If you feel like your email inbox controls you, then you can probably relate to this. I was in San Diego last week speaking at an event, and I happened to be sitting beside a friend of mine who’s a major name in the speaking industry. One of the all-time best selling authors who has always been so good to me. I won’t use names to protect the innocent (guilty?) but I almost fell out of my chair when they opened their email at the back of the room. That picture you see here isn’t a stock photo or an exaggerated example of an “Inbox Gone Bad”. That’s the actual photo I took on my iPhone, because I was so horrified at what I saw! And just in case you can’t read it, what it says is that this person’s inbox has 15,550 emails in it .. ! This is a highly successful speaker and trainer, and yet this is what their inbox looks like. And it’s even worse than it looks, because the 15,550 emails are only the UNREAD emails in the inbox .. that doesn’t include all the ones that have been read and are sitting there too! Ay carumba. I don’t know if yours is THIS bad (and I hope for your sake it’s not) but I see this incredible mistake being made by a lot of entrepreneurs. So I want to share a few ideas on how you can FIX your email problem and actually dream of an EMPTY inbox (because it’s possible!) Here’s how.
It’s Called An “Inbox” And Not A “Storage Box” For Reason
There are a lot of productivity and “use your email better” programs and ideas out there, but I like to do what works and is simple. Absolutely without question, the single biggest mistake that people make with their email is that they use their Inbox as a place to store their emails. They try to manage their email by reading all the new ones (and then they switch from bold to normal text), and then just let them collect and gather. Over time, you get the result of what you see in that picture. So here is ..Email Rule #1:
Once you’ve dealt with an email, you MOVE it out of your inbox immediately.
If you don’t do this, your emails will quickly gather, and suddenly you’ll feel overwhelmed. Imagine what it feels like every day, to open your computer, fire up your email program, and be faced with the reality that you have 15,550 unread emails (with more coming in all the time!) You’re already defeated, and you haven’t even started your day! This is a HUGE psychological killer for you. It’s very similar to having a desk with crap piled all over the place. It’s absolutely true that a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind — and it’s equally true that a cluttered inbox is a cluttered mind too. OK great.. but where do you move the emails to? I created a folder in my Inbox called “Filed“. And then when I get an email that I need to keep (I don’t want to delete forever) I simply move it to Filed. That’s it. So for example, I get an email from my assistant. I reply. I then move her email to Filed and it’s done. I can still find it easily if I need it, but it’s not accumulating in my inbox. I use Outlook, so I created a simple “QuickButton” at the top of my Outlook (basically a macro) that allows me to file that email in one click. Now, all of my emails I want to keep (but don’t need to see every time I open my Outlook) are safely tucked away .. out of my view. Biggest problem .. SOLVED! I process a lot of emails, but I almost NEVER have more than 10 emails in my inbox. And it’s not because I don’t get a lot of emails, but it’s because I know how to process them quickly. I don’t let them fester and reproduce like rabbits in my Inbox. And this “Filed” idea is a killer. I actually have FUN trying to keep my inbox empty. Now, let me share with you an even MORE important rule that will actually make managing your inbox a lot easier. Basically, it comes down to reducing the number of emails that you in your inbox to begin with!Email Rule #2:
Use “Rules” And “Filters” to move non-important emails into a separate folder that you review when you have time.
Virtually every email client (from Outlook to Entourage to Gmail and everything else) has the ability to sort your incoming emails based on simple “rules” that you set up. For example, you could create a rule that says anytime you receive an email from a specific email address, or even a domain name (such as @microsoft.com), your email client automatically moves that email OUT of your inbox, and into another folder. I’ve created a few folders, such as “Marketing Lists” and “Admin Updates“. Whenever I subscribe to an email newsletter or marketing list that I have an interest in, I create a rule that tells Outlook to move any of those emails into the Marketing List folder. If I get an update email from our hosting company or merchant company, it drops automatically into the Admin Updates folder. This keeps my inbox free of all the clutter that happens when you start subscribing to free email lists. I can then go and scan those other folders when I have time – when I CHOOSE to – instead of feeling like I have to read them because they’re in my Inbox. The truth is, 90% of those emails I NEVER read. I just scan through that folder and delete the ones I’m not interested in, and only read those that I want to read. If I delete an email from a specific list several times in a row, I just unsubscribe to that list. The point is, I tuck those emails out of my sight because they are NOT important. I keep my Inbox clear for the important and urgent emails that I really need to deal with, instead of getting completely distracted by a bunch of marketing and administrative emails that aren’t important at all. I can’t tell how powerful these 2 little tricks alone have been to reducing my Inbox Overwhelm. If you like this post and you want some more clever tricks on how to win the Email War, post a comment below and tell me what you think! I have a couple of great strategies to share that I’ve never heard anywhere else if you’re interested. Let me know if you’d like to hear about them! 🙂]]>
102 Responses
Great Post! I read an article a year ago about inbox zero and now I keep my inbox between 20-30 emails (could be better I know!) I use Gmail and my best trick is the enable the labs feature which gives you a 'send and archive' button. It really helps emptying that inbox, as well as saving hours of time!
