I’m Just Too Busy To Clear Out My Inbox 

Zero Inbox – something we talk about for years but assume it’s impossible. Look – if you insist on not paying attention to what’s coming into your inbox, not making the time, piling up your email clutter, you’ll see 4,000 pieces of mail in your inbox and claim it’s impossible. “I’m just too busy”.  

This is NOT reality. We’re all busy. If you have a goal for a better business, it almost always starts with increased productivity, and this starts with organization in your operations. It isn’t rocket science. I do this every day. You can too. 

Help Controlling Your Email Is Easily Within Your Power  

Whether you’re an Outlook or a Gmail person, both programs have tools for you to use. So use them! 

When I was a young mom, I showed my kids how to pick up their room by following the same steps over and over. They are now adults and more neat and organized than I am. I am applying the same exact “how to pick up your room” process to email. 

You CAN (yes, even you, the busiest person on the planet) improve your operations and increase productivity by applying organization to your work areas. I’m tired of hearing, “my email’s overflowing because I’m so busy”. I have to tell you, I don’t believe a word of it. We are ALL busy. And stressed and overwhelmed.  

Your Mess Was Your Decision 

That’s right – it’s not the fault of your clients or colleagues or team members. Take ownership. Your inbox is a mess because (1) you don’t have a process; and (2) you haven’t applied any effort to change the situation. 

So if you do want to put in a little effort and have a clean inbox, I’ll get you started right here. 

  1. Take a good look at what comes into your inbox everyday. Clear out the easy stuff.  
    • Unsubscribe from newsletters that aren’t interesting or valuable or which you will never make the time to read.  
    • Move personal shopping messages (Amazon, Macy’s, Costco….) to your personal email address. Your business email should contain only business information that is of value.
       
  2. Use the Filters in Gmail or Rules in Outlook to pre-file your mail. This is a beautiful thing. I wish I could do this with real paper mail. It’s expected that you’re going to receive messages from organizations you belong to, prospects, clients, networking associates….. so make sure you have a file folder created for every person or organization you typically receive email from. Then create a rule/filter to automatically file email from that person or organization directly into the folder without hitting your inbox.I can hear you whining about not being able to see all the unread mail. So…
  3. Find the Unread Mail Folder or Category in Outlook and Gmail. You may have to google how to find it.  Here’s the beautiful thing – your Unread Mail folder will show you all your new message and in which folder they are already filed. Sit back and have a drink for that – cheers! 

In another post I’ll show you how to get your tasks out of your mail, where they do not belong. Just enjoy your pristine inbox for now.  You’re welcome.