Over the past few days, we’ve had a great social media discussion of email and maximizing the tools available in Microsoft Outlook. Developing personal systems enables you to control your inbox instead of letting it control you. This post captures the best tips and resources from this discussion.

First, we are proud to feature a guest post from The Army Leader titled The Outlook Inbox; Be the Master, Not the Slave. This post includes awesome insight based on the author’s professional experience. Check it out:

The Outlook Inbox: Be the Master, Not the Slave

Over the past few days, I’ve made some adjustments to my system based on feedback from this forum. I am a huge fan of testing, refining, and iteratively adjusting personal systems (goals, email, task management, etc). I am still making tweaks to my Outlook inbox, but here are some of the best hacks I’ve discovered:

• Turn off notifications. Block time to manage your inbox during the day and don’t allow it to distract you outside of those blocks. I still pull up the inbox periodically to make sure nothing is on fire, but won’t open messages unless they are from my boss or a senior leader in the organization. If it is important, someone will call.
• Block time to triage your inbox in the morning and afternoon. Respond to emails that you can answer in less than two minutes, delete those that don’t apply, mark and file those that would be good to read but require more time, prioritize the rest that will require more thought and a response.
  • First, prioritize what you see. Create a rule to file CC emails in an alternate folder, focusing email where you are on the “to” line. You can personalize the rule to keep emails from certain senders in your inbox, regardless of whether you were on their CC or “to” line.
  •  Next, use a system to prioritize how you’ll address these emails later. I use follow up flags and categories to help me focus.
• Learn shortcuts.

Here are a few useful links relating to email and information management:

I’m Evernote’s CEO-Here’s How I Stay Productive all Week Long

7 Ways to Get More Done at Work without Staying Late

Zero Dark Inbox

12 Ways to Master Your Calendar and Manage Your Time for Maximum Results

Hopefully, these tips and tools will be of use as you continue to refine your personal systems. Looking for more information on managing yourself? Check here