How to Manage My Email Inbox

How to Manage My Email Inbox Email we love it, and we cant stand it.Emailis an amazing tool that helps us get so much done, but its also overwhelming to deal with. Moreover, nothing not theSlackapp, text messaging, or iphones has removed us of the responsibility or burden of having to deal with an overflowing mailbox. Since most of us have no choice, here are 13 things you should consider doing about your schmelzglasles inbox folder to improve your productivity at work1. Respond right away to any email katechese that takes you less than two minutes to deal with.According to Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology (and yes, thats an actual thing and theres a whole book written about it), if something takes you less than two minutes, you should do it immediately. Otherwise, it should go on your to-do list. The full methodology is too complex to go into, but the basic idea here is that it takes mental energy and time to categorize things and prioritize them on your to-do list. So, ther es no point in adding something if you can simply just deal with it immediately (even if its not particularly important).2. Write emails that take less than two minutes.It follows that if you respond to something in two minutes regardless of its importance, you shouldnt generally respond in a lengthy way. But this goes for responses as well as anfangsbuchstabe email messages. Drop the formalities, unnecessary introductions and endings in correspondance with friends, family and even close colleagues. And they will get used to what at first blush may appear to be a terse and abrupt style. You can always explain that you write everything on your iphone if that helps you smooth over the initial shock.3. Religiously unsubscribe to newsletters and updates, or move those emails to filtered/spam inboxes.Clutter takes time to deal with, and you have enough other emails filling yourMicrosoftOutlook inbox folder. Thats why its important to do the occasional clean-out of the junk emails and spa m that youre simply skipping past. You can even create a rule of thumb for yourself if youre a bit of a delete-adverse packrat. Its similar to the rule about throwing out a piece of clothing from your clothing if you cant remember the last time you wore it, throw it out. Same goes for email lists. If you cant remember the last time you read it, delete it4. Check your email folder only at pre-selected times (or when youre in line for coffee).Resist the temptation to sit in front of your email account at work and watch alerts come in. Research shows that dopamine goes up in response to seeing a new text message or email come in, which creates a compulsive urge to check it. Resist, and you will actually be controlling the way you spend your time rather than letting your email account do it for you.5. Even if you have to check email first thing in the morning, dont respond until your pre-set time.If youre simply checking for emergencies (because youre a doctor, PR crisis manager, or s imply someone with ademanding boss), then fine. But dont just start clicking away and responding to emails without thinking about what you really want to accomplish in the morning, and whether that email time is eating into those priorities. Be conscious of your email behavior and know that typically most matters can wait a few hours.6. Create folders for emails based on sender or topic.This is as straightforward as it sounds, and it will help reduce the number of email temptations you have that lead you to read and respond at times that arent best suited to you. In other words, use your folder settings to your advantage7. Respond to lengthy emails that will require a long response by asking to talk to the sender.Many times people send longer emails than they need to. However, in those situations where a long email is actually merited, you can discourage future unnecessarily lengthy emails or forestalling the time to write an appropriately nuanced, detailed response by simply asking to talk to the reader. Even better, just send out a calendar invite for a 15-minute call with the subject matter noting its in response to their email.8. Respond to requests for calls by asking the sender to email you their questions.Sometimes requests for calls can eat up time, and email is better because you can control when you answer. This can be a great strategy where you dont know the person well and dont want to risk being rude on the phone if the person is taking up too much of your time.9. Sort emails by subject line rather than in reverse chronological order.The default settings in our inbox are just that default. That doesnt mean its well suited to productivity or your goals. Change them accordingly if you need to.10. Immediately assign a priority flag/code to emails if you are not going to respond immediately.To-do lists shouldnt be random, and neither should the way you respond to email messages. Prioritization is important to productivity.11. Respond to all emails yo u receive at one pre-set time during the day or night.Someone we admire takes his least productive time (i.e. nights) and responds to emails from the day then. It takes a lot of self-discipline to ignore emails for a full day, but if your reasoning is similar to his which is that emails are the least important thing in his day and therefore should get his least best time in terms of energy then it can be a very smart move.12. Dont respond to anything youre CCed on if there are more than X number of recipients of the note.This may sound obvious, but if you dont need to reply (which is in all likely the case, if youre simply CCed among 10+ people), then dont reply. In the best case scenario, responding only crowds someone elses mail inbox. In the worst case scenario, youre only inviting yetmoreunwanted email messages to deal with.13. Never (or almost never) click Reply-All.If you need further explanation for why, then see list eintrag 12. Nobody likes getting more incoming email tha n is strictly necessary (Even if theyve been armed with great tips about winning back control over their email.)Do you have any strategies for dealing with an avalanche of email? If so, share your advice and opinions with other women in our community.