As the volume of e-mail continues to rise, many business people are declaring e-mail bankruptcy, deleting their entire inboxes and starting again. This may be possible for some, but for everyone else there are other ways to fight e-mail tyranny.

1. Assign categories When the e-mail is open, click on View/Options, then the Categories button, pick the appropriate one and click OK/Close. To customise, click Master Category List and Add/Delete as required. To see the category as a field in the Inbox, right click on any existing field heading and click on Field Chooser. Drag “Categories” from the dropdown list and drop it where you want it, for example next to Subject.

2. Print just one page of a long e-mail Open the e-mail and click on Edit/Edit Message and delete all unwanted entries. Print the e-mail. Close it and when prompted to save changes click on No. This leaves the e-mail in its entirety, but also means you have not printed any unwanted pages.

3. Read e-mails in the Reading Pane but still show them as unread in the inbox Go to Tools/Options/Other and click on the Reading Pane button. Make sure the box “Mark items as read when viewed in Reading Pane” is not ticked. Click OK twice.

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4. Filter e-mails sent only to you There are two ways: either write a rule which moves all e-mails where your name is in the Cc box to a separate folder, or click on View/Arrange By/Custom. In the Filter dialogue box, click on the box marked “Where I am”. In the dropdown menu, select whether you want to see those messages where you are either in the To box with others, or the sole recipient . Click OK twice. To remove the filter, go back through the process and click on “Clear All” in the Filter dialogue box.

5. Customise views To see your calendar and task list when you open Outlook (rather than just the e-mail) click on Tools/ Option and pick the “Others” tab. Click on Advanced and then Browse. Click on Personal Folders from the list in your mailbox and click OK three times.

For more ways like this to take control of your inbox you can hear Dr Monica Seeley at the Crème Show

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