As always, a great post which I will be reposting to Facebook right now.
I am the same way with email (although my inbox usually has 15 emails in it at any given time rather than 10 … and so now I have a goal. 🙂
One other trick that has worked well for me:
* If I can answer in 1 minute or less, I answer immediately and then I get to check this email off the list. (I've also trained people to write to me with questions that can be answered in 60 seconds rather than long rambling emails.)
Love your idea of a "filed" folder. I've just been deleting, but using a folder is a much better idea.
Thanks so much, Greg! Good stuff!
🙂 Dana
i would like to hear your other tips-these were timely'!
Because I am Mobile Me on a Mac, I can move e-mails directly to folders on my desktop. Before, I used individual folders for each subject within the e-mail program. but my biggest issue is too many e-mail addresses. I had created an e-mail address for each subject of interest.
I am debating whether to consolidate to just 3 addresses – the mobile me address; a gmail address; and an address to use for purchasing, facebook etc.
I have most of my email addresses all forward to one acct so I'm not having to check multiple mailboxes. Then have it set up that I can choose the 'reply' address that my email comes from so that I can respond from the appropriate acct.
Have you tried Google's priority inbox? That alone is a great tool. It does what you said about filing automatically.
Gmail is an AWESOME tool. Crazy useful. I'm just used to Outlook so haven't made the jump but may at some point. Gmail is changing the way email is done. So for anyone trying to decide which email program to use if you're looking to switch, absolutely go to Gmail. It's free and has the best tools built into it of any email program, including Outlook or anything else. Thanks Jay.
I presently have 404 emails in my inbox and I do not like this. I already have a folder called correspondence to keep and I do try to read what is important and then file it. I will now put unimportant unread ones into a folder to wait until I have time to feel like looking at them. I will get them down to a proper size.
Well, I figured it would be worth a try So I looked at "specific email address, or even a domain name (such as @microsoft.com), " on the Create Rule and the closest I could find was "with specified words in the senders address" Hope it works
That should do the trick Cher!
I do use the rules technique but yes I have 6000. On inbox.
Do you have more tips ?
Be ruthless! Delete any of the information / marketing / newsletter emails. If you haven't read them by now you never will. Then go through and file all the emails you've responded to that you don't need in your inbox – assuming you want to keep a copy of them. Otherwise just delete them completely. Just like when you gain 20 pounds you can't drop it overnight – when you let your email build up it takes time to deal with it. But once you do and keep the systems in place you never have to get back there again.
Be ruthless is right. My last day at work last Friday and I had over 4000 emails in my inbox. I decided that if an email had been sitting there for longer than three months, then it had to go. I did a quick scan and filed by subject and deleted the rest. Down to 10 in my inbox now and it feels great. If you delete something important, it will always find it's way back to you.
Interesting post. I use Gmail and it has an 'archive' function, but I don't fully use it. I may use that instead of your filed concept, but the net result should be the same. Less clutter in my inbox. Thanks for the tips.
Yup, that's the way to do it in Gmail. And because of the massive disk space they give you for free, it will take a LONG time to fill it up even if you keep all of your emails.
Great ideas, Greg!
Over the years, I've developed a similar but slightly more elaborate system, with some additional philosophies, which work for me:
1. I only keep emails in my INBOX which require some action from me – and generally I try to keep numbers in the 30-40 range.
2. I always acknowledge emails out of courtesy (which also moves it into the SENT folder). Once acknowledged, I delete the original email, unless it requires some action from me.
