Are you an email hoarder? Do you fear pressing the delete key? Does your inbox get overloaded with unread and waiting-to-be handled messages? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to read this post!
Think of your inbox, not as a storage box for stuff you need to handle, but an information hub, where new messages come in to be quickly directed to the right location: task list, calendar or trash. Your goal should be to clear your information hub by the end of each day so you start the next with a clean slate.
Decluttering Your Inbox and Other Email Management Tips
Zero Inbox — Commit to clearing your inbox each and every day. Don’t worry if you cannot deal with all of the messages. The purpose isn’t to handle everything; it’s just to do something to maintain that empty space so messages don’t get lost in the fray and you don’t feel overwhelmed every time you open your email. Your choices are: respond, file for follow-up (by either dragging to your task list or calendar) or delete.
Don’t Fear the Delete — Stop letting stuff build up in your inbox! Every single email you keep must have a purpose for being there (even the ones that you have filed). The reason is that every email stored in your inbox is cluttering up your hard drive space and eventually, that will overload your system. Get in the habit of saving the files you need to the location you want to store them and deleting the email message.
Learn the Tricks — Figure out the shortcuts for your particular email/task/calendar management system. If you can’t drag and drop email messages directly into your task list or calendar, simply copy and paste the information, and delete or file the original message. If you work mobile, use a system that allows you to access and handle these tasks on-the-go to maximize your time in between meetings or at kid lessons.
Sync Email to the Cloud — If possible, use an email management system that is connected to the cloud. For example, iMail connected to iCloud lets you create email file folders so you can sort messages from either your desktop, iCloud or iPhone. This feature is especially helpful for deleting emails as you can delete from one location and it disappears everywhere! Cleaning up your inbox is a great way to use those extra minutes waiting for your coffee meeting to show up.
Take Notes in Email — Use a blank email message for note taking during meetings or conference calls so when you finish the call, all you need to do to send off a quick follow-up is polish the notes, add action items and distribute to the attendees. The faster you get meeting minutes out with action items, the greater chance you have of everyone doing what they said they would do in the meeting.
Post-Holiday Inbox — Use the Sort By function to quickly deal with the post-holiday email overload. Toggle between Sort By From and Sort By Subject to find and delete all the newsletters or email conversations you have been cc’d on, but don’t need to respond to. Once you have deleted all the easy stuff, switch back to your normal routine of responding, filing for follow-up or deleting. Aim to get caught up within the first week back or you risk going back to your old habit of turning your inbox into a dumping ground.
