Do you have a hard time getting rid of the amount of email in your inbox? We highlight some tips, with organization as a keyword. This is how you also get to inbox zero.
On the way to Inbox Zero
If you get a lot of mail, messages quickly pile up. That is good for the overview, but also not for your peace while working. Because those tens of unanswered, and unread emails don’t disappear by themselves. In fact, that number continues to grow as you do nothing.
We have a number of tips to help you create order out of chaos. They are quite general tips so you can apply them almost with any mail app (on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac).
1. Archive
Do you have an overstuffed inbox that you do not want to sift through in search of unread emails, this is a rather drastic approach. It is virtually impossible to go back months in time and to deal with all the e-mails one by one. However, you can select all emails and archive them. You don’t throw them away, but they are not part of your incoming box. Voilà: inbox zero.
2. Dare to remove
Is a (set) of e-mail (s) dealt with and you have no need to worry about them? Just remove them. If you hesitate because you think you could need them again, then start with older mail, probably because a few years old email can be removed by now. By removing emails you no longer need, you make room in your inbox for other emails. When you archive, they are saved and they, therefore, continue to take space, which often is not infinite.
3. Set labels in filters mail
Start organizing your emails into categories. For example, create labels for ‘work’, ‘buy’ or ‘family’. Is there mail which you want to save in a convenient place, you place it under the corresponding label. The mail then disappears from your inbox, but will be placed in the appropriate group. Do you have a concert and want to find the tickets, then you’ll go to the folder ‘tickets’ and you’ll find them right back.
4. Sign out from newsletters
A good way to get less mail is by simply signing out from organizations and companies that send mail. Perhaps you are enrolled in organizations where you receive mail from, but you never opened. Senders of this kind newsletters are obliged to take put an “unsubscribe” button in the mail so that it is easy to unsubscribe. Usually, you can find these at the bottom of the corresponding mail.
5. Do not wait too long to respond
Is there a mail to which you can quickly reply, then just do it. Otherwise, it will add up and you forget about it. If you need some time, many mail apps nowadays have a snooze button, which sends you a message about the mail which you have to answer. After answering you can handle the message immediately. Examples of apps that offer this are Inbox by Gmail and the recently released iOS AirMail.
6. Choose an app that suits you
There are plenty mail apps to find, but mostly try a few and stick with which best suits your needs. Do you like bundled emails and a nice design, then Inbox by Gmail may be for you. However, the brand new Airmail is also recommended, because the app is as extensive as you want.
Ultimately it comes down to your own organization. The app can still be as good, if you do not intervene to keep your inbox tidy, it won’t help. so make sure you find a method, for example, every day to take a fixed time to eliminate email, and stick to it.