How To Get an Email Free Inbox

Emails, wonderful emails, we can’t live with them and we can’t live without them. Sometimes just looking at my inbox is enough to make me feel overwhelmed and stressed. Each of those unread, subject lines screaming out and demanding my attention. Well a few months ago I changed the way I organise my emails and I haven't looked back. Sometimes when I visit my clients (yes you know who you are) I can't help but notice their inbox declaring hundreds of unread emails and I don't know how you live with it. So I have taken the time to share with you some of my top tips on managing your email and inbox. Some of these tips focus on managing your email in general, while others look at better ways to send emails. Hopefully you'll find a tip or two in here that will work for you. And hey I get it, if you don't care about 1000 or so unread emails glaring at you every time you log in, so be it, but I invite you to taste the freedom of an email free inbox.

Put email on a schedule

Instead of reading and responding to emails as they arrive, decide on specific times of day to read them. This can vary from one to three or four times a day, depending on your work. If you're in the habit of monitoring your email continually it may take extra effort to change your behaviour, but once you do you'll soon find yourself getting a lot more accomplished.

The Benefit: Reading and responding to emails as they arrive can distract and interrupt you from the important task that you are currently doing. Sometimes this is ok, but you'll find it a lot more productive to decide on specific times of the day to read emails. I find that if I put the time as an appointment in my calendar this really helpful to keep me on track and I also know that I have uninterrupted time to get my tasks done gives me the ‘allowed’ factor as if I was in a meeting.

Be organised

Some messages are simply information, but others require action. No doubt you already have a list of folders nestled in your email, so obviously the emails left in your inbox don’t have a folder to call home. Try getting a piece of paper and brainstorming all the different emails you get in categories, some could include: Project types, clients, personal, admin, finance, marketing, contacts, information, read, resources, suppliers, to do, follow up and travel. My personal favourite is a folder called read, for when I have time for a catch up on latest updates and information.

The Benefit: You know where all your emails are there is a folder for everything and it's organised and it helps with the email free inbox.

Put your subject line to work

When you write an email, take a moment to ensure the subject line is as clear and complete as possible. For example, "Need feedback on the Sales Presentation (attached) by Friday" is much more productive than simply "Sales Presentation Review.”

The Benefit: People are much more likely to respond to what your request when it's so clear. You will also have a clear message about what the email is about when you are searching for an old or archived email.

Keep your message focussed

When most people read on-screen they tend to scan. Big blocks of text discourage readers and information is more easily overlooked. Keep your emails short, to-the-point, and clear. Here are some tips to help:

• Add a space between paragraphs.

• Use bullet points to improve readability.

• List action items (with names and due dates).

• Use who, what, how and when to guide the body of your email.

The Benefit: This helps people respond and gives them a clear message. And they will know exactly what you need or what you need them to do.

Don't Write Open-Ended Emails

Another way to write better emails is to avoid open-ended questions. The trick is to offer an option when setting up a meeting or a call, rather than leaving it open for suggestions. If you suggest a time and place for your meeting in the first email, your recipient can simply say yes, or suggest an alternative. This speeds up the process and usually requires fewer emails to come to an agreement.

The Benefit: This helps people respond quickly and to the point. You will be far more productive with this little email gem!

If you don't read it unsubscribe

Email newsletters and other email marketing messages can be a great way to stay connected to clients, colleagues, partners and other businesses you are interested in. However these messages can quickly pile up. If you have not read a particular re-occurring mailing in several issues, stop your subscription. Another option is moving some of these newsletters is moving them to a read folder, for when you have time to browse.

The Benefit: Limiting email newsletters and other automated messages to only those you regularly read can be an easy way to reduce the bulk in your inbox.

And now...

How to get an email free inbox

I used to use my inbox as a to do list. But then I realised I was actioning other peoples priorities and not my own. Take a look at what's sitting in your inbox right now. You might have:

• A request from your boss or an important client

• A request from a colleague or freelancer to review a task you gave them

• An invitation from a friend to dinner in two weeks' time

• A request to complete a two-minute customer satisfaction survey

• A few e-mail newsletters

• A notification from Facebook that somebody liked your photo

Now think about this: If you were to make a list of the top 3, 5 or even 10 things you want to achieve today, would any of these items appear on it? Sure, maybe the first two need to be given attention, but in all likelihood the others wouldn't. Nor would most of the hundreds of other e-mail sitting in your inbox. So why do you leave it there? All it does is distract and depress you every time you check for new mail and adds another thing to add to your real to do list.

The Solution: Ok it’s a bit out there but Never, never, never leave e-mail sitting there for more than five seconds after you open it. Yup, five seconds!!!

In practice, that means there are really only two things you can do when you open a message; Delete it. OR, move it somewhere else for later processing.

Would you love a dream empty inbox? That might seem impossible, but it's not. Here's how it works:

1. Go to your inbox and for every message, either delete it or file it for action. I have four action folders "Today", "This Week", "Next Week" and "Later", where I put incoming mail based on its urgency. Even very urgent e-mail gets put in the "Today" folder.

2. While you're doing this, do not be tempted to act on any message, regardless of whether it's trivial, urgent, or anywhere in between. Simply move it into the folder and move on to the next message.

3. At the end of this process, your inbox will be empty! Even though you haven't processed any of the messages, it's amazing how an empty inbox can make decision making easier.

4. Now, if you received any urgent e-mail, act on it. But you'll usually find that nothing needs immediate action, so go back to your other work. You've satisfied your psychological need to check e-mail, so you can return to the unprocessed e-mail later.

If you already have an overflowing inbox simply create a new folder (e.g. "Old E-mails May 2015") and move everything from your inbox into that folder. When you have time, gradually go through that folder and process the e-mails as required.

At first glance, this might seem like you're just shuffling e-mail around. But don't underestimate just how good it is to see an almost empty inbox every time you open it. Be brave and give it a go! You're no worse off because you haven't lost any mail. But you do have an empty inbox, and you can keep it that way - forever.

Email is here to stay, it’s part of our lives at work and at home, and many of us are struggling with an ever-increasing inbox count. If that's a problem for you, give some of these strategies a try to keep your inbox under control. I would love to hear your inbox and email tips and tricks, please comment below or email me at chantal@theofficient.com.au

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