How To Manage The Overwhelm Of The Email Inbox

1. Hire An Assistant

Managing Email Tip: I have yet to figure out a way to manage email myself. When I try, it is so distracting that I spend 10 times more energy on it that I planned. So I have an assistant who manages my email for me. It has made a BIG difference!

Thanks to: Mike Michalowicz of Obsidian Launch.

2. Scan. File. Respond.

Managing Email Tip: The first thing I do is quickly scan and delete any spam. Next, I file into 3 folders I have set up in my email: ASAP, By 5pm, and This Week. I can immediately sort out the emails that are most important and need my immediate attention, have a list of those I need to get back to before the end of the day, and a system to handle email that isn't urgent but still needs my attention.

Thanks to: Michelle Lynch of Babes at Work.

3. Out of sight, Out of mind

Managing Email Tip: I deal with distracting emails by setting up a few different email addresses. One for the forwards. One for the sales people and vendors. One for friends and family and one for the needy clients who need a little extra TLC. When I notice that my main inbox has become assaulted I send a note to the offender letting them know I have changed my address. The mail literally becomes out of sight out of mind until I decide it's time to review it, leaving me time for the important stuff.

Thanks to: Kelly Chesney.

4. Use Separate E-mail Addresses

Managing Email Tip: I recently launched a new Website / branding for my business with a new domain name (risky but true!)

I had used my previous domain for all of my e-mail.

I left it that way, and only use my new e-mail address for clients and selected business correspondence. All of my list sign-ups, Facebook and LinkedIn notifications etc. go to my old address (which also gets a ton of spam!)

So when I check my new e-mail I know that all the messages are legitimate, and things I need to read.

Thanks to: Philippa Gamse of Total 'Net Value, Inc..

5. Best Way To Deal With Email...

Managing Email Tip: I use 4 Folders.

Once a day - I go to my InBox - and read the emails & I either:
a) Reply
b) Delete
c) or pull each email into one of these folders:
- End of Day
- End Of Week
- Print
- Casual Reading

Then I deal with the folders this way: At the End of the Day I deal with all emails in EOD, and on Thurs & Friday I start dealing with the end of week folder. Once a quarter I'll go over all the Casual Reading ones and either deal with or delete them all.

Thanks to: Cameron Herold of BackPocket COO.

6. Take Control of Your Inbox

Managing Email Tip: I have set my emails to only send (but not receive) unless I specifically hit the “send/receive” button (which I only do at the start of each work period). This prevents me from even seeing the emails that are consistently coming in and have an “end in sight.” I also set up a separate “personal” email account to be used for non-work emails. I can check this email account as desired without worrying that I will get sucked into working during non hours.

Thanks to: Heather Ledeboer of Mom 4 Life, LLC.

7. Size Matters

Managing Email Tip: Since the chances of your email communication being received on a mobile device is very high, keeping it short makes it as easy as possible for the end user to view the content and hopefully to act on it. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't fit the email on a blackberry or iphone screen, it's too long.

Thanks to: Jordan Gottlieb of Go Green Fundraising.

8. Sorting your email by priority

Managing Email Tip: I use a "rule" to auto sort my email. It automatically puts "friends" emails in a separate folder so I can focus on business first. Once I'm through answering and filing away business email, I then go through friend emails. As a rule, I auto delete jokes, chain emails, etc. I just don't have the time. I find that unless something is related to business, or is a friend trying to make plans or just touch base, I really streamline my communication to keep me most productive.

Thanks to: Marci Geller of Sonic Underground.

9. Rules Rule-Filter to SMS

Managing Email Tip:

SMS is key to staying in touch with customers.
Filtering important emails from the 'noise' is no big deal, we use sms along with filters to make sure we don't miss important emails. We create rules based on either a template or a subject, then make sure emails based on those rules get texted to us. We never miss important emails.

I heart technology.

Thanks to: Cindi Schultz of Foothold Services.

10. Inbox Zero

Managing Email Tip: Religiously practice (and achieve) "Inbox Zero". The number one mistake most people make is to use their Inbox as a storage area. Treat your Inbox as if it were the landing strip of an aircraft carrier and you are the Air Traffic Controller. Get your planes off the deck quickly. You're much more likely to see and act on an important email if you can see if as it comes in. Maintain a label or folder called "Queue" for email that is waiting to be acted on. Move all to Queue and attack it in chunks

Thanks to: Adam Boettiger of Adam Boettiger.

11. Lost Among the Spam

Managing Email Tip: Disable your spam filter. You're going to have to go through the contents of your spamcatcher anyhow to make sure nothing good got caught in there. So if you have to deal with the spam sooner or later, you might as well deal with it sooner and make sure that you see on a very timely basis anything good/important. It takes only a second to click delete. Save yourself grief and disable your spam filter.

Thanks to: Cynthia MacGregor of Freelance writer/editor.

12. Don't sort - separate!

Managing Email Tip: I never give my company email address to friends or family, instead I set up a separate personal Yahoo account. And I never EVER use work email to register, subscribe or sign up online; I use another separate ‘junk’ Yahoo account. I only give my work email to clients, prospects and key networking contacts, so almost everything that comes into my inbox is relevant and actionable. I check the other accounts when I have time to sift through chain letters, joke forwards and promotional offers!

