ABSTRACT
E-mail provides a powerful tool for communication, but it comes with pitfalls. People are inundated with junk e-mail (also called “spam”), chain letters, and jokes—and genuinely important messages can easily be lost in the clutter.
Make a conscious effort to organize e-mails. They can accumulate and cause clutter just like papers on a desktop.
Keep your e-mail secure by taking advantage of password functions. Log off when you leave your office.
Prioritize each e-mail immediately. If it is not important, delete it and move on.
Make functional folders to help organize e-mail messages, filing them like letters.
Avoid sending e-mail that is not related to work. Keep any such e-mail you receive separate from work-related e-mail.
If your e-mail system does not come with an address book function, have a folder that doubles as an address book. Archive one message from each sender so you can just use the reply function rather than type the entire e-mail address when sending a message.
Save your address list on a disk or somewhere else safe in case something happens to your e-mail program. Address books are incredibly valuable, something often realized only after an unforeseen glitch occurs.
Give the same attention to detail and spelling in your e-mails as in your letters. An e-mail message is a reflection of both you and your company.