4. My SENT folder only keeps emails which involve something to be done by the initiator. Other emails are either filed or deleted daily (first thing in the morning).
5. I only keep the latest version of a thread of emails (this reduces saved volumes significantly).
6. I maintain specific groups of folders for each category of email. e.g. Service A has Marketing and Client folders, and the Client folder has a separate folder for each client. Filing and retrieval is fast and easy.
7. I maintain a different email for e-news and related messages, so my INBOX only contains relatively important/urgent messages.
Live a wonderful day
Nick Arden
Vancouver
Am working to reduce email folder – iNBOX. SOME 5000 UNREAD EMAILS LEFT IN THERE,ALONG WITH THE READ EMAILS. THEN THERE WERE 7000 EMAILS IN THE UNREAD FOLDER. There were 8,000 in the deleted file. Normally, file emails in folders in the PST folders under Clients, Purchases, Credit Cards, Accts Payable and many other (File Folders). Not sure how the unread file gets to exceed the number of emails in the Inbox. Became aware of the large number of emails in the System when my computer was slowing down due to the size of these folders. Even trying to delete the files was time consuming. Question – Are the filed emails out of the system that I had overpopulated? When looking at the unread folders, they could be deleted with dispatch. They could not be moved enmasse to one of the File Folders. They had to be opened first to be removed from the Unread Folder. Finding this email today was a stroke of genius or just plainly fortunate. As I was clearing emails by deletion I was aware that I might be destroying useful info. What is the best way To keep the info in an easily accessible format. Thanks for your help.
Hope the admins will use my dilemma for the good of the masses. Tom
Hey Tom – I simply "archive" my emails every month, going back 90 days typically. That takes the old emails out of the main file and packs it down into the archive. Takes a bit of disk space up but worth it for me. That way it keeps my .pst file down to a manageable size, but doesn't lose any of the email history. At some point you can delete emails older than a certain period (like maybe 6 months). But given how cheap hard drive space is now, I prefer to archive for a long time just in case there's an email I need to pull up down the road.
Hey Greg — I like these ideas, and would like to hear those “secret” ones, too — thanks in advance!
Google also offers a service which can remove an email from the server once it leaves in box. If you use a forwarding service you can forward certain emails to your group email without delay. It will appear as a message from you or one of your organizations. Highly productive and get content redistribution down to a milliseconds. You can share a series of emails, videos, and pictures. One person takes them and ten people redistribute. It’s same concept as using a local server to repost to avoid buying to many servers.
I have a source folder, a redistribution list, and a response folder. I filter my mail through 2 servers prior to getting to me so a lot of tracer, and tracker emails do not get to my pc. I simply use primary free account and pay a small fee for forwarding (less than 1.00 a month).
My emails automatically go into folder as a copy.
Thanks for the tips. Would like to have your additional thoughts!
Thank you, Greg! Great post! Handy, easy & simple to use.
I have been using the 2 rules that you mentioned for the past 5 months or so and it definitely DOES save you from the inbox overwhelm!
I use Gmail account and there is one (I am aware of) little trick (STAR) that I also befriended myself with! 🙂 When I get an email that I want to keep AND come back to in a day or 2 or so, I simply "stick" the star to it and leave it like this there. In that way, every time I flick on my account, those bright shining stars remind me of the emails I WANT to reply TODAY!
Thank you again for the article! And yes, please, any more great strategies are also welcomed! (-:
Best,
Lucie
PS I've been "following" you for some time now and I enjoy reading your posts! Thank you for all the insights!!
hey thanks for this great tips Greg!! i'm gonna use your advise.:)
Great suggestions Greg… I'm going to implement these right away… This will help a TON
Great post, Greg. That's gotta be M.S, right?
Hey Geoff — you mean Microsoft right? 🙂 Yes, it was MS, pretty funny.
Hi Greg,
I admit that I WAS one of those people who had close to 15,000 emails in my inbox, with a couple thousand of them unread. I was concerned and took action ~ 2-3 hours at a time doing 3 things: 1) starting with oldest page, so that I see 50 at a glance, I 'checked all' and then 2) unchecked any that I still wanted to deal with or keep, and I opened any that were still unread, regularly emptied trash, then 3) created specific named folders and went through everything again to file them into the specific folders except for ones that still needed my attention.
