If you get a lot of emails, I hope you process them effectively. A lot of people keep what they've read in their inbox instead of clearing it out. To me, that's the same thing as not putting things where they belong i.e. on your desk then realize you have no counter space.
First step is organize your way of receiving information, assignments, and things you don't need to immediate attend to; typically that is by phone/in person from calls/meetings and emails.
There are things that come to you because they need to such as company newsletter, information on work that will come or relates to what you're doing that may or may not affect you, and tasks/projects that you are responsible for.
I tend to email myself on notes/information I get in person or by phone to consolidate my collections. I categorize them as such:
- red - 1st priority actions
- yellow - follow up I need to do
- purpose - hold for meeting discussion/add to agenda
- green - information that I need to record i.e. project log / status reports
- blue - lower priority things that can be done later in the week
- brown - I'll get to when I get to (no due dates)
Anything that I do not need to take action on, I file the email where it belongs (subjective based on your organizational preference). Examples - by program/project, by dept., or purpose of the information.
You can also schedule tasks and reminders on your email app. There is a point where you are doing too much to catch yourself that you'd end up just shuffling things around and not getting what you need done. So first and foremost, I complete what I need to get done first and un-clutter my space (inbox), the load gets lighter as I knock each item down.
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