regularly. I check the main one several times a day, and the other 2 at least twice per day. The funny thing is that I am not like this with my myspace messages. If I happen to be on myspace (which I am usually during the workday, I get so bored), and I happen to notice that I have a message, I will read it. Although the people I communicate with on myspace are just as important as those with whom I communicate via email, there’s just not the need to de-clutter that inbox.
My husband, on the other hand seems to just not even care about his emails. He has about a bazillion in his inbox and only about half of them are read. The junk emails just sit there unread forever. I hate, hate, hate when he asks me to check his email for whatever reason because I have to look at the clutter and insanity. Where his myspace is concerned, however; he has to read all the messages. No matter how easily you can tell they’re just spam, he has to read them. And then he de-clutters the inbox. Oh, and he checks his myspace about a bazillion times a night, but only checks his email if he is actually expecting something.
So, what I want to know is what’s your habit? Do you mind inbox clutter? Do you check your email(s) regularly? If you have a myspace, do you check those messages regularly?
I have 3 general accounts: one on the work server, one web-based, and one personal account. The work account gets checked every passing period or so, just to keep up on all the memos from the front office. The web-based account gets checked once a day unless I’m in the middle of something. The personal account gets checked once a day at most.
Everything I get is filtered into the correct folder automatically - mostly based on the TO address but some based on subject. I check 10 email accounts at once (2 personal, 8 for work) and have it auto-check every 15 minutes.
I’m not anal about putting everything in folders. Everything either stays in its’ account folder or is deleted because it’s spam.
Funny, I have considered filtering, but do admit that I am too anal to allow the computer to decide where things belong – even based on my own requirements. I know that I have some weird control issues, but it’s just astonishing to me to know that there are people like my husband who refuse to open or delete emails – just letting them sit there all unopened and ignored…ARGHHHH, my head wants to asplode when I have to look in his email account!
I am slightly ashamed to admit that I have my gmail open all the time, and my work e-mail open all the time that I’m at work.
I am grateful for the preview functions because some e-mail doesn’t need to be opened at all.
So yes, OP, I am just like your husband in that seeing my open inbox would send you into screaming fits. I just leave everything there. Why file them? That’s why we have Find and Sort functions, you know!
Oh, instantly, for sure. I always have GoogleTalk running (with status set to Busy - @ Work while I’m at work, so people know not to hit me up with “What’s up?” sort of chats) and it has a notification feature for your gmail.
And of course Outlook is always running for work stuff.
I don’t bother to sort my Outlook stuff, I just delete things when they’re dealt with.
Gmail organizes itself well and is brilliantly searchable, so there’s no filing as such. I do apply “labels” where appropriate, “work,” “photos,” “family,” “sdmb,” etc. Amounts to the same thing, I guess. I do that immediately upon receipt.
This is what I do with my Gmail. I don’t do folders there. I usually keep my gmail open all day at work, too. I don’t mind doing the googletalk keeps me from being bored out of my skull.
My work one I check all the time (tied to the computer as I am) but I only move things from the in-box to folders every once in a while. They are all related to the same project so I don’t know how I would break them out. Junk goes right in the trash and personal ones I keep go in the personal folder but the rest stay in the in-box.
I have to be within arm’s reach of work e-mail at all times during business hours. I’ve been given a Treo so that I can monitor e-mail during lunch hour, meetings and bathroom breaks. Outside of business hours, I have to be aware of any e-mail marked urgent. So the Treo goes wherever I go.
