Step One: Set up a System

When an email arrives at your inbox, you need to be clear on exactly what needs to be done with it. If you don’t then it piles up and gets out of control – cue stress! This is where having a system in place comes in as it helps you organise each email as it comes with clarity.

 

1) Create 5 Folders with the following names:

This _ sign ensures that the folders automatically rises above all other folders you have created.

 

Bonus Tip: Gmail/Google Apps Users

There is this cool feature under ‘Labs’ called multiple inbox feature that allows you to see all your emails categorised when you login.

This is how you set it up:

1 – Go to Account Settings

3 – Multiple Inboxes > Fill out panels (details below) > Show 50 conversations > Below the Inbox > Save Changes

Pane 0:
label:_Action
Action Required

Pane 1:
label:_Read/Review
Read Review

Pane 2:
label:_Waiting
Waiting On

Pane 3:
label:_Reference
Temporary Reference

4 – Go to Labels > Create New Labels > Enter in Label Names (details below) > Create

(If you have already created these labels earlier, skip this).

Create 4 labels in total:
_Action
_Waiting
_Read/review
_Reference

5 – That’s it, you’re all set.

Step Two: Clean Up

Now that you have an awesome system in place, there still remains a deep dark secret *dramatic sound effects*.

Once upon a time you had a clean inbox and then … the emails started coming in one by one until it just got so out of control it never saw the light of day and was never spoken about ever again.

What most of us do these days is to just scan through the first few emails at the top of this mess and then log off as fast as you can. If this sounds like you and you’re not too proud of it then this is how you slay your overflowing inbox dragons.

1) Create a Folder called ‘Old Inbox’

Move all the emails from your inbox into this folder.

Who is most likely to send you important messages that if missed carry consequences? Your boss? Colleague? Client? Family members? Select the top 5, do a search on each of these individuals using their email address & move those emails back into inbox.

3) Go back to your ‘Old Inbox’ Folder and Ruthlessly Delete

Without opening up any, scan over the subject lines & move anything that looks important back to your main inbox.

After you do this, do a mass select & delete what remains (begone!!!). Alternatively, if email storage is not an issue for you then mark all the emails as read & move them over the ‘_Archive’ folder (Google Users: Archive them).

… Oh and delete the ‘Old Inbox’ folder as well on the way because if you did this step correctly then there shouldn’t be anything remaining in there.

4) Deal with the emails remaining in your inbox

Set aside some time & process these emails to the system set up above. Does this email require action? File away in _Action. Am I waiting on something? File away in _Waiting. Can I delete this? etc.

Step Three: Maintain Control

Here are some final suggestions and guidelines to help you maintain control of your new shiny clean inbox 🙂

1) Get Rid of Useless Clutter

You know those emails that just add clutter to your inbox? The ones that you don’t find any value in and have no idea how they made their way into your inbox? Well you need to track ‘em down and prevent them from ever reaching your inbox again.

You can manually go through and unsubscribe from them or you can check out a service called unroll.me that helps you identify all the newsletters/emails you have subscribed to over time and unsubscribe from them in one go.

This service also offers an option to receive all the remaining subscriptions each day as a daily digest and skip your inbox (goes to an unroll.me folder).

There are pros and cons to this, I personally don’t use this for the newsletters/email subscriptions that I want to read (since I found myself barely reading the ‘rolled up’ emails but if you can see this working for you, give it a try).

Finally, if you unsubscribe to a particular newsletter with this service and wish to re-subscribe again, you will need to activate it again via unroll.me not through the website that sends you the emails.

2) Remember that Your Mailbox is not a To-Do List

Internalise this and it will revolutionise the way you handle email.

If there was a physical equivalent to your email then it would be this…  minus the postman works 24/7 😉

That’s why it is important to sort your emails as it comes and not do things like leaving it in your inbox as a reminder to get it done, your inbox is just not built for that and it will eventually get out of control (i.e. refrain from using it as a To-Do list).

3) Set Aside Times to Check Email

Resist the urge of checking email continuously during the day especially while your working because attention once lost (even for a few minutes) takes time to regain.

4) Quick Action? Do it Straight Away

If an email requires an action that can be completed in less than 2 mins, e.g. a short reply, a small tweak on a project, quick feedback, then just do it straight away. These little things add up and coming back to it again costs you your time and attention. Besides – it always feels good get something done.

5) Turn off Social Media Notifications

Does that LinkedIn notification about your ex-colleague’s new job really matter? Turn it off entirely or select only notifications that are important to you. Maybe you can include these in your roll up?

6) Review Folders Periodically

From time to time look over each folder, move emails that no longer belong and  keep things in order.

So there you have it! How to conquer your inbox once and for all. Let me know how it goes!

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