Article: Keeping your inbox orderly can easily becoming a time-consuming process if your inbox fills up quickly. Creating filters for incoming messages will automate organizing efforts, helping you to maintain an organized inbox and freeing up your time for more important tasks. The process for setting up filters or rules will differ depending on which email provider you use. To create a filter in Gmail, click the down arrow in the search box. A smaller window will appear, allowing you to enter the specific search criteria for the email you want to filter. Let's say you want to filter notifications from Netflix, type "Netflix" or copy and paste Netflix's email address in the corresponding box. Then select the action(s) you want the filter to take. Do you want Gmail to automatically archive and label your messages from Netflix? If so, select "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" and "Apply the label. Then click the "Create filter" button. You can also filter particular emails by accessing the email directly. Continuing with Netflix emails as an example, select an old Netflix email, click "More," and then click "Filter messages like these." The filter criteria window will open again, allowing you to fill in the appropriate information. In Outlook, filters are identified as rules. You can create rules to automatically send incoming emails to a particular folder or to perform an action, like deleting certain messages. To create a new rule, open the Microsoft Outlook program, click the "File" tab, and then click "Manage Rules & Alerts." A Rules Wizard window will appear to guide you in creating your new rule. Select the conditions you want the email to meet in order for the rule to apply, or the actions you want Outlook to take towards the email, then click "Create Rule" when you're finished. To create a filter in Yahoo Mail, select "Options" from the toolbar above, and then click "Mail options." Under the "Filters" category, click the "Add" button to create a new filter. You can label the filter by typing what you'd prefer in the box for "Filter Name," then enter the desired sender's e-mail address under "Sender: Contains." Do not check the "Sender match case" box, which would make Yahoo Mail generally apply the filter. You can select (or create, if needed) the folder you want the message to be automatically sent to by selecting "Then deliver the e-mail to the following folder." When you're finished, click "Save." iCloud mail also uses rules instead of filters to manage emails. To create a new rule, select "Mail," then "Preferences," and then "Rules." Click "Add Rule, and then create a name for the rule. Select whether one or all of the conditions must be met for the rule to be applied to the message. Choose the conditions you want the rule to have, then specify the actions you want iCloud to take on messages that meet those conditions. Add additional actions by clicking "Add" or the plus sign (+). To apply rules to messages, select the message, click "Message," and then click "Apply Rules." You may have already set up systems to route emails to archive, file, or delete certain emails, but you still have to take action on archived or filed messages or messages that may not fit the filters or rules you've created. Determine to maintain your primary goal. If your goal was to have an empty inbox or at least see the bottom of your inbox, try to each achieve it weekly. Pick a day each week to go through your inbox and clean it out. Take action immediately. If an email is time-sensitive or urgent, it goes without saying that it deserves your response and attention quickly. Make it a habit to treat non-time-sensitive emails the same. Either immediately respond or take action, or plan to within the next day or two. Quickly rid yourself of emails that don't require action. Set a time each day to do an overview of your new messages. Delete those that are unimportant or that don't require a response. Choose one day a week to file away emails that need to be kept. This depends on how many emails you receive daily. If things can get out of hand within a few days, then you may want to make it a habit at the end of each day to file emails. There are several email apps and online tools available to help you maintain an organized inbox. If you feel you need more automated help, perform a search online for an app or tool that's compatible with your email provider and/or smartphone.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Use filters or rules to manage future incoming messages. Create filters in Gmail. Create rules in Outlook. Create filters in Yahoo Mail. Create rules in iCloud. Create rules that you can follow to keep your emails in order. Download apps that may help.