I also unsubscribe from free email lists and keep only ones (LIKE YOURS!!) that I do read. I feel very inspired when I see someone's inbox with only 4 – 7 emails in the inbox. It is possible to take control!!
Thanks again Greg, and now do I qualify to hear more great strategies?? I'm ready! Best wishes to you and your family ~ Lynn
Hi Lynn, thanks for the comments and yes – I am planning to share some other strategies since this does seem to be a hot topic (as I thought it would be!) Thanks again!
Can I delete almost all of them at once–without deleting one by one?
Hi Mollie: It really depends on your email client but I don't know of one that doesn't allow you to delete multiple emails at a time. In Outlook you simply holding down the Control key and click the emails you want to delete, and it should highlight all the ones you click. Then simply hit Delete. In Gmail and many online (webmail) email clients, there is usually a check box beside each email. You check off the ones you want to delete, and then hit the Delete button at the top or the bottom of the column.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for these ideas. I would like to hear more. I do get overwhelmed sometimes with the amount of emails in my inbox.
Thank you! Your tips are very helpful, and I would love to hear more.
Thanks Greg
It’s like you read my mind! I have just arrived back in Australia after the same event (I was sitting at lunch with you and Orrin the chess guy, remember?) – and in amongst all the unpacking and jetlag I have been thinking I finally have to get this email overload thing sorted. Then in came your email 🙂
I like your simple yet powerful suggestions and moreso the ‘permission’ not to feel they have to all be read!!
Looking foward to more tips – any welcome!
Thanks again for your great presentation and advice in San Diego.
Merry Christmas
Amanda
Hello Greg,
Thank you for all the useful info. Looking forward for more of your insightful ideas!
Alan
I like your advice, Greg. For emails containing important information, I save them in regular file folders outside of the email program, then file them within the email program as you suggested above. I also blind copy to myself, my replies. These habits will generate more traffic, but using your ideas, the extra is manageable, and the information is backed up. Your way is cleaner though.
Hi Greg,
You have great timing. I”m down with a flu bug, getting readiy for vacation and concerned about being well enough to fly and I open my email to check on a project I’m working on and any flight updates -there’s your email. I have more than 8,000 unread emails and have been very overwhelmed lately. Time for some changes.
Thank you,
Lynda
How about a suggest to help the people around you? I was trained years ago that the first line of every email should tell the reader what they are expected to do in response. Examples: "This is a request to set up a meeting on the topic of …." or "This is a request for your comments on the attached …" or "I am sharing this just to keep you updated – no action required on your part"
This way your recipients can process your emails much faster, and decide quickly whether they need to read the whole thing now or to leave it for a quiet work time.
Very good idea – however, I have folders for specific emails but still have a 4-figure inbox of emails. Some I know are not critical but some are and I just do not have the time to read and process everyone.
Rhoda
Hi Greg,
Really great stuff, I hate having 100s unread mail, and your bit about unsubscribing to new letters that you continue to delete is fantastic, that has kept my in box disorganized for a long time,
look forward to more of your great strategies
Sheriff
Thanks for the tips! I would also love to get these more. I don't feel getting overwhelmed with the amount of e-mails in my inbox. I just photo read them and read the ones I need or I am interested in. The important ones I file. After about a month, if they are still unopened in my inbox I just photo read the headlines and senders and then delete all those I don’t seem to need.
Your system might be better at least when I'll start my business and that for I have already opened a new email address. In the end I want to thank you Greg also for your presentation in San Diego. I was there with you from the comfort of my home.
Relevant post to me, Greg, as I get loads of emails.
I use the GTD (Get Things Done) filing structure. My emails are set up with the following folders: Inbox; Projects (under which are listed sub-folders for long-term projects and relevant emails are fed straight into those); Reference (for things I may want to look at to answer specific queries later – such as software information); Waitiing (for things I've sent out and am waiting a response back for).
Things that are 'immediate next actions' are left in the inbox – there are only a few of those at any one time.
Everything else gets deleted. I also thinks it's important to do an occasional purge on newsletters after receiving them for a while with the question 'how much value does this newsletter provide me with?'.
Regards – Carl
Great article, and so important, to reduce the time spent looking through email that "doesn't matter." I also have on my email a SPAM box that our system automatically drops emails into, which is a huge timesaver. Because I have four email accounts to check for the different areas of my job I also apply the principles you mention. Just imagine what I'd be doing all day if I didn't have this system!