Thanks to: Sheila Sheley of Sheley Marketing.

13. Filters and Folders

Managing Email Tip: Absolute survival mechanism regardless of what email program or service you use: set up folders for each mailing list you're on, each organization you're involved with, your parents, etc., then establish filters so that the appropriate messages are automatically dropped into the correct folder. That way, everything that's left in your inbox is the good stuff!

Thanks to: Dave Taylor of Ask Dave Taylor.

14. No sun-set on email!

Managing Email Tip: Never go to bed with untouched email.

Before your work-day is out, clean out your in-box: save attachments that you will need in the future on your hard-drive, file your emails in appropriate folders, flag them for follow-up and delete all junk.

A cluttered in-box will drive you nuts and make you lose important information.

Thanks to: Eleonore Pieper of Olicana Enterprises Inc.

15. Creating a special mailbox

Managing Email Tip: About 8 years ago I created an address I use for all of my online transactions & newsletters. When I order anything online, sign up for any kind of sale or airfare notifications or even join a mailing list, I always use this address. I get virtually no junk mail in my business or personal inboxes. I know those inboxes get only the mail I really want & need to read. The other one catches all the spam, advertising, order & shipping confirmations, etc.

Thanks to: Pam Corwin of Paper Scissors Rock.

16. Gmail Secret Powers. . .

Managing Email Tip: There's a secret unpublished feature of Gmail that allows you to become king of the inbox. You can use different variations of your gmail address by inserting a "." in between any of the letters in your user id (i.e. FirstLas.t@gmail.com). Now, you can use First.Last@gmail.com for business; FirstLas.t@gmail.com for family; F.irstLast@gmail.com for email lists, membership sites, contests, etc. Next set-up filters within Gmail to sort each into different folders. Peace at last with your inbox!

Thanks to: Kenny Jahng of Big Click Syndicate LLC.

17. Expedite Emails

Managing Email Tip: One tip I'd offer to reduce email traffic and make sure you get to answering the important ones and that they are received properly is by picking up the phone and calling the appropriate person! This is a bit old-fashioned, but its incredibly efficient because you don't have to wait for them to delay on replying. You get the message through quickly and effectively.

Thanks to: Danny Wong of Custom Dress Shirts | Blank Label.

18. Direct Your E-mail Traffic

Managing Email Tip: To avoid missing important e-mails, don't let the unimportant ones land in your in-box. All e-zines, newsletters etc. should go directly to file folders that have specific record retention guidelines. Use the Rules feature in Outlook, to by-pass the in-box and put incoming e-mail in a specific folder. Once your in-box is divested of these FYIs, the important e-mails will simply standout due to the lack of clutter and chaos.

Thanks to: Ann Michael Henry of Mise En Place.

19. Identify Your Action Items

Managing Email Tip: Separate action items from general emails that are not as time-sensitive so you can focus your attention on the items that matter most.

Thanks to: Gerard den Hertog of Caelo Software.

20. Multiple Personalities Rule

Managing Email Tip: I find it easier to manage the different facets of my life, business, personal, social, etc. with multiple email accounts. I currently have 9 accounts on my Blackberry. I check emails in order of priority by clicking a specific account. This technique saves valuable time that I would spend "sifting". Just remember to use the unique email "personality" when giving an email address. In this manner, you can decide the email category you want different types of information to be "assigned" to.

Thanks to: Ginger MacCutcheon of Ginger Pet House.

21. The Golden Rule of Email

Managing Email Tip: My favorite tip to keep email under control:
Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you!
I don’t send jokes, spam, etc. to people at work. And I am very clear, concise and direct with my subject line so when they are scanning their email they know exactly what I need/want and when. I also follow up when needed with another email or better yet a phone call. Practice what you preach when it comes to email.

Thanks to: Stacey Anderson of Organized Innovations, LLC.

22. Kick Your Email Checking Habit

Managing Email Tip: The first step for anyone struggling with e-mail overwhelm is to implement the Stop Checking/Start Processing e-mail strategy. Checking e-mail constantly is an addiction not a habit of efficiency. But reviewing and processing your e-mail just a few times a day will actually allow you to get more work done with fewer interruptions. It will also ensure that important messages are never lost in the crazed shuffle of the constant e-mail checker!

Thanks to: Julie Gray of Profound Impact Organizing.

23. To weed or not to weed?

Managing Email Tip: My daily ritual of weeding out emails is to immediately delete the screaming junk mail from things like online pharmaceuticals, and then glance at the friends and family ones just to stay updated. I keep the ones that require responses marked as unread. Next I go through every business email and answer each one in order of urgency. At the end of the day I return to emails from earlier. I make it a point to return all relevant client or customer emails within a business day.

Thanks to: Sandy Abrams of Moisture Jamzz.

24. Color is just like a Porsch...

Managing Email Tip: There is no substitute! To organize important email, use Outlook 2003 to color-code message headers.

At the Inbox: Select the message/sender to color-code
Choose: Tools, Organize, click on the Color option
Set the coding for 'from' or 'to'
Choose your color from the drop down menu
Click: Apply Color

Now the Inbox message/sender appears with your color subject header.

