Outlook E-mail productivity tips

• Work off-line
  
• Read e-mail on a schedule
  
• Send e-mail at different times to reading it except for one minute responses
  
• Set rules on e-mail to phone escalation (e.g. once a decision generates more than 4 responses in a thread someone needs to pick up the phone to resolve the issue)
  
• Empty your inbox with the trusted trio
  
• Colour code messages addressed only to you
  
• Turn desktop alerts off (you can also filter which messages generate alerts)
  
• Filter white noise messages with rules
• Use Google desktop to search your mail
  
• Keep your e-mail inbox file size under control. Periodically archive your Outlook inbox. This can be done manually, by dragging mails into the folder hierarchy which then allows Google desktop to index it so you can access e-mails from the past.
  
• Write less
• Here is a contentious one in my opinion - Don't read or answer your email at your most productive time of day. So if you're better in the morning (and who isn't?) open your mail and do your one minute replies your emails at lunchtime and in the evening. (I'll let you know how I get on with this one!)