In the last blog, we talked about to ensure you don’t use your deleted items folder as a “storage box” Another key to successfully managing your inbox (in less time) is the ability to find email quickly (usually within seconds).  Here are some overall keys to finding items quickly in your email program on your laptop, Surface Pro, Mac or a desktop computer (we will cover smartphone/tablet searching in an upcoming blog).
NOTE:  Even though you might not spend as much time on your PC/MAC as your smartphone/tablet, the search capabilities on your computer are FAR greater than those on your smartphone/tablet, thereby being able to save you more time.

1. More information, as opposed to less information – you must put more information in your search if you want to find exactly what you are looking for, instead of looking through multiple items for the right one.
2. Put quotes ” ” around the phrase or sequence of words you are looking for.  For instance;  searching for a “monthly sales report” will have fewer results for you to search through than if you type the words monthly sales report without quotes.
3. When you search in Outlook or Gmail, your search will include results from several areas in your email, including: The Subject line, the email body, the To: field, the From: field, the attachment name and what’s inside the attached (provided they are searchable and not a merely a  scanned document).

More tips on searching in my next blog.