Pay no attention to the pre-assigned categories. Use the colors you like for your email management categories.

Thanks to: Eve Abbott of Organizer Extraordinaire.

25. Reduce Email by 99%

Managing Email Tip: The best way to manage email is to get somebody to read it for you. If something is important, and can't be responded to by another person, it gets forwarded to you. This also takes care of spam and mailing list overload.

If you don't already have somebody on staff to handle this, go to http://www.odesk.com/ or http://www.elance.com/ to find somebody.

Thanks to: David Hooper of Music Marketing [dot] com.

26. Avoid The Email Vortex!

Managing Email Tip: Get proactive with email and time-block one hour each day, in four increments of 15 minutes, to write and respond to email.

Thanks to: Mike Faber of Faber Communications LLC.

27. Don't Get Buried In Emails

Managing Email Tip: Set a schedule to check your mailbox preferably 2 or 3 times a day at max. The best time to answer emails is after lunch or before you go home. This will free up your mornings to get to your important tasks. You can easily set up labels for your clients, employees, vendors etc. This is a shortcut to prioritizing emails that you will like to answer first. Make sure to set up an auto reply for all your messages if you are working on a deadline or if you are out of town.

Thanks to: Malini Hoover of iaam.com.

28. "sacrificial" address

Managing Email Tip: My "sacrificial" gmail address is a personal address that I use to sign up for offers and participate in seminars, political petitions and community groups (places SPAMMERS lurk). Business addresses are seperate and strictly business. The sacrificial address sometimes gets 100 SPAMS a day and my other addresses stay clear.

Thanks to: becky kemery of YURTS: Living in the Round.

29. Flag 4 Followup

Managing Email Tip: You know it's best to deal with important things right away, but some incoming e-mails can wait until you have the resources to address them properly. So just "flag" them. Yes, put a little flag icon on one or more e-mails and leave them sitting in your "In Box" until you can get to each.

How do you do that? When the incoming e-mail is open, look for the red flag icon or the word "flag" on your menu bar, press it and close the e-mail.

Thanks to: Suzanne Fulton of Soarings, LLC.

30. Automate, Mate.

Managing Email Tip: Okay, gmail is not only free it's a godsend for those of us who can receive 500-1500 emails a day. My friends at Good Morning America can get up to 1500 emails every three hours. What I do is I tag all my client incoming emails to bypass the inbox and go straight to their "labels" (gmail for folders). I also automatically code obvious things like "newsletters" or "spam" with the "newsletter" and "spam" labels/folders so I can read those later. My staff knows to put URGENT ASAP items. It works!

Thanks to: Michelle Tennant Nicholson of Wasabi Publicity, Inc..

Compiled by Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

http://www.entrepreneurinamking.com Devesh

Let me add a couple of tips to this wonderful list…

1. Pick up the phone: Sometimes, its just so much easier to pick up the phone and call the person instead of emailing back and forth…

2. Send fewer emails: Understand the fact that the more you give, the more you’ll receive (after-all most of those emails that you sent are going to be replied back to you) so, sending FEWER (read useful and necessary) emails overall will help…

http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com Mike Michalowicz

@Devesh – Thank you… YES… pick up the phone. Thank you, thank you, thank for saying that!

@Matthew – Thank you, sir!

- Mike

Matthew

These are all helpful ways to manage an inbox and I agree 100 percent.
http://www.BackPocketCOO.com Cameron Herold

I’ve also just started using http://www.tungle.com to book appointments – it’s saved a ton of back and forth emails trying to find open times too…

http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com Mike Michalowicz

@Cameron – thanks for sharing that!!!!
@Pam & @Marci – my thanks to you for sharing the tip!

http://www.marcigeller.com Marci Geller

That’s for including my tip-some really great ideas here!
http://www.psrock.com Pam Corwin

Thanks for including my tip! It was interesting to see how other people handle this and and interesting how many people came up with the same techniques.
http://www.psrock.com Pam Corwin

And did I say I learned something, too? Prioritizing into folders every day is brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks, Mike.

http://www.ToiletPaperEntrepreneur.com Mike Michalowicz

@Pam – Thank you. I need to do that technique too. I have a pile up.

Pingback: Color-Coding Email: Save Time, Get more done and Stress less « organizer-extraordinaire.com
http://www.culturedconcepts.com David Lee

I second Inbox Zero. Fall in love with the delete button. Works wonders.
http://effective-life.com Luis

Good insights. I also wrote an article about the quick daily and weekly routines to help you deal with email overload. – http://effective-life.com/2010/03/19/quick-weekly-and-daily-routines-to-get-your-email-under-control/
http://www.shreddingdallas.com/ Dallas shredding

It is true that managing a bulk of emails on a regular basis can become overwhelming and there may come a time that you will lose important private files. Although you can print copies of personal or pertinent files, you might need to figure our a working system or have a backup file storage to be sure that all your files are safeguarded. Thanks for the tips! Hopefully, more online visitors will come across your helpful contributions and inspire them as well.

Anonymous

I really appreciate that. Thanks.