When the teachers dismiss us, most Bentley students reach for their phones, only to discover a mass of emails that came through in the little time we were in class. With so many messages flooding our phones each day, a collegiette has to find a way to sift through the mess to uncover the important. Here are our best tips to do so!
1.   Do a quick scan of all of your unreads. While you might not be able to see everything at first glance, a quick skim of your inbox will draw your eyes to important messages that need your attention ASAP.
2.   Delete the junk. All 600 of those advertisement emails do not need to be in your inbox. Are you a Marketing major who just got an email about an Actuarial Science meeting? Delete it; this does not concern you and is only clogging up your inbox and drawing your eyes away from other critical messages.
3.   You can always return to your deleted box. After I receive an email, answer it, and have entirely dealt with everything about it, I delete it, plain and simple. There is no use keeping around every email in the history of your inbox, especially if you have already handled it. Worse comes to worse, just dive back into your deleted messages and bring it back. Writing down important details and reminders in Sticky Notes is always helpful as well.
4.   Folders, folders, folders! I have found it highly useful to keep only the most pressing emails in my direct inbox folder. The rest can be sorted into different folders based on what they are for. For example, to handle emails I plan to address the next day at work, I put them into a folder labeled as such. This leaves more room for me to notice more vital messages, and I will know exactly what work I have to do in the morning.
5.   To remember important messages, use flags or mark as unread. If having fewer emails in your inbox isn’t enough to highlight a deadline, use these handy tools. Though a small trick, that read flag or bolded message could mean the difference between an on-time and a late assignment.
While these tools are not fool-proof, and messages can always slip through the cracks, these tips should help you take control over your Outlook and get the most out of your messages!
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