As a Professional Organizer, I couldn't agree more! For some people, the thought of opening their email is such a daunting task – they hate it – even though they have to. By teaching the above strategies (and more), people begin to see that they actually do have control of what to read, where to file emails, etc. This allows their shoulders to sit where they need to instead of being parallel to their ears!
Great Post Greg! I have been doing this for years. Some email providers will not allow Outlook or Mac Mail to download unless it is a paid premium account. I tried hotmail with my wife's account and Outlook wouldn't download them. As a result she has to go to the web. The same theory works for downloading files, reports, mp3's etc. I download to desktop all the time and then file in folders from there. Windows and Mac use pre-defaults for documents and that is great except the same thing happens there unless one creates information-like folders for quick recall. Photographs are another killer of time if you take a lot of photographs. Allocate them to family, business, scenery, art etc folders. It helps for backup and sharing and general recall.
Hi guys, I would like to share another tip. Both tips above are wonderful, amazing. I too answer around 100 to 150 emails per day, and it's been an year where I've struggled around tools. I would like to share another tool that works great for me: sort out the emails by "From" and you'll get all emails you got from Mr John Doe one under the other. So, if he sent you 5 different emails in 3 different days, you'll be able with a SINGLE reply sort all that he wants. And you know Mr John Doe is served 🙂 Works great. All the best from Brazil!
My recommendations:
1. Think of email as a STREAM, not a POND.
2. Only check email once or twice a day.
3. Delete messages containing passwords ASAP. (I recommend KeePass, a free tool.)
4. Treat email the same way that you treat voicemail — Delete it!
When it comes to auto-responder email (such as from you, Greg), my goal is to read it and then delete it. I know that you like decisiveness, and I believe that this daily practice of deleting as soon as possible is excellent for building decisiveness.
I also encourage everyone to search for "email bankruptcy" on the Web. You can practice this without telling anyone, but then you have to go through each old message. Your choice.
Greg,
Thanks for the great tips! Keep them coming.
Happy holidays.
Chris
This is such perfect timing and advice so simple and effective – much appreciated! I am quite organised with inbox however this has taken it to a new level – especially re creating a rule to automatically file things – fabulous – – thank you!
Greg, I LOVE you! Honestly I've got to say that my inbox is quite overwhelming and a big part of my daily stress. I too have tried to win the "keep the inbox empty game" and if I get it to below 50 I'm happy but I rarely, if ever, can do it. Thanks for these very helpful tips and I plan to pass them on to my community at http://www.actoutsidethebox.com. You're the best, Lisa Gold
I star my personel mail that way I dont loose messages in the mist I also start by hitting the delete all and then go down the list until I see stars LOL
I get 300 a day and I am not working I only get 2-3 I want or am waiting for
I tried changing my email address but that did not work
I spent hours one day going to individual emails and requesating that I get taken off their list..That did not work
I even tried moving this emails to spam that did not work
There is no privacy with email I have now diccovered
I was excited when I got your email but like everything else THAT DID NOT WORK
Theresa S
I feel a little silly. Being a great organizer, I never got around to exploring the possibilities of my mailbox, enabling a better time tally throughout my day. Thanks for the initiation!
Out of the 1735 unread emails in my inbox when I opened it, I picked this as the first one to read, and I'm glad I made the right choice!! Thanks for sharing these tips Greg! 🙂
Thanks for the reminder! I have about 100 that I haven’t had time to read! I think it would help if I figure out how to use the ‘Rules’ and ‘Filters’….and all the other good tricks you know!
I love your knowledge and hearing all your tips!
Have a JOYFUL, LOVING Holiday!!
Great topic and advice. Keep up the good work — and any GMAIL tips will be a personal bonus for me!
HI Greg, great post which is sure to help many people. What was going on with your friend was a typical situation for me. Thousands of emails piling up with no time for me to read them.
Here is what i did almost a year ago to the day:
1. Did a quick 5 minute scan of my inbox which had almost 5,000 unread emails. Any emails which were considered useful, i moved into a filed folder. As for the other 4,950 or so, i did what many people may be afraid to do–>i selected all of them and hit the "DELETE" button. It took a few seconds, but VOILA, no more emails.
