Is email the thing you love to hate?
You can’t live without it, but living with it is stressful?
Are you tired of people telling you how to control your inbox, only to find that the suggestions don’t work for you?
Overall email suggestions:
- Pick two or three times a day when you check email, and stick to it. . . and maybe those times shouldn’t be when you first wake up and when you go to bed!
- Turn off the notification feature where new emails pop up on your screen. They’re a distraction for everyone, no matter what your style is.
- If you have a specific person you need to hear from, internally or externally, regularly or just for a short time, create a rule to get a notification for that person specifically.
- Use the “Getting Things Done” suggestion that if you can respond in two minutes or less, take care of it right away.
Now, here’s the part where “Getting Things Done” methodology and I part ways. I recommend approaching your email in differently, depending on your behavioral style. These tips are meant to be best guesses at what will work for you. You know yourself best, so modify and steal other ideas to improve your control over your inbox.
If you are a bullet point, directive, high-level thinker, who is always looking for the bottom line and results, then here are some ideas for you to manage your inbox:
- Unsubscribe to anything you don’t look at regularly
- Scan email to find the action needed, then make your assessment on priority. (Remember, everyone writes and thinks differently, so the action may not be clear or upfront.)
- Use folders and rules to automatically file and move things.
- Use flags to color code priorities – red – hot, deal with it now, yellow- medium, deal with in a set timeframe, green – not a priority, put in a folder to review once a week.
If you are a creative, idea, high-level thinker and connector and your biggest concern is missing out (FOMO), here are some ideas for you to manage your inbox:
- Unsubscribe from anything you don’t look at regularly. Instead, make a list of them and set a reminder in your calendar to look at them online.
- Don’t worry about how many emails are in your inbox. If the clutter doesn’t bother you, let it go.
- Use flags to color code priorities, so they don’t get lost.
- Use search to find whatever you need.
If you love systems and processes, you are a stable and steady as she goes, and you want to keep things in balance, here are some ideas for you to manage your inbox:
- Create a routine & system to check email, and then stick with it. Check out some email automation tools to help. If you use Gmail, check out Taskforce and Boomerang. Sanebox helps focus with all email systems and me helps with newsletters and spam.
- Organize and delete, delete, delete. Don’t let your email get out of control – shoot for an amount that feels comfortable for you.
- Block out time daily and/or once a week to clean up inbox.
- Pay attention to how the systems you are using, make you feel and adjust accordingly so you feel in control.
If you are cautious, accurate, data-driven, and analytical, here are some ideas for you to manage your inbox:
- Create a process and stick with it. Check out email automation tools to help.
- Use folders to categorize and prioritize.
- Shoot for a zero inbox or close to it.
- Make sure you are not spending too much time on each email. You may have a tendency to get lost in the details.
Hope these tips help. Let everyone know what style you, are and what works best for you by commenting below. Let’s help each other get control of our inboxes!