Basic Email Tips

By Dirk J. Hedlund
Originally Posted July 9, 2004

    These days, nearly everyone respects the fact that you need a good, up-to-date, antivirus program to protect you from viruses in email messages.  And even with a good antivirus system, most people know better than to open unexpected email attachments.  But a lot of people still don't know how to use their email program to its fullest potential, or what to do to keep it running smoothly.  Here is a list of 5 tips that should help:

 Tip #1: Don't be a packrat.

    For some reason, a lot of people think they need to keep every single email message they ever sent or received.  The result is an overloaded email system which can be slower than it needs to be, or simply crashes a lot.  You don't NEED to save everything.  Delete messages you don't absolutely need to keep.  (Since when do you need all of those jokes and other junk your sister/brother/cousin/friend/etc. sent you?)

 Tip #2: Take out the trash.

    Okay, so you've deleted all of those messages you don't need.  That's great.  Did you know that those messages are still in the Trash folder?  This folder is meant as a safety guard, to protect you from accidentally deleting messages.  Now that you've INTENTIONALLY deleted them, make sure you empty the trash.

 Tip #3: Keep your "food" out of your trash.

    You don't keep food you want to eat later in your kitchen trashcan, do you?  Of course not!  Yet, many people will not empty their trash because they want to keep things they've deleted, in case they need them later.  This is poor housekeeping, to say the least.  Since you're just one click away from deleting EVERYTHING in the trash, I suggest creating a new folder (NOT in the trash!) to keep those "save" items in.  Once you're left with only trash in the trash can, empty it!

 Tip #4: Throw out the files.

     You probably have received dozens of files via email.  If you work with Microsoft Office documents, you may even have multiple copies of the same file, or multiple VERSIONS of the same file, stored in your inbox.  Storing files in email is incredibly inefficient.  Instead, consider saving the files to a separate folder on your computer.  Now that you have the file stored safely on your hard drive, do you still need that email message?  Do you need all the "old" revisions of that Word document that you've been passing back and forth with a coworker?  If not, delete what you don't need.

 Tip #5: Add names and addresses to your contacts.

     You should add names and email addresses to your contacts as you receive email from them.  In many email programs, this can be done easily by right-clicking on their name in the FROM: line of the message, and selecting "Add to contacts" or "Add to address book" or something similar.  This helps prevent typos.  If you have a junk mail filter turned on, this might also help prevent mail from friends, family, and business associates from ending up in the junk mail folder.

    These are some basic tips, but I bet they apply to quite a few of you out there.  If you keep your email system neat and tidy, your productivity will improve and your frustrations will diminish.  Even better, once it's all cleaned up, it won't take much of your time to keep it that way.

    Dirk Hedlund is a computer consultant with Klatt & Associates, CPA, PC.  He can be reached at dirk.hedlund@klatt-assoc.com , or by calling (515) 232-5642.