We’ve all been there.  You know, the day you return from your awesome hiking experience in the mountains and your email inbox has over 100 new messages.  You knew it was coming.  The cabin in the mountains didn’t have Internet access and your messages were piling up.  What do you do?  How can you make sure this problem doesn’t arise in the future?

It’s easy to get a cluttered inbox.  I should know.  For three or four years, my inbox had over 1,000 items in it.  I simply disregarded organization and let the emails sit, searching for important data when I absolutely needed.  But, I recently cleaned up my act (and my inbox) and now I live a clutter-free life in my inbox.  How did I do it?

Tip 1: Make folders.

I can’t stress this tip enough.  Inbox folders make your life much easier.  They allow for you to file emails away that you need to keep, giving you an organizational structure.  Once you read a message, move it to the inbox and, on occasion, go through and purge unwanted messages from each folder.

It would be good to start with a few folders and expand as necessary.  For example, folders for client information, orders, and employee communications would be a good start.

Tip 2: Use the “delete, move, keep” system.

When you have thousands of messages, it can be tough to figure out where to start the cleaning process.  The good news is that you can start anywhere and with any message.  The easiest way to reduce your inbox size is to use the “delete, move, keep” system.  When you come across a message, decide if the message should be deleted, moved to a different folder, or kept in the inbox.  To avoid unnecessary inbox clutter, make sure that only current action items stay in your inbox.  So, the email from a client two years ago needs to be deleted or moved.  Once you have completed the required action on the email, delete it move it to a new folder.

Tip 3: Don’t bend the rules – ever.

I have found it very tempting to bend the inbox rules every now and then.  I tell myself, “Oh, it’s OK to leave this old message in your inbox.  It’s only one message…”  No, that isn’t going to work.  In order for the system to be effective, you must avoid bending the rules or making exceptions.  Every message in your inbox can be deleted, moved, or kept.  Don’t move items that should be deleted and don’t keep items in your inbox that should be moved.  If you do, you’ll have another mess of clutter.

Tip 4: Unsubscribe, unsubscribe, unsubscribe.

Want to know the biggest cause of inbox clutter?  Useless messages.  No matter who you are, you probably have messages from blogs, online stores, or marketing agencies, in your inbox.  Take note right now that these messages can quickly ruin inbox cleanliness.  If you don’t or rarely read the messages, unsubscribe to the email alerts.  What’s the point of cluttering your inbox with messages you aren’t reading?  There is none.

Tip 5: Be proactive.

No one else is going to manage your inbox for you.  If you don’t clean it up or keep it clean, who will?  Be sure to stay proactive with cleaning your inbox.  If you have an action item to be completed, do it.  If you need to delete or move a message, do it.  When you stop being proactive with your inbox, you lose control.  Stay in control and you’ll find that having a clean inbox is the way to go.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by lusi

Here are the tips that we posted this week on Twitter about using social media for your business. You can use Twitter Search to look these up. We used the hashtag #business and #socialmedia to track the conversations. For the future – follow @FolkMedia to stay up to date with online Twitter discussions and tips.

1. What is something your business can do this week to educate you prospects using Twitter? Do it.
2. Twitter Business Tip: Every company that is on Twitter should tweet a “”tip of the day.” It is easy and helpful to your followers.
3. Twitter Business Tip: Make a list of your social media time drains. Cut the bottom 80% that do not produce results.
4. How much time each week do you spend on social media marketing & PR for your business?
5. Twitter Business Tip: How can you think beyond Twitter and online social media when connecting with your audience online?
6. Twitter Business Tip: Use twitter to listen to conversations.
7. Never never ever underestimate the current and growing power of email. ALL of your business prospects have email accounts.
8. Imagine having the superpower of being able to listen to peoples’ conversations around the world in real time. It’s called Twitter Search. Use it to see what’s happening — right now.
9. Check out what #journchat is doing on Twitter and how they are using it to host discussions. What could your business host?
10. Twitter Business Tip: Think of your business Twitter account as a connector. You don’t need to have all the answers – just link to them.
11. Twitter Business Tip: Remember – wealthy people invest in relationships. Wealthy businesses are NO exception.
12. Twitter Business Tip: What can you do online to help further the career of a colleague or staff member today? Do it.
13. Has your business considered holding a press conference only for Twitter users in your industry? Treat them like NYT reporters. You’ll be surprised at the results.
14. TIP: Send one email per week to your VP or CEO with a summary of Twitter activity and stats. It will keep it top of mind for them.
15. Business Twitter Tip: If you are a CEO – be human. You need to protect your time – but it helps to converse with Twitter @ replies
16. Your @ reply area on Twitter misses a lot of @ mentions. Use Tweetbeep to catch all @ mentions for your business.
17. @joelcomm wrote a good book on getting started with Twitter called “Twitter Power”  http://ow.ly/6haU
18. Social Media Business Tip: Metrics are everything. Check out @ImpactWatch for social media monitoring http://ow.ly/6h4o
19. Twitter Business Tip: Your business needs a reason to use social media. Without a reason/plan your wasting your time.
    
20. What is it about Twitter that screams “broadcast” in the ears of business professionals? It is broadcast AND a conversation.
    
21. Twitter Business Tip: Twitter is a platform. Your business needs to brainstorm come and revenue models to build on top of it.
    
