Work Records in Uncertain Times: How to Keep a Current, Up-to-date Copy of Your Work Email at the Ready on an Ongoing Basis

Coronavirus has led to lowered budgets and furloughs for many employers. In light of this, here is a basic toolkit to keep and maintain a comprehensive copy of your work email at the ready on your own hard drive. In the event of job loss or interruption, this can be useful for pulling writing samples, keeping professional contacts and records of professional service which can come along through different jobs, and having access to workflows, presentations, scripts, etc., later. In light of the usefulness, here are instructions on how to keep an up-to-date copy of your work email on your own hard drive. This assumes that you will Google for tutorials on each step, but it gives the broad steps for getting and maintaining a comprehensive copy of your work email, including broad steps for troubleshooting common issues. Regardless of whether you work through these and make a copy of email, the idea of organizing and making a personal copy of important work documents (presentations, writing samples, workflows) has value on an ongoing basis and is something everyone should do on a regular schedule.