by Jennifer Bonior
I HATE a messy inbox. When I see that number of emails waiting for my attention rising, the anxiety kicks in. But anxiety or not, I can’t always just stop what I am doing to go clean my inbox. Who can? So instead the hours go by and that dreaded number continues to rise. Sometimes it’s days before I can address the problem and then it’s like, ‘why bother?’ Well, while there is no one trick fix to this issue that plagues us all, there are a few practices we can all implement during our busier times to help lessen the load.
The Power of Delete - Did you know you don’t have to keep every email you get? I mean it, it’s some weird thing many of us do—we hang onto an email so we can file it into the perfect folder later when we have the time, but then later never comes. So let’s kick that instinct to hold onto every two-word ‘Thank you’ email we’ve ever gotten and start putting that Delete button to work.
Embrace the Archive - Not ready to delete? That’s totally fine, archive it! While your email storage space isn’t endless, you probably have a lot more of it than you think. So if you need to hang onto a conversation that is no longer relevant but could be of use later for reference, go ahead and kick it to the land of the archived—and rest assured knowing that a simple search can bring it right back to you.
Don’t Forget to Unsubscribe - Spam is one thing, get a spam filter ASAP if you don’t have one already, but subscriptions are another. Yes, that newsletter or daily deals email may have been a useful thing when you were hunting for Christmas gifts, but now that you’ve made your purchase it’s time to part ways. It’s ok to unsubscribe from a company’s emails that are no longer supplying you with valuable content. Just a few clicks now can save you loads of space in your inbox.
Create a Filing System - Every person’s organizational preference is different; maybe you want things sorted by client, maybe you prefer by project, or maybe you just have no interest in folders altogether and it’s either ‘read’ or ‘unread.’ The point isn’t how you organize your inbox, it’s simply that you have a way to organize it that works for you. Your inbox is just that, YOURS, so figure out what works for you and then get to it.
To Flag or Not to Flag - What rule do you have for important emails? Do they sit in your inbox as unread until you are able to respond? Or do you mark it as ‘read’ but pin it or flag it with a special color so you don’t forget to respond later when you finally have that info you’ve been waiting on? You get to make the rules here, so make ones that you can take seriously and stay patient with yourself as you learn how to follow them.
Healthy Self-Expectations - I wish there was some easy way to skip the awkward days and weeks of forming a new habit, but there’s not. You’ve just got to stick it out with the knowledge that sweet satisfaction is at the other end. A rewarding self-expectation of mine is that if my work inbox gets above 10 unread messages, I stop and address it. Maybe your number is 100. Or maybe you don’t care so much about the numbers and just prefer to do a nightly important email scan. Whatever it is that makes sense for you and your workload, establish it and hold yourself to it.
Some Apps are Worth It - While some applications can absolutely be like that odd appliance in your kitchen that rarely gets used, there are a few that can be a saving grace. I personally have six email accounts to check daily, so an app that consolidates those inboxes into one is everything to me. Do you need help setting reminders? There’s an app for that. How about an app that sends out invoices or calendar invites for you? There’s an app for that too!
The maddening thing about an inbox is that it never stays clean forever—never! So cleaning it once a year when Spring rolls around is not going to do the trick. That pesky little number will continue to rise no matter the time of year, so let’s not focus on a one-and-done solution here, let’s focus on the big picture—a clean inbox isn’t the end goal, an organized one that you can actually manage is.
I HATE a messy inbox. When I see that number of emails waiting for my attention rising, the anxiety kicks in. But anxiety or not, I can’t always just stop what I am doing to go clean my inbox. Who can? So instead the hours go by and that dreaded number continues to rise. Sometimes it’s days before I can address the problem and then it’s like, ‘why bother?’ Well, while there is no one trick fix to this issue that plagues us all, there are a few practices we can all implement during our busier times to help lessen the load.
The Power of Delete - Did you know you don’t have to keep every email you get? I mean it, it’s some weird thing many of us do—we hang onto an email so we can file it into the perfect folder later when we have the time, but then later never comes. So let’s kick that instinct to hold onto every two-word ‘Thank you’ email we’ve ever gotten and start putting that Delete button to work.
Embrace the Archive - Not ready to delete? That’s totally fine, archive it! While your email storage space isn’t endless, you probably have a lot more of it than you think. So if you need to hang onto a conversation that is no longer relevant but could be of use later for reference, go ahead and kick it to the land of the archived—and rest assured knowing that a simple search can bring it right back to you.
Don’t Forget to Unsubscribe - Spam is one thing, get a spam filter ASAP if you don’t have one already, but subscriptions are another. Yes, that newsletter or daily deals email may have been a useful thing when you were hunting for Christmas gifts, but now that you’ve made your purchase it’s time to part ways. It’s ok to unsubscribe from a company’s emails that are no longer supplying you with valuable content. Just a few clicks now can save you loads of space in your inbox.
Create a Filing System - Every person’s organizational preference is different; maybe you want things sorted by client, maybe you prefer by project, or maybe you just have no interest in folders altogether and it’s either ‘read’ or ‘unread.’ The point isn’t how you organize your inbox, it’s simply that you have a way to organize it that works for you. Your inbox is just that, YOURS, so figure out what works for you and then get to it.
To Flag or Not to Flag - What rule do you have for important emails? Do they sit in your inbox as unread until you are able to respond? Or do you mark it as ‘read’ but pin it or flag it with a special color so you don’t forget to respond later when you finally have that info you’ve been waiting on? You get to make the rules here, so make ones that you can take seriously and stay patient with yourself as you learn how to follow them.
Healthy Self-Expectations - I wish there was some easy way to skip the awkward days and weeks of forming a new habit, but there’s not. You’ve just got to stick it out with the knowledge that sweet satisfaction is at the other end. A rewarding self-expectation of mine is that if my work inbox gets above 10 unread messages, I stop and address it. Maybe your number is 100. Or maybe you don’t care so much about the numbers and just prefer to do a nightly important email scan. Whatever it is that makes sense for you and your workload, establish it and hold yourself to it.
Some Apps are Worth It - While some applications can absolutely be like that odd appliance in your kitchen that rarely gets used, there are a few that can be a saving grace. I personally have six email accounts to check daily, so an app that consolidates those inboxes into one is everything to me. Do you need help setting reminders? There’s an app for that. How about an app that sends out invoices or calendar invites for you? There’s an app for that too!
The maddening thing about an inbox is that it never stays clean forever—never! So cleaning it once a year when Spring rolls around is not going to do the trick. That pesky little number will continue to rise no matter the time of year, so let’s not focus on a one-and-done solution here, let’s focus on the big picture—a clean inbox isn’t the end goal, an organized one that you can actually manage is.
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