How is your email organised? Neat folders or pure CHAOS?

[ymu]

I tried folders, but I just end up with things either in them or the inbox and I was never sure which. So now I just have a TO DO folder where things that much be actioned go, and then archive big batches to folders at irregular intervals. Gmail sorts some stuff straight into folders when it's downloaded. Otherwise, the inbox has all other recent stuff and I rely on my short-term memory to find stuff by date/sender/etc.

 

[weltweit]

I try to keep my intray to less than one page.

All incoming valid emails go into my intray.

Everything done is filed in folders by subject.

90% of spam goes directly into the deleted items folder.

 

[ymu]

I do similar things with sent email but not so rigorously.

I seem to remember having trouble finding the function in Outlook (if it exists), but Thunderbird, Pegasus and others have a setting to save sent mail in the folder it was sent from rather than a separate "sent" folder. Loads easier whether you move e-mails to folders immediately or not, as all related messages are always in the same folder.

I only ever have around 20-30 emails, once they've been read/delt with I just delete them, why people keep stuff going back years I have no idea...

I just had to find half a dozen from 3-4 years ago to resolve an issue at work - several thousnd pounds worth of issue. I have stuff from mailing lists that goes back way further - there's lots of good stuff in them and you can't rely on the archives being available on the web forever.

I have separate gmail accounts for stuff that's likely to generate spam and for mailing lists. I don't look at them at all unless I'm expecting an order confirmation or want some offline reading material on the train. I have to mark the folders read every so often - I feel oppressed by the numbers of unread messages in them.

 

[Leafster]

I seem to remember having trouble finding the function in Outlook (if it exists), but Thunderbird, Pegasus and others have a setting to save sent mail in the folder it was sent from rather than a separate "sent" folder. Loads easier whether you move e-mails to folders immediately or not, as all related messages are always in the same folder.

The option is under Advanced Email settings in Outlook although I don't actually use it. You could also use the rules wizard to define how sent emails should be filed. I prefer to make my own decision whether to file away sent emails in a separate folder.

 

[kyser_soze]

Googlemail - Chaos
Work - Neat and ordered, tons of folders and rules

This ^^^

Work usually ends up with about 50 folders if there's lots on, but gmail, I just use search...

in true geek fashion I have transcended the norms of just having separate folders.

I have my own exchange server and various email accounts I use for different things. so not only do I have diff folders I also have different accounts each with their own folders. all neatly automated, full text indexed and available via OWA or via a full client.

*stands in awe at display of geekdom*

 

[Silva]

one big fuck off inbox, stars for passwords and a "shops" flag for stuff bought online. Works great for me.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

ARgh, misread, should have clicked the 'all goes into one big folder' option...

 

[Pingu]

This ^^^

Work usually ends up with about 50 folders if there's lots on, but gmail, I just use search...



*stands in awe at display of geekdom*

keep at it young pfy and one day you too will have to lie about what you do for a living to girls at parties in orer to have a chance of getting off with them.

 

[hiccup]

At work, all email over three months old gets deleted automatically. Even so, I've usually got well over 100,000 emails in many, many folders. 90% of them are auto-notification things that I need to refer back to just often enough to make it worth not deleting them immediatley.

At home, I have a gmail account with lots of labels that I hardly ever use cos search is a much easier way to find stuff. apparently: You are currently using 579 MB (8%) of your 7098 MB. Dunno if that's a lot or not really.

 

[psykoptic]

I had to look up advanced GTD system. I like melons.

 

[Hi-ASL]

I can answer this now that I've finished migrating to Thunderbird.

Autotagged, autobagged, read, actioned, forgotten.

 

[ScallyWag II]

Only really use my work email which is outlook. Have numerous folders(and several sub-folders for some for seperate clients) in my archive folder, which i use for both received and sent. Easy enough to find anything i need to refer to. No home email as the one my current broadband provider wasn't available when i was setting everything up. Can access my work email remotely so that's not a problem. Only difficulty i have is if i'm working from home as i can't access the archived emails.

 

[editor]

Looks like I've finally cracked my email app conundrum by using a combination of Thunderbird with the Lightning integrated calendar plus the Contacts Sidebar installed. I imported all my old Eudora email in an archive folder, organised a fresh set of subfolders and for the first time in years, my inbox is empty!

At least for now, anyway.

 

[Kanda]

Tons of nicely organised folders... and 1659 Emails in my inbox...

 

[Cheesypoof]

Completely chaotic, i have 3871 emails in my inbox!

 

[spacemonkey]

Folders at work.

G-mail for personal life.

 

[subversplat]

6/10 - Could do better. There's a few folders for regular newsletters, but a lot of stuff ends up un-filed and sitting around like little digital lemons. I really should sort out some more intelligent filter rules and have an inbox worthy of the Chelsea Email Client Show.

One thing that is pissing me off right now though is that Outlook seems to helpfully take all my 'Starred' emails from gmail and make them tasts in my "to-do" list - I don't want to have to "do" popbitch and b3ta

 

[cybertect]

I have a mail folder structure that dates back to the mid-90s and has been migrated from Eudora to MS Outlook Express, then Entourage, back to Eudora and finally to Apple Mail since about 10.2.

It's hopelessly out of date, but I can't bear to rip it all apart and start again so stuff gets semi-randomly shoe-horned into it as and when I think my In/Sent mailboxes are getting too full.

 

[editor]

My last email client had 2,661 mails in the main inbox and 17,476 emails in the archive inbox!

 

[Lea]

I have 1544 emails in my inbox. I archive some emails which I made need to access again. Otherwise they all pile up in my inbox until I get a mail stating that the size is over the limit in which case I have to delete the older messages.

 

[sim667]

I have rules set up they filter the right emails into the correct folders as they come in

 

[bmd]

Looks like I've finally cracked my email app conundrum by using a combination of Thunderbird with the Lightning integrated calendar plus the Contacts Sidebar installed. I imported all my old Eudora email in an archive folder, organised a fresh set of subfolders and for the first time in years, my inbox is empty!

At least for now, anyway.

Do you bother with rules on Thunderbird and if so what are they like? I remember a while ago I tried them and they weren't as easy to set up as Outlook. Gmail rules are a right 'mare ime.

 

[skyscraper101]

I find the newer versions of Windows Search and Apple Searchlight pretty much do a grand job of finding individual emails on my work and home accounts so I don't really need folders any more tbh.

Gmail search is also pretty good at finding any specific email I'm after.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I use Gmail, and have something like 50 labels tagging everything (and I mean everything) I get, there's nothing I can't find using either the excellent search, the label or starring system. At work we use Zimbra which has a similar colour coded tagging, same deal there as I manage multiple projects and have to be very organised with the communications.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

Googlemail labels suits me fine.

 

[newme]

Everything is neatly filed in either the inbox, or the deleted items folder, as appropriate.
Search facilities being good enough I dont see the need to stick things in folders, label them or otherwise.
Plus I really cant be fucking bothered.

 

[editor]

Looks like I've finally cracked my email app conundrum by using a combination of Thunderbird with the Lightning integrated calendar plus the Contacts Sidebar installed. I imported all my old Eudora email in an archive folder, organised a fresh set of subfolders and for the first time in years, my inbox is empty!

At least for now, anyway.

No. I was wrong. It's as buggy as fuck and driving me mad.

It won't let me add appointments to my Gmail calendar (it switches back to 'read only' whether I like it or not) and Thunderbird freezes a fair bit too.

I'm missing Agendus, big time.

 

[subversplat]

Postbox has just included lightning support, but personally I use Sunbird.