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1. No filing strategy:
This strategy consists of creating no folders within your email
software and keeping all emails in your inbox. People who choose this
strategy often periodically remove emails from their inbox and save
them offline in chronological folders in order to reduce the amount of
server space they are using.
The advantage of such a system is that it requires little effort. The
owner of the email is able to locate things because they may
personally know when specific emails were received or can use a
search engine to retrieve specific emails. Using the threaded messages
feature, if your software has this, can allow you to see all messages
relating to a particular topic.
The disadvantage is that over time, it may be more difficult to recall
when you received certain messages, and thus difficult to retrieve
them without subject related folders. It may also be difficult for your
successor, your colleagues, or an archivist to make sense of your
emails in the future. You may end up keeping more emails than you
need to because you are not reviewing the emails and assigning them
to topical folders.
2. Filing system:
The traditional way to organize records is to establish a simple filing
scheme based on topical areas in order to bring together all documents
on a particular topic. For some people, (such as those who deal with
large amounts of similar documents) establishing a filing scheme is a
successful way to manage your electronic records as well as your
paper documents. This filing structure can incorporate your office's
records retention and disposition schedule, if your office has one.
One advantage of a filing system is that it provides a complete view of
all the emails on a particular topic, regardless of subject line or sender.
A topical folder provides a context for a set of messages that you
would not necessarily see if they were all in your inbox mixed with
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