And no, i don't regret it one bit! The overwhelm was gone for good!
2. My assistant set up the rules you were speaking about so that emails i get from an opted in provider go to a separate folder.
3. I changed my email address–>since i was receiving so much spam, i sent an email out to anyone i considered important to let them know of the address change. This eliminated at least 40-50 emails a day.
4. Lastly, i opted out of 10 lists where i was receiving email but not reading them. Doing this forces you to consider who is valuable enough to receive information from. If you have not read those emails yet, you probably are not going to, so just opt out!!
A year later, i am happy to say that the email overwhelm issue is a thing of the past. I too may have 5-10 emails sitting in my inbox for any given week.
Lots less spam and useless emails i will never read.
Thanks for picking this topic.
Jay
Greg, Since I seem to keep 1000-5000 emails in my Inbox, these are killer suggestions. I'll implement them NOW. Thanks…and please share your other tricks and tips about email.
Hey Ann! Great to hear from you. Glad to see the momentum and your site looks good! Hope all is well!
This post came at exactly the right moment – thank you for the great ideas. Yes, I would also like to hear about other strategies to help with this very real problem. it would certainly make a very big difference to my day to get those relentless emails under control!
Thanks again, Margret
I am going to do this. Thank YOU!
As a bit of a clutter bug, I have trouble deleting things that 'might be useful someday'. The things that help deal with it include the Rules feature, which I use to remove new items from the server rather than deleting in email. Also I include both the email address of the sender and, when you click that, add the key words that need to be monitored, as spam email addresses are constantly changing but their key words stay the same. It is worth taking the time to add rules each day rather than getting frustrated with the deluge of spam. I'm also watching what I subscribe to more closely, as that's where the spammers probably get my address from in the first place.
To deal with the backlog, I use the Find feature to target particular senders that I'd like to keep in folders. That takes care of the wanted material and leaves a smaller number of items that need to be examined individually.
12,000 and counting down,
Angus.
Great ideas, thank-you! Another is to have a Pending File in which to put anything one feels is valuable, would like to deal with, but not right now. Most of those are never addressed and the File is simply visited occasionally and all months' messages, except the last couple, deleted.
Greg,
great insight. I have used the "Filed" folder for the past few years and as you – really enjoy getting the emails out of my inbox. I will often take an hour on Friday afternoon to clear out all email in my inbox……it feels great to know that the next time I want to tackle email I will be starting from scratch.
I also break out my business and personal emails in to separate file folders – it is just one more layer of organization I have found helpful.
Gold Greg, as always. I do have rules and a 'saved items' folder but have not stepped up to the 'filed' idea. Today that is what I'm going to do because I have emails stored from 2007. I do not have 15 thousand, but just some that should be 'filed'.
Thanks for the tips and your simplicity. I'm following close behind.
Hi Greg
Can you plse send us the additional e-mail inbox strategies.
Very good points in the article about taking control of your e-mail inbox; we have been using similar strategies for some time now; we only keep a few e-mails in our inbox during the day that we want to actually review that same day.
Regards
Bruce/Susan
Great Post Greg, glad your email made it into my 'INBOX' in the first place.
I have just set up the 'filed' folder and this has made a huge difference when I moved a bunch over.
I then looked at my 'Sent' file which also has (had) a large number of 'must keep' emails that do not have a specific folder. Through a quick overview analysis, I discovered that many were ongoing conversations that linked to those first 'INBOX' messages. So I then took the latest 'reply' message for each conversation and moved that into your "FILED' folder – then deleted ALL of the rest of the earlier iterations as each one had record of initial 'INBOX' email.
I have created a new protocol of moving these 'keepers' from SENT to FILED to have record of complete conversation. Thanks for sparking this clean-up. Keep up the great work.
Hey Don – yea, it's amazing that a lot of our email is the same conversation repeated over and over (because every thread of an email often has all the previous emails back and forth). Great thought, thanks for that and hope you're doing great!
