Loud Thinking

Make Email More Efficient with Built-In Rules

A mail rule tells your email program how to handle certain kinds of messages. Each rule is made up of two parts: the criteria that determine whether a particular message will trigger a rule, and the action or actions that run once the rule is triggered. Rules can have a dramatic effect on your email efficiency. For example, set up a “scheduling” rule to shunt all scheduling requests, meeting invitations, and meeting acceptances to a separate folder for review once or twice a day. You can even write your rule with exceptions so that anything marked urgent lands in your inbox, not your “scheduling” folder.

Adapted by HBR from Work Smarter, Rule Your Email by Alexandra Samuel.