22. Twitter Business Tip: Use Tweeteck (http://ow.ly/6fGu) to have keyword alerts pop up on your desktop during the day.
    
23. Twitter Business Tip: Each company brand can have it’s own twitter profile.
    
24. If you are an Internet company – don’t loss sight of the value of a good old fashioned sales letter. Aka – snail mail.

What  social media business tips would you add to this list? You can post them below in the comments or join the discussion in real time on Twitter.

Subscribe to the Folk Media Insider eNewsletter. It’s a free monthly newsletter packed with tips, tools, strategies and resources to take your business to the next level online.

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Here are five social media strategies recorded last week during my daily update segment on Utterli. (Utterli is a free voice recording service that allows you to record a message using your cell phone and then post that message to the web).

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Monday: Breaking your social media tasks down into a system

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Tuesday: Using tools to measure and monitor social media activity

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Wednesday: Lessen your workload by “batching” work together

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Thursday:  Creating a social media plan for your non-profit

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Friday: Don’t stress. Think of social media as a river. Dip in – dip out.

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Joel Mark Witt is a producer, speaker, and new media leader who writes about social media and its impact in the business world. He is also the Founding Director of Folk Media. Send him an eMail: joelmarkwitt (at) folkmedia.org or follow him on Twitter.

Subscribe to the Folk Media Insider eNewsletter. It’s a free monthly newsletter packed with tips, tools, strategies and resources to take your business to the next level online.

*Photo by chrisdlugosz

Here are the tips that we posted this week on Twitter about using social media for your non-profit. You can use Twitter Search to look these up. We used the hashtag #nonprofit to track the conversations. For the future – follow @FolkMedia to stay up to date with online Twitter discussions and tips.

1. How recent is your online #nonprofit content? Be sure to keep your blogs – Facebook pages and Twitter updates current.
2. A good rule of thumb for #nonprofits is to post about 1-3 tweets per day.
3. Take some time today to write about the importance of your #nonprofit social media plan. It will remind you and your team why you are here.
4. Measurement is the key to showing #nonprofit executives & higher ups the value of social media. Measure everything.
5. If it can’t be measured it doesn’t exist. This goes for all social media in your #nonprofit.
6. Have you signed up for the free Folk Media Insider Newsletter? It’s full of business & nonprofit social media strategy http://ow.ly/53k1
7. The power of twitter for your #nonprofit is listening and searching. Use Twitter search. See our FM sample here http://ow.ly/52JP
8. Try an online social media press release for your #nonprofit. Check out @PitchEngine: http://ow.ly/52Kv
9. Social media allows #nonprofits cheap & free ways to spread the word – gain donors – and get feedback. Remember – “free” does cost.
10. Just like a good PR campaign – it makes sense to have a well crafted twitter plan for your #nonprofit.
11. What is one thing your staff could do to hit home the need for funds when talking with your #nonprofit constituents? Use SM to talk about it.
12. Question: What is one thing you could be doing for your #nonprofit to raise more funds online?
13. Use social media to showcase you #nonprofit staff. Most of them are not at your organization for money. They crave kudos instead.
14. Think about a spot in your #nonprofit office for a small studio. You can use the space to shoot update videos & interviews.
15. Think of your #nonprofit as a media channel. Don’t rely on traditional media – make your own.
16. Use the web to get out the word about your #nonprofit. Use video – audio – photos. Think beyond the press release.
17. Don’t lose sight of using Twitter to build good relations in your community as a #nonprofit.
18. Social media lends itself to be used by #nonprofits more than any other business or organization.
19. Use Twitter to publicly recognize volunteers in your #nonprofit. People love acknowledgment.
20. #Nonprofit is your legal tax status – not your business plan. Donors are key & social media can help you reach them.
21. For your #nonprofit “dinner video” for this year – What are you doing to be creative?
22. Have you considered skipping this year’s #nonprofit “dinner video” and instead create a series for YouTube videos over time?
23. Twitter isn’t for every #nonprofit. Be wise when using social media. It’s not for every organization.
24. What are you doing this week for your #nonprofit that is different from similar or competing organizations?
25. #Nonprofit volunteers: be sure that your personal tweets & profiles don’t embarrass or cast your organization in negative light.
26. Does your #nonprofit take donations online? If not – why? You can start right now with PayPal. http://ow.ly/534T
27. One of the biggest obstacles #nonprofits face is showing the Executive Director the value of social media.
28. #Nonprofit directors want proof that social media works. Give them proof and stats.
29. Also – be helpful with your #nonprofit Twitter posts. Don’t just tweet out events and news.
30. What is the one thing you can do right now to spread the word about your #nonprofit? Do it.
31. Social media can seem daunting – it’s one more hat to wear at your #nonprofit. Spread the work.
32. Would you like your organization featured on our @FolkMedia list of social media #nonprofits? Let us know.
33. Consider building a lens for your #nonprofit over at Squidoo. http://ow.ly/53dm
34. Spend the time to practice social media and learn the language and methods. You #nonprofit will thank you.
35. Be human. #Nonprofits are made up of people – not robots. Remember people give to people not organizations.
36. #Nonprofit Tip – segment nonprofit social media tasks to staff – volunteers – and interns. The goal is to free up your time.

What non-profit social media tips would you add to this list? You can post them below in the comments or join the discussion in real time on Twitter.

Subscribe to the Folk Media Insider eNewsletter. It’s a free monthly newsletter packed with tips, tools, strategies and resources to take your business to the next level online.