The secrets to a clean and tidy email inbox

It’s even more difficult to keep work organized when your inbox is bursting at the seams with dozens of unread messages and overdue tasks. So, how can you keep up with the constant flow of information and approaching deadlines?

What I do is maintain an organized email inbox, task list, and electronic calendar.

On my first day on the job as a public relations intern, I created folders and sub-folders, and filed each email into the most appropriate place. Over the years, I’ve kept up with this system. It has saved me from missing deadlines and reminded me when it was necessary to work on a project or follow up with a reporter.

I’m proud to say that I also keep a tidy task list. It’s color coded for each client, organized alphabetically. On some days I even organize each account item by priority. I realize this is may sound crazy—you certainly don’t need to go this far if you’re looking to clean up your inbox—but it works for me.

A few of my secrets for maintaining a clean inbox and task list:

Monitoring coverage: When waiting for a story to appear, I create a task and reminder for when it should be published with a link that makes it easy for me to check for it.