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Empty the E-mail Inbox Once and for All

Published Wednesday, January 04, 2012 11:05 PM

January resolutions are here. Put your chronically overflowing e-mail inbox on your 2012 resolution list: we have tips for getting to empty, and staying on top of e-mail, once and for all. Now that is a resolution worth sticking to!

Why Empty Works

An overflowing e-mail inbox is difficult to navigate; often important messages are overlooked or allowed to linger too long before a response. For many workers, an overflowing inbox creates stress and anxiety.

Tackling the in-box allows you to manage communications more effectively and creates a sense of optimism, rather than dread, when you open your e-mail each morning.

Getting to Empty

The first step in taming the e-mail beast is setting aside a block of time to triage all critical e-mails from the past two months. Next, move the ones that remain to an archive file. Archiving e-mails allows you to unearth an old message if the need arises while simultaneously freeing up your in-box for new mail.

Staying Empty

E-mails proliferate like after-Christmas holiday sales. Keep the madness at bay by adhering to a few simple techniques.

Unsubscribe: Use an e-mail for online shopping; this way spam and marketing e-mails that can clog an in-box are corralled at a rarely used address. Or reclaim an existing e-mail by unsubscribing from all e-mails from marketers, news outlets, etc.

Time Limits: Schedule your e-mail time and stick to it. Check e-mail no more than once or twice an hour; rare is the e-mail that cannot wait 30 minutes for an answer. Or schedule e-mail free Fridays (or mornings) where you carve out productive time free from the distractions of the incoming ping. When it's time to turn you attention to e-mail, answer it, then archive.

Action, Not Procrastination: Get into the habit of moving through your e-mail, then moving it out of the in-box. If possible, respond to an e-mail immediately, then archive. Often, e-mails require no more than a few words or lines in response. So make time to respond right off the bat if you can.

On Hold: E-mails that require a longer response time can be moved to a temporary folder and handled at a scheduled time. Try to discipline yourself not to let e-mails linger longer than a day.

Do you have tips for dealing with e-mail overload? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

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Filed under: clutter, email