Email. Still relevant as ever in the age of social media and used to keep in touch with friends, colleagues, customers and companies. Whether you love it or hate it, email can’t be escaped so investing in streamlining and decluttering your inboxes will save you time and frustration in the future.
If you’re like many people you may have hundreds if not thousands (oh dear) of emails amassed in your inbox with no clear structure or process to deal with them. With just a few simple steps and an hour or two, you can get your inbox down to zero (yes it’s possible) and keep it that way.
In this post, I’ll cover getting your inbox to zero, building a process for organising emails, and how to email like a pro to minimise back and forth. Ready to declutter? Let’s go!
Delete everything you can
There are no prizes for holding on to emails. Work your way through your emails, deleting what you don’t need or that’s outdated. That means everything – notifications from social media accounts, receipts and confirmations from completed deliveries, expired promotions etc. You get the idea.
Tip: You can make this easier by searching your inbox for common senders or subject lines (for example Facebook notifications) and deleting everything en masse.
For things that could one day be useful, need action, or that you may want to refer to in the future use folders (see below).
Use folders
Folders are magic both online and offline. For email, initially creating general folders that pertain to multiple emails (think Trips, Project XYZ, Receipts) is a good starting point. Whether for personal use or work think about how you can group emails and what would be obvious to you if trying to locate one in the future.
For example, at work, I use folders for every project. Once a project is complete I make it’s folder a subfolder of ‘Past Projects’. This way I have a folder for what I’m currently working on and ones for past projects in case I need to search something in the future.
The folder structure is dynamic, so you can always change and add folders as you figure out what works best for you.
Alternatively, Graham Allcott, author of the Productivity Ninja, uses the following flowchart and folder structure when dealing with an email. What you go for will depend on how you work.
Unsubscribe from email lists
Unsubscribe from all those email lists that are cluttering up your inbox. Even if they’re from brands you love that send you offers it’s better to cut yourself off. Not only will this declutter your inbox but it will also help you make conscientious purchasing decisions as you’ll go looking for a deal when you actually need something rather than reactively spending when you’re hit with a discount. If you absolutely can’t let go at least make a dedicated folder where you can automatically reroute all ‘offer emails’ and change your subscription preferences to reduce the frequency of offers to once a week or once a month.
Another aspect of this I know many people, myself included, struggle with is dealing with subscribed emails that we intend to read later but never actually do. I had this with some thought leadership pieces that were dropped into my inbox daily which I promise myself I’d get back to but hardly ever did.
After becoming frustrated with the endless backlog of articles I figured out a couple of techniques to deal with will-get-back-to-but-never-do emails.
One option is to read the email as the moment you come across it then either move it to a dedicated archive folder or delete it. Alternatively, schedule a time in your calendar to sit and review these pieces then move or delete them. The Ninja Emailing flowchart above can also offer a process.
Well done on decluttering! But beware, emails can quickly get out of hand if you don’t keep on top of them. While there are plenty of fancy apps that help deal with email I find the best methods to keep your inbox clean is to have a process. Let’s explore this below.
Dealing with emails as they come through
While many of us feel that we need to be always available and quick to respond to emails, the reality is that whoever is waiting for your reply has a life consisting of more than just waiting for your reply. This is why I would highly recommend turning off email notifications to avoid getting distracted every time a new email lands.
Instead, set aside specific times of the day to check and deal with emails. This way you process them on your terms instead of you sinking time switching between replying to emails and getting back in the flow of work. If you’re in a role where you really need to be connected just check them once an hour.
When processing emails, if you can deal with it in less than two minutes then just get it over with but if you need more time then move it to the relevant folder to be processed later. See the Ninja Emailing flowchart above for ideas but again, how you deal with it will be individual to you.
Don’t email if you don’t have to
To reduce how much time you spend in your inbox, try to find alternatives to emailing someone. If you can go see a colleague or make a call, do that instead. You may find it’s actually faster in accomplishing your goal.
Email like a pro
If you do need to finalise something over email be specific with your responses. In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport outlines his technique to minimise email back and forth by responding with all the information the other person needs.
Before composing an email he asks himself the following question:
‘What is the project represented by this message, and what is the most efficient (in terms of messages generated) process for bringing this project to a successful conclusion?’
Here, ‘project’ can be whatever an email pertains to and ‘process’ is what needs to be done to get you from your current state to your desired outcome.
In his book he gives an example of a process-centric response to someone asking to grab a coffee:
“I’d love to grab a coffee. Let’s meet at the Starbucks on campus (he’s a professor). Below I listed two days next week when I’m free. For each day, I listed three times. If any of those day and time combinations work for you let me know. I’ll consider your reply confirmation for the meeting. If none of those date and time combinations work, give me a call at the number below and we’ll hash out a time that works. Looking forward to it.”
While these types of emails will take some practice and probably takes a few extra minutes to compose, Newport argues that overall it’s a time saver as you can avoid having to read and respond to extra emails in the future. As for the slightly strange tone of writing, that can be changed by breaking up the text or adding an intro. In the end, your counterparts will get used to it and will appreciate you closing the loop quickly.
Keep on top of it
To keep that inbox at zero is almost a game, and a fun one. Those of us that have achieved getting our inbox to zero know that it’s a sweet sweet feeling. So, use the tips above and become an email ninja. Just make sure at the end of each day to clean up your inbox so you can start afresh when the sun rises again.
For more tips and tricks for your email check out the following:
