Drowning in Email? Three Tips to Tame your Inbox
Does this resemble you looking at your email inbox? Read this article for help!
This article originally appeared in the August 2, 2021 edition of the Kingsport Times News. Click here for the original pdf.
The benefits of clearing clutter extend far beyond the physical clutter of our stuff. One of the more insidious and pervasive forms of clutter isn’t nearly as obvious as our excess stuff. The digital clutter of an overflowing email inbox and folders full of unnecessary documents decreases our productivity and increases our stress level.
It’s easy to procrastinate digital decluttering. It may not seem as urgent because our digital clutter isn’t quite as “in our face” as our physical clutter. Often we don’t take time for this because we think it will take forever. While it does take time, just as any decluttering project does, that time is well worth it!
When it comes to digital clutter, email is especially troublesome. Some of the most productive people I know are stressed out by their huge inboxes with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of emails awaiting their attention. Email is relentless. Just when we think we’ve gotten it under control, we turn around a few hours later to find that our inbox is full. Again. As our inbox numbers increase, so does our stress level! In keeping with the Shipshape theme, this article is full of practical tips with nautical names designed to tame your inbox and to keep it under control.
Clear the Deck
If your inbox is full of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of emails, I’ve got a radical solution for you that will allow you to start with a clean slate but still allow you to keep all of the emails.
Take a deep breath.
Select All.
Archive.
Celebrate! Your inbox is now empty.
I can already hear the objections: “Wait a second! It can’t be that easy. I can’t just get rid of all my emails! What if there’s something important?” Here’s the thing: When you archive your emails, you’re not getting rid of them. Archiving isn’t the same as deleting. They’re still there; they’re just not crowding up your inbox anymore.
You can easily find any of those archived emails with a simple search. You can search by the name of the person who sent it, by a keyword, by whether or not it has an attachment, when it was sent, and numerous other criteria. Make full use of your email program’s ability to search instead of wasting time scrolling through a huge inbox or searching a long list of email folders.
Plug the Leaks
Whether or not you need to apply the radical clearing the deck strategy, we all will benefit from decreasing the amount of incoming emails. When it comes to stopping the inflow, unsubscribe is your best friend and should be used liberally.
Whether intentionally or not, we’re all subscribed to multiple email services: stores you frequent, causes you support, social groups, boards, charities, companies, etc. Many of these regular emails you never read. But week after week, the emails keep coming in. Each time, they either add to the massive volume of emails in your inbox, or you have to take time to delete them.
I know what some of you are saying. “It’s quicker to just delete them. Besides, I don’t have time to unsubscribe from all of them. Because once you click “Unsubscribe”, then you’re directed to a website where you have to choose exactly which emails to unsubscribe to, let them know why you’re unsubscribing, and so on. It takes way too long to unsubscribe.”
I want to let you in on a secret: You don’t have to do anything except click “Unsubscribe.” There’s nothing forcing you to go to the next step. In fact, thanks to the federal one-click unsubscribe law, a recipient must be able to opt-out with one click, whether that is by replying to the email or by visiting a single web page. That second step is not necessary to unsubscribe.
It may seem quicker to just delete the emails, but since you’re having to do that time after time with a subscription, it definitely takes less time to unsubscribe, because that’s just one click and then no more emails. Multiply that by all the different emails you’re subscribed to, and you’ve just lightened your load tremendously. Keep in mind that you probably won’t be unsubscribed immediately. It may take a few days to a week or two. So don’t panic when you still see a few of those emails trickle in.
Use Your Crew
Applying automation to your email is a game-changer that very few people utilize. If you use either Gmail or Outlook, automation is exceptionally easy and helpful. In Gmail, the automation is called Filters; in Outlook, it’s called Rules. Basically you’re setting up situations where when you receive a particular type of email, your email program will automatically do the action that you have set up.
What if you get emails that you’d like to keep, but maybe you’d rather look at them later on your own time because they’re not critical or time-sensitive? For example, perhaps you’re subscribed to a newsletter that you would prefer to read several at a time when you have the opportunity instead of reading them as they come in. You can easily set up your email such that the emails with that newsletter are automatically put into a specific folder that you’ve created without even going into your Inbox.
What if you have specific emails that are especially important that you want to be sure not to miss? How can you assure that they don’t get lost in your inbox and forgotten? Once again, automation is the key! Depending on which email program you’re using, you may be able to set up some sort of an alert or have them directed into a specific folder for priority emails. Be particularly mindful of how you set up this automation so that those emails don’t slip through the cracks.
Both Google (Gmail) and Outlook have excellent free support materials online to help you with automation as well as other tips and tricks. However, simply unsubscribing from any unnecessary emails and checking and dealing with email regularly (just as we do with regular postal mail), you can stay on top of your email.