Managing and Maintaining your Mailbox

E-mail overload is a problem that affects nearly everyone. It is estimated that corporate e-mail users receive more than 30 incoming e-mails a day, and that e-mail volume may grow by as much as 80% in the next year. Much of that increase will come from unsolicited promotional e-mail, or spam. The trend shows no signs of slowing down; increases in all incoming e-mail will likely continue year after year, creating an ever more urgent problem for e-mail users and corporations worldwide.

Incoming e-mail, if not managed properly, can become a significant drain on productivity. As users become distracted by messages piling up, they are more likely to lose track of important messages and fall further behind in their work. An inbox full of dozens or hundreds of messages renders the user increasingly ineffective in other areas of work, spending more and more time simply “putting out fires” caused by the bulging inbox. The more e-mail piles up, the less useful it is to users or their companies. In other words, the only way to enjoy e-mail’s benefits is to manage it properly.  Therefore, it is ultimately the responsibility of the end user to manage their own e-mail.

Much of the information provided on this site was presented in the 2003 report by Mark Hurst. “Managing Incoming E-mail“. Information provided on this site is intended to assist you, the end user, with eradicating that feeling you get when you login and see your overflowing mailbox. To get the most out of this site, you should begin by using the links provided to the left, from top to bottom, to get a full understanding of this common problem and what you can do to resolve it.

In addition to information on Managing your Mail, we have also provided information on Spam and Spam filters, along with some Helpful Tips on creating filters to help you organize your mail and remove as much as 80% of the spam messages you  receive.