Forget Inbox Zero, Monotask Your email
The email inbox struggle is real! I personally don’t believe in getting my email inbox to zero (meaning that I have responded to or filed every message).
It is pretty much impossible, and causes way too much stress to try and not succeed.
I recommend monotasking your email when you do get to it. Whether you get to one thoughtful reply, or file 50 messages away, give it your full focus. Also, spend a little time once a week developing systems for tackling your email (not just responding).
Here are a few tips to bring your email (personal or work) a little bit more under control.
Turn off notifications - don’t feel compelled to read or answer every e-mail as soon as it comes in. I don’t want to get you in trouble at work, so apply this suggestion appropriately! Not everything is urgent.
Manage your inbox to a realistic target - I try to keep my inbox under 50 messages (so I can see them all one page in Gmail) then I file everything else away in folders (see below). When I go away on vacation and don’t read email for a few days, I adjust my target, perhaps to 100 or 250 messages. Then my expectations for the amount of time I’ll need to go through my inbox are more realistic - monotasking my inbox is definitely a thing!
Organize and Categorize: Use Folders & Filters. I have a lot of folders in my Gmail where I put messages after I’ve read or responded to them. I also set up filters to automatically file emails that I don’t need to read but still want to keep. It’s worth it to take the time to set these folders and filters up on a regular basis and maintain them, the time you will save later sorting and deleting messages is significant.
Unsubscribe Away: If your inbox overflows with promotional emails from brands and organizations, consider unsubscribing. If you constantly find yourself deleting emails from a company, it might be time to unsubscribe. Pro Tip: An easy way to find these types of emails is to search your inbox for “unsubscribe.” Then review which senders you’d like to continue to hear from and unsubscribe from the others.There are a number of services that will help you find and unsubscribe as well. Look at Unroll.me and Mailstrom.co.
Diversionary Tactics: Everyone wants your email address these days whether it’s to enter a contest, get on the wifi at a restaurant, or when you place an online order. Give out a real email address that you’ve set up only for “junk mail.” This way you can give away that email address as much as you want.
Delete Delete Delete: Do you really need that email? Are you ever going to look at it again? Though you may want to keep all the emails your boss sends you, emails from co-workers that discuss lunch options can be safely deleted. Mass delete a bunch of spam emails you know you will never need to read. In general, if it more than 6 months old and you haven’t read it, and it does not qualify for cataloging in a folder - delete it!
There are entire blogs, podcasts, and articles dedicated to managing your inbox, these are just a few tips to help you manage your email to the point where you can monotask the rest of your life instead of always multitasking with email!