Everyday your electronic inbox is flooded with new email. Some of these emails might be spam or newsletters you have subscribed to. Yet other emails might be of importance and need your immediate attention, say from your boss, an order, a subscriber, a co-worker. Regardless of whom it is from you most likely receive email that needs to stand out from rest of your incoming email because you want to make sure it doesn't "slip" through cracks and it grabs your attention.

Did you know in most email programs (NOT AOL, sorry) you can color code your incoming emails?

Did you know in most email programs you can have certain emails automatically stored (moved) or copied into other folders, you've created, until you have time to read them?

Did you know you can have your email program automatically delete incoming email and you don't even have to look at it?

Did you know you could have an email from someone else to you automatically forwarded to someone else?

Did you know that you can automatically "follow" email conversations?

Knowing how to use and implement following conditions of just one of these "rules" can help you keep your email organized and your attention on what's important.

It is sooo easy you will kick yourself for not knowing about these features, yet be thrilled to have discovered them.

Outlook Express: >>Open Outlook Express >>You must know person's email address or you can select from your address book >>Click on TOOLS at top of your screen >>Move your Pointer to Message Rules; slide Pointer over to Mail and Click >>Click New

You will be presented with a new window that has 12 Conditions and 12 Actions to choose from:

12 Conditions for Your Email Rules:

1. Where From line contains people 2. Where Subject line contains specific words 3. Where message body contains specific words 4. Where To line contains people 5. Where CC line contains people 6. Where To or CC line contains people 7. Where message is marked as priority 8. Where message is from specified account 9. Where message size is more than size 10. Where message has an attachment 11. Where message is secure 12. For all messages

After you click on one of Conditions, you now must select one of twelve Actions for your rule.

Twelve Actions for Your Email Rules: 1. Move it to specified folder 2. Copy it to specified folder 3. Delete it 4. Forward it to people 5. Highlight it with color 6. Flag it 7. Mark it as read 8. Mark message as watched or ignored 9. Reply with message 10. Stop processing more rules 11. Do not Download it from server 12. Delete it from server

Your first step is to decide whether to convert a room into an office or a space/area in your home to office space.

If your space is limited you might want to get type of desk that looks like an armoire so you can close it up at end of day. Or use a folding table that can be put away at end of business day. Or you can set up a mini-office in corner of a room and put up a screen to hide this area at end of work day.

In addition, depending on type of business you are running, you need to think of files you will need and how you will house those files. For some businesses a small letter file will suffice, which you can cover with a table cloth at end of day or you could use an end table with space for files, or you can purchase crates for files and stack those in a corner or closet.

Most businesses today need a computer, along with a printer, fax, and/or scanner. Again, if you use armoire type of desk they use have space for most of this equipment, and you can close it at end of day.