A Practical Approach to Email Management

This morning, I opened my personal email to find over 32,000 messages awaiting attention. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your inbox or struggled to locate that critical email, you’re not alone. Recently, I implemented a few strategies to bring order to my business email, and now I’m turning my attention to my personal inbox.​

Here are four actionable steps to help you regain control of your email:​

1. Establish a Temporary Archive – Create a folder labeled something like “ArchiveNOW” to serve as a holding area for all existing emails. Move all current messages into this folder, providing yourself with a clean slate in your primary inbox.​

2. Set Up Priority Folders – Develop a few folders for emails that require immediate attention or response. For instance, folders named “UpcomingEVENTs,” “ACTIONitems,” and “CURRENTtoREAD” can help categorize and prioritize your emails effectively. Configure your email client to display these folders prominently, ensuring that important messages remain top of mind.​

3. Organize Attachments Efficiently – Implement a system to save attachments from incoming emails to a designated location, either in the cloud or on your desktop. This approach allows you to access necessary documents without sifting through emails later.​

4. Review and Sort Archived Emails – Begin reviewing emails in your “ArchiveNOW” folder, focusing on the most recent ones. Move any messages that require action into your newly created priority folders. Don’t worry about sorting every email immediately; concentrate on those that are pertinent.​

After addressing emails from the past month or two, you may find that older messages are no longer relevant. At this point, you can choose to delete them or keep them archived for future reference, thereby maintaining a streamlined inbox.​

For a more in-depth exploration of these strategies – and a few more, I’ve created a video detailing the process. Feel free to watch it here.​

It’s not necessary to let your inbox chaos become a limiting factor to growth and progress in achieving your business goals. Taking these steps can help you tame the inbox and move on with other important tasks.