Thank you. Great tipps. I already do number one BUT didn't know how to do number two. I will start with that tonight! Yes, i would love to hear this simple tipps. Please include photos from your screen to see where to click/how to do them. Thank you again for this contribution,
Sylvia
I've worked with the same principle as well for about a year now where I am ruthless with emails. I 've created about 20 folders for filing emails away. When a new category comes up I create a new folder 🙂
One thing I do differently Greg is once I respond to an email I delete it, as it will be forever in my sent folder. All i'll ever have to do is remember some hot keywords or the person I sent it too and I'll be able to find the email and content. When the sent folder gets too big it can be exported and saved on external devices for storage 🙂
Thanks Greg for these tips. I will incorporate them to fit my needs. And Yes, I would like some more clever tips on how to win the e-mail war.
I also wanted to say thank you for continuing to be “the wall” against which I have been throwing myself for the past several months. Last night and early this morning I wrote and wrote and finally saw the incongruency King descibed me as in the last two day session.
Upon seeing it, I made a choice which way I’m heading and can confidently proceed with interviewing my target audience now that I know who it is – people who are looking to be inspired by the original art they purchase and who can spend more than $10,000 on a piece. My work is large because that’s what I love doing and the price tag is merely what the art is worth, not my agenda for making money. All the other stuff about reproductions and teaching on line was my attempt to make money and that so DOESN’T inspire me.
I know I can confidently move forward now with the interviewing process because I am at last aligned with the elegance, sophistication and skill clearly evident in the art work I produce. This knowledge of who my audience is changes everything including my web site. I spoke with Lynne today about that and she feels a lot better now that we both know where we’re headed. She is teaching me how to tone down my “airy fairyness” and speak with deliberate communication – among other things.
Merry Christmas to you, Kourosh, your staff and familiies.
With deep respect,
Nan
Hi Nan,
That’s very exciting!
Spoken with such clarity too.
Have a great Christmas.
Vicki M
Nan,
I am an artist also. Painter. Would love to see your work. Please contact me. San Billings
I love to hear about the other strategies, this ones are so simple and at the same time so useful. Thanks for sharing them!
Greg,
Great info. Hope you get this. Always wondered what to do with all the e-mail.
Thanks
Bill
We just got back from vacation and had almost 1500 emails … talk about wanting to turn around and go back to Mexico!! I still had 580 left to deal with when I got to this message. Obviously the subject line got my attention!! I just set up a few rules (can’t believe I never used that before!!) and deleted a pile and I’m already at 100. I still have a little way to go to get to 10 but trust me that is BIG progress in under an hour. Thanks Greg. I have been slowly getting better at how I deal with email – especially what I will and won’t respond to – and with these tips I think I will soon be enjoying <20 maybe even <10 in my inbox at any one time!! A new goal for 2011 I think ... 🙂
Thank You Greg….We met last weekend in San Diego, actually had breakfast with you at the Discover Your Destiny. You told me about Gmail. And am going to switch from my shaw email to Gmail… Can you run through the steps how to transfer over…yes, I am new with the techno stuff….but COMMITTED to learning Fast. Thanks for the info. and look forward to getting all that you got to give….Thanks.
Shelley Tomelin
Nelson, B.C.
Thanks Greg, this is a timely post for me. Very helpful!
Thank you for your two suggestions. Yes I had over 1500 each in two different emails. Put in some rules and now organized to a point it is manageable. (300 in inbox and 50 unread) the rest filed. Will finish tomorrow. Thanks for the tips.
P.S. I found your other e-mails and will read them now I know they are there.
Scott
Thanks Greg for your great strategies. I had a similar problem with email overwhelm before, always too afraid to delete something (although my level of overwhelm was at 500 emails and not 15,000!!!). However a computer virus very kindly deleted all my emails for me and yep you guessed it in over a year I have not once needed access to any of those emails. I have since put in filters and folders and added hours to my day not to mention stress levels of not having to deal with junk stuff. Great info!!!!!!
So what else is new? I've been doing that for a real long time and I get lots of new emails every day unless I just place them as spam and don't get them from certain people any longer, but I hate doing that cause every so often, they do have something useful to say.
Great Post!
We have turned rule#1 into a product: Tagwolf (http://www.tagwolf.com)
Once you’ve dealt with an email, just click on a tag in a tagcloud and Tagwolf files the email: not just in a general purpose folder, but in the folder corresponding to the topic of the email. Tagwolf uses AI technology to analyse each email and to propose the most likely folder for it on an intuitive tag cloud. A simply click in the tag cloud is all it takes to move the email into that folder and out of the inbox.
Hey Greg'
Great advices thanks.
