With the Internet booming, we're all feeling the crunch -- in our e-mail inboxes. Like phone calls and faxes, e-mail requires a certain amount of thoughtful administration to keep up with. Ignore the flow of messages in your inbox and you could risk a communications meltdown.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep your inbox under control. To help you with this vital task, Recruiters World has compiled some easy tips and strategies to help you manage and optimize e-communications.

1. Don't Procrastinate
If you want to stay on top of the e-mail game, respond to important messages a.s.a.p. Once you've written your response, delete the message or move it to the trash to free-up space in your inbox.

2. Create Folders
Create messages folders to store your messages. Take the time to analyze your messages and determine who they're coming from and what they're about. Think about how you work and how organizing your messages can help you work. Then, create a list of 5-10 important categories and establish a corresponding folder for each of the categories in your inbox. Move all existing inbox message into one of the folders. Continue moving new messages into their target folder as they arrive. This will create a topical directory for you to refer to in your work.

3. Enhance Your Folders with Filters
E-mail software lets you apply certain "conditions" to incoming messages to automatically sort them into select folders upon arrival. For instance, you may be working on a project called "Hire Event" and have created a folder "Hire Event" to hold messages related to the event. You can automate the folder's functions by setting up a Filter to scan incoming messages for the words "Hire Event." The filter will then direct all "Hire Event" messages directly to the "Hire Event" work folder. Likewise, you can set up filters to scan for messages from specific individuals -- capturing messages from important clients, service providers, or other individuals in one place.

The hardest thing about using filters is the planning. You need to spend a lot of time determining the nature of the messages you are about to receive. And because no filter in the world is foolproof, you'll always have to double check their function to make sure the filter hasn't mis-filed.

4. Flag Important Messages.
Flag important messages for follow-up. Flagging messages will not only unburden your memory, but save you time scrolling through endless lists.

5. Who, What & Where
Take a good look at where your mail is coming from. Do you read it all? Cut down on the flow of messages into your inbox whenever and wherever possible. Block or unsubscribe from list servs or mailing lists you don't read.

6. Delete Delete Delete!
Stop saving messages for a rainy day. If a message doesn't strike you as important, wield the delete key. Deleted messages go to your trash folder. They are not lost forever until you "empty" your trash.

7. Send Less
If you are getting too much mail, send less mail. When it comes to e-mail, what comes around goes around. The more you send out, the more you will get back.

8. Software: Your last resort
If traditional techniques don't help your mail situation, try inbox management software. A program like Nelson Organizer can sort your messages for you. Downloadable from www.caelo.com, Nelson Organizer is a Microsoft Outlook add-on that allows you to view e-mail messages in a number of different ways. You can also reset the inbox, to see only the very newest messages. This is extremely good news for any high-volume e-mail user.

About Timely Tips

Timely Tips appear monthly in RecruitersWorld in Review, RW's monthly e-newsletter. All Recruiters World subscribers receive an automatic subscription.

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This Tip first appeared in the January 2001 issue of RecruitersWorld in Review.