How many emails do you have in your inbox right now? 1,000? 7,000? 24,984? You’re not alone! In fact, if you’re like most of us, you’ve probably just given up on the idea of ever returning to any sort of digital order. Afterall, you might be thinking, what’s the point of wasting a day cleaning out all this junk, if I’m just going to get another 300 emails tomorrow… and the next day… and the next day…
Having thousands, or tens of thousands, of unread emails piled up in your inbox can be debilitating — it’s overwhelming to sort through and navigate and just the thought of doing so is enough to zap your energy, causing you to feel defeated before you’ve even begun. But it doesn’t have to be this way!
You can gain back control of your inbox without spending hours and hours, sorting through email by email, or creating a complex filing system. In fact, a small investment of time can allow you to hit refresh near-instantly, without losing any critical information. Here’s how:
Step 1: Clean sweep your inbox
Quickly clean out your inbox by creating a new folder titled, “Processed.” Sweep everything that is more than a month or two old into this folder. Shocked? Don’t be. The beauty of email is that it is searchable. You’ll still have a way to find anything you might need later, but now, it’s no longer cluttering up your inbox.
If you’re worried that some vital emails will get lost in that clean sweep, run a quick search within the Processed folder for emails from only the most important people — like your boss or your kids — and move anything valuable back into your inbox to process with the rest of your emails from 2020. Or, create a new sub-folder for them (e.g kids, work, boss) to make accessing them easier in the future.
Note: most old emails are no longer relevant — the event has passed, the sale is over, and Barry from high school has already asked someone else to help organize the reunion. Let it go.
Step 2: Catchup on the last 4-8 weeks
With those outdated emails out of the way, you are left with a much smaller backlog of emails to go through. Decide how much time you want to designate to the backlog — 30 minutes? 60 minutes? 2 hours? Set the time aside and, when it comes, give this task your undivided attention. Each email should be opened, responded to, and then deleted or filed in your Processed folder.
As you process this backlog, keep these three points in mind:
Respond (but don’t belabor the apology)
If it will take you less than five minutes to respond to an email, respond. If it’s more than a week old, acknowledge that the email got lost in the avalanche, apologize for the delay, and then quickly move on to provide the necessary information. Putting it off because you don’t know what to say or writing a full paragraph-long apology will only cost you more time than is necessary.
Ask for a phone call or set up a meeting
If something would be more efficient to handle in-person or over the phone — whether because it would take too long to provide a written response or because so much time has passed since the initial email was received — change the medium. Write back acknowledging receipt and ask for a quick call or a meeting.
If it’s junk, get rid of it
If you’re no longer interested in receiving marketing emails or notifications from a certain source: unsubscribe. As you come across these emails, mark them as spam and then do a bulk cleanse. Search your processed folder for all emails from the same source, select all, and delete. So satisfying. Almost as fun as shredding. And Voila! You’ve just cleared a ton of clutter from your system.
Your goal is to completely catch up on your inbox until you achieve a clean slate.
Step 3: Maintain order by batch processing
Now that you’ve cleared your inbox of the old stuff, you have about two seconds to breathe a sigh of relief before more emails come flooding in. (Ok, maybe not 2 seconds). You need a plan to change your email habits and prevent a backlog from building up again. But how?
The best way to stay on top of what’s coming in while minimizing the time spent on email in your life, is to batch-process your inbox at designated times throughout the day, rather than continuously checking. Decide on a reasonable frequency (e.g. 3 times per day? Every 2 hours? Every hour?), and then give your email your undivided attention to address everything that came in, decisively.
If you can respond quickly, don’t put it off. If you receive a request that would be better handled verbally, ask for a phone call or meeting. Refuse to engage in long, back-and-forth exchanges that will add more clutter to your inbox. If an email comes in that requires a more thoughtful response that you can provide in the 30-minute window you’ve set aside, acknowledge that you received the email and scheduled a time to respond. And finally, don’t forget to stay on top of the junk by unsubscribing and marking it as spam as it comes in.
A landmark email study by Kushlav and Dunn at the University of British Columbia found that people who batch processed their emails 3 times per day (rather than continuously processed), got through the same number of emails in 20% less time. They also experienced a huge reduction in stress equal to the benefits of relaxation techniques like taking deep breaths and visual imagery.
Email may be a never-ending source of info and demands, but you can take control without investing hours or days on the project. Here’s to a clean inbox, and fresh start in 2020!