If someone does not control organized and classify them,
those emaile will "control" him and draw,derive,much of his
precious time.
Good timing, I'm feeling overwhelmed with my inbox! Thanks for the tips, and would like to hear more…
Hey Graig,
I discovered the magic of gmail a while ago, and now ALL of my emails get redirected there. The truth is, they have unlimited space, and you can create personalized filters to avoid spam all together. My favorite – the labels! You can create different colors and name them accordingly, which automatically subdivides it into "folders". You can click on the label folder and ALL the emails which have been appropriate there will appear, if you need to find a specific email, it's a breeze, just type in your criteria in the search menu within that folder.
Gmail also has chat and free US calling, which lets you talk to someone or chat online, and if you need to find a specific email while you are doing that – no problem 😉
I've used Outlook for years before Gmail, but I can never go back. It's so systematic and modular and extremely user friendly, you can't go wrong with that.
Cheers,
Simona Goldin
Great suggestions Greg. Will show this to my wife too. Would love to hear other email tips you have as well.
Thank you for the tips. My inbox is almost as cluttered as the one in your example. I would enjoy the extra suggestions you have.
Yes Greg I would love to learn the other tricks. I have used the first already after reading your blog – great. I am now going to implement the "rules and filters"
Thanks
Great ideas! I have been somewhat using the first one but not to it’s fullest capability.
Thanks Greg! You've inspired me. (Got 6,619 unread at the moment.) Biggest challenge: Finding the time to even touch each one. Will go on a cleaning and unsubscribing rampage over the holidays. WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR OTHER GREAT STRATEGIES!
Greg, I like what you are sharing. Please kindly provide more email management tactics…
I do a lot of what ;you suggest, yet they still mount up.. I have 1000 in my e-mail now to sort, read, or delete. Because I do not read my e-mails every day. Not enough time in the day. I guess, I am the opposite of most people. I do not read daily. great suggestions. Thanks
Patricia, you absolutely need to put systems in place so that the emails don't stack up to begin with. Once you have 1000 emails in your inbox, you've already lost the game. You have to create systems that reduce the amount of email that comes in that you have to deal with. That's the key!
Greg, I would very much like to hear some further suggestions you might have – I am one of the guilty parties having a full inbox regularly.
Great ideas for new e-mails Greg. Much appreciated. I try to file them as I get them, but sometimes it's impossible to stay on top of it all. Any ideas how to handle the backlog? While I don't have 15000 e-mails, I'm pushing 1500 in my inbox and I could sure use some tips. I have read all of them, I just have to figure out he quickest way to sift through and clean them up.
Many thanks,
Shari-Ann 🙂
I spend hours reading my emails when my time would be better served actually on product/service creation but I don’t read all day long and quickly file everything when finished to keep my inbox nearly empty.
Yes,it is! THANKS!
Greg,
What are those other strategies you were referring to? Thanks, in advance.
I am alot like you that I have subscribed to a number business and stock newsletters and other sharetrading information, and education. I am with Windows Live email because it is free and you have made me want to go and see if they offer the same sort of thing as Outlook. I have a total of over 700 emails in my inbox. At last count I think I had over 300 unread emails and that includes one of yours. I never thought of filing my emails away because I thought that it could never be done. I always go through my inbox and end up deleting all the out of date emails and also ones that are outdated and haven’t been read. But now you have given me a great idea all I have to do is hope that my email account has that sort of thing that you talked about above.
I do both of these things. I’ve created rules in Outlook to send emails from certain addresses to a particular folder. But I get so much spam and had to give up my anti-spam program because it wasn’t letting me get important business emails I need each month even tho I put them on my “white list.” I try to create rules to delete them, but these unscrupulous senders will send me 20 emails that look like they’re from the same address, yet each one has a different email address and I don’t have time to create a rule for each one; and they’re just going to change them anyway. Do you have a tip for quickly getting rid of those? Now I just go thru my Inbox and delete, delete, delete. Takes forever.
You are a really valuable person to have in my inbox. Thanks for all the info
Oh my …. You have hit my problem. I love the idea to make folders to look at later and especially have them go directly to the new folder. I spend too much time going through emails and not getting the other important business things done.
If I don’t get a chance to check those emails later, then I guess they weren’t that important, but if they are in the in-box, I feel obligated to read them.