Boukas: Think inside the inbox to stay organized

I’m usually the first person to suggest a new way to organize something or a new process to maximize efficiency. An old supervisor of mine told me that she called my references and my college professor told her, “Watch out: Lauren will not hesitate to point out a better way to do things.” He meant it negatively, but luckily for me, my supervisor saw it as positive and hired me. Ever since, I’ve honed my organizational skills and efficiency, which has helped me get to where I am today. Not everyone needs to take it as far as I do, but I think being organized lays the foundation for success. Therefore, I’ve put together my top tips on keeping organized. Stay on top of your email Some experts think that email is a distraction and that we should only check our email three times a day: in the morning, at lunch and at the end of the day. I do not agree with this mentality at all. Reporters, producers and clients often reach out to us with deadlines (of yesterday), so we have to constantly be connected. However, I never let my inbox get out of control. After I read an email, I either reply to it, flag it, file it or delete it. Make folders On my very first day of work at my first job out of college, the person I was replacing sat me down and taught me her system of organizing her email. She had folders for each client, broken down into four sub-folders. At first, I thought her system was fairly excessive, but I embraced it at that job and still use it today. It saves time and enables me to know exactly where to find any bit of info I have in my email in less than a minute. Flagging My rigid email filing system enables me to hang on to important emails and use my inbox as a to-do list. Flagging emails in my inbox makes it incredibly easy to prioritize tasks. Most email programs offer some sort of flagging or starring system. I use red flags for items that need to get done that day, yellow for items that I have a few days to work on and green for ones that should be done eventually. I don’t let myself leave the office until all the red flags are cleared. Set calendar reminders Whenever I have a deadline, I set an appointment in my calendar, which sends me an email and pops up on my screen to remind me. I set two reminders – one for a few days before the deadline and one the day before. This forces me to stay on track and ensures that important tasks don’t get buried in a “to do” list. Making minor time-saving changes throughout the day can result in big improvements in organization and efficiency. Don’t believe me? Check my references.