Email Overhaul

I’ve been speaking with many people who are stressed and overwhelmed with their email. Their inboxes are as cluttered as their desks. If you are working in a disorganized office without any filing systems in place, my suggestion would be to tackle the disorganization in your office first and then move on to organizing emails. You may find that once you physically get organized, it’s going to be very easy to wrap your head around the process of organizing your emails. If your personal email is also a cluttered mess, these tips will also help you!

Get rid of the backlog. Your inbox should be used as a to-do list. There shouldn’t be anything in your inbox that doesn’t need attention. Clean out your inbox and use your folders (see below) in a productive manner. 

Create a process for incoming emails. Tackle your inbox just like you would tackle paper that arrives in your home or office. Have a procedure and a working system to process every email that arrives in your inbox. Look at it, touch it and take care of it.

Unsubscribe. You know you have to do this. There are emails you consistently receive that you are not interested in but choose to still have them arrive in your inbox. Starting today, any emails that you receive that are no longer useful to you, instead of just deleting them, open them and click unsubscribe – then be sure to delete them.

Delete. If the email isn’t useful to you and you don’t need to refer to it again, don’t let it clog up your inbox. Delete it immediately. If you know it’s an email that you never want to receive again, refer to the above and hit unsubscribe. 

Utilize folders. You have files in your file drawers and working systems for the drawers. Create the same filing system in your inbox. Create folders for categories that are used often. You know what you work with, so create the categories based on that. Once a year, make a plan to purge these folders. 

File. Just as you would file a piece of paper that arrives on your desk, do the same with the email. If you don’t have time to read an email but you want to get to it at a later date, utilize the folders I discussed above and file it away. Don’t leave it hanging around in your inbox. When you have time, go to your file, and refer to it. 

Print out the important ones. If you have an important email that needs attention and you know it will get lost in your inbox, print it out and attach it to your to-do list. There is nothing wrong with printing emails if it is going to remind you to do something. 

Sending emails. You are now organized with your emails, but what about sending emails? A pet peeve of mine is if somebody hits “reply all” to the entire group if it’s not necessary. If you are hitting “reply all” to an email that nobody else cares about except the person you are sending it to, think before you hit “reply all.”

Pick up the phone. Sometimes it’s easier to pick up the phone. If you keep going back and forth with the person, it may be more efficient and productive of you to just pick up the phone, talk, and be done with the conversation instead of sending multiple emails. 

A disorganized email inbox will affect you the same way your physical clutter and disorganization will affect you. I hear too many people voicing their opinions about how their emails stress them out. Make a plan today, tackle it, and free yourself from the stress.