Yep. I've taken the Google model to Outlook. I have just one folder called archive. It comes down to these steps:
- If I haven't looked at it yet, it's unread in the inbox
- If I've read it but still have something to do, it's marked read but still in the inbox
- If I'm done with all of the actions associated with it, it goes into the archive folder
On top of that, I use search folders to quickly look at emails from specific people or groups. I prefer that to real folders as sometimes emails need to exist in multiple folders, plus those folders will catch anything that's in both the archive and inbox folders.
- If I haven't looked at it yet, it's unread in the inbox - If I've read it but still have something to do, it's marked read but still in the inbox - If I'm done with all of the actions associated with it, it goes into the archive folder
On top of that, I use search folders to quickly look at emails from specific people or groups. I prefer that to real folders as sometimes emails need to exist in multiple folders, plus those folders will catch anything that's in both the archive and inbox folders.