ORGANIZING YOUR MAIL

TIP NUMBER #3

You might be a top notch researcher, you might receive just about anything that you post a query on. However, if you don't have a good system for organizing your mail, it may as well be going in the trash can. Most email systems can be set to accept a certain amount of mail. They are also normally set to discard email after so many days. Here is how I organize my mail, I am not saying it is the best way, however, it is better then nothing and may give someone some thoughts on organizing theirs. FILING CABINET/FOLDERS Which ever your mail system has, I have mine divided into the various surnames I am researching. Also one for miscellaneous, and one for non connecting. I also have a folder for "queries sent" with a date on the folder. I eliminate them as they are answered satisfactorily. I have one folder for "mail to be answered", so I don't overlook something. MY DOCUMENTS When receiving anything that has an attachment, I download it RIGHT THEN into my documents on my desktop. Needless to say, I am very careful about who I open attachments from. CD'S/FLOPPYS/WHATEVER Whatever type of storage you use that is off of your computer system, use them. They are invaluable should your system crash. I maintain about 30 CD's divided into various categories in addition to the 3 main lines I research. About once a week or twice (depending on my mail flow) I go through any mail in my mail folders and in My Documents and transfer it off my computer and onto a CD (whatever you use). This assures it will not be lost in a crash, not disappear from my mailbox. I also get a second chance to read it to make certain I want to save it.