Inbox Zero (or close to it)

In a past life, I used to consult small business owners/solopreneuers on how to become more effective with their time. I was a sort of "productivity ninja," if you will. I'd help these individuals first identify their needs, establish where they wanted their goals to be, inventory their current resources, then develop a custom-fit path to get them from Point A to Point B.

I'd create automation sequences that ran without constant management, teach them how to batch & block their active hours for improved time management, and find continual ways to "find time" to do the things they needed AND wanted to do - both in their professional and personal lives.

However, there was one particular thing that was a necessary evil, and remained a constant black hole no matter how hard they tried to keep up with it: emails.

While "Inbox Zero" isn't really feasible for the majority of us, having a streamlined, functional inbox can make work much less overwhelming, especially when you have multiple projects and responsibilities to handle on a daily basis, and keep losing track of what's going on, and whose court the ball is in.

Seeing as how the industry is still slowly recovering from the holiday season, I've decided to start the year off streamlining my own inbox, and wanted to share my process with you in case it helps alleviate a bit of your own stress.

Step 1: Assess the primary types of emails you typically receive, and make a list of what those are.

The goal of my inbox is to hold only active emails that require action steps from me. When I was a Buyer, my primary "archive" folders were for Order Confirmations, Reports, Training, etc. I also created one for any dialogue between each of the sites I managed so that anytime I needed to look up contact info or a past conversation regarding a particular order or material, I could efficiently open and search within that specific folder to pull up any relevant email strings.

Now that I'm an Account Rep, I have individual folders for each of the clients I manage so I can quickly and easily whisk them out of my inbox once my action step has been completed. My archive folders also include things like: Marketing Strategies, Call Logs, Expenses, Misc, etc. Each time I get an email to my inbox, I decide if there is an existing folder I can archive it to. If not, I decide if I really need to create a new folder for it, or if I can simply move it to the "Misc" folder and call it a day.

Periodically (every few months, annually, etc.), I assess each of my folders to see if I still need each one of them, or if I can consolidate anything to make room for future folders. Too many subcategories only slow you down, so sticking with a general "bucket" to catch the majority of your emails is recommended.

Remember: your ultimate goal is to get your emails out of your Inbox as quickly as possible - not to file them away in a super specific hanging folder in a super specific filing cabinet. We're not organizing - we are simply making space for intentional action to transpire.

Step 2: Create individual folders based on your written list.

In Outlook, I have two sections: Favorites on the top, and then standard email folders and subfolders below.

Things I use on a daily basis are bumped into the Favorites section. I think there are 19 slots before a scroll bar appears, with the goal of this segment to have priority folders at the immediate ready - no time wasted scrolling or searching. Only drag and drop movements based on what's immediately in front of me. If I start to have too many folders, I will force myself to prioritize, consolidate, or weed out/relocate extraneous ones until it's back to a manageable population again.

The second segment can house as many folders as you need, so make as many folders as you need, and keep those ones here that you don't use everyday, or even every week.

Step 3: Establish automated rules for tasks that you do manually right now.

I'm part of a group distro, which means I get everything from sales orders to emails to all kinds of junk mail, since this is the primary email on our website. Since I can't just "unsubscribe" without affecting an entire group of people, I have a Rule set up in my Outlook where anything that is sent to this email directly is automatically archived in a special folder. Every once in awhile, I will take a look in there to see if anything actually applies to me, then set an Exception to ensure that it remains in my Inbox so I can personally address it.

If you want to dig more into Outlook Rules & Exceptions, you can read more on that HERE.

Once you have created a Rule, you can apply it to run through your Inbox, which should knock out a number of existing emails.

This goes for any mailing list or group emails you are subscribed to. If you don't want to delete them right away due to having to review first, but are tired of getting interrupted in the middle of your most productive time, create a Rule that relocates them immediately to a special folder, then designate a set (and limited!) time out of your day to go through and clear out this folder. Eventually, you may come to realize that you don't really need these emails after all, and can feel more comfortable unsubscribing or deleting completely.

Step 4: Give yourself a head start by wiping your slate clean.

While you can now tackle organizing your inbox after setting up new folders and rules, a more efficient method to productively manage your emails right away is to do a mass archive.

I know. It sounds mega scary! But trust me - it's not as bad as you think.

Set a comfortable date (a month, 3 months, etc.) in your mind of emails you wish to manually wade through. Anything older than that simply gets dumped into a generic "Archive" folder.

Don't panic - remember, you aren't actually deleting anything. You are simply relocating these items from your active inbox to another folder, so they are still easily searchable. I mean - isn't that how you're looking up old emails from 8 months ago anyway? Surely you're not manually scrolling (and scrolling, and scrolling) to get to these particular emails, and it's the same concept - just a different location.

Step 5: Management.

This, right here, is the hardest part of "Inbox Zero." No matter how well-intentioned or well-organized your infrastructure is, if you don't actively utilize it, it goes right back to being a hot mess.

Don't forget: even if you never achieve (or maintain) Inbox Zero, having a sustainable system of keeping only active, actionable items in your inbox is the ultimate goal, so don't beat yourself up if you find yourself slipping. Just get right back on track as soon as you can, do another mass archive, or formally block time on your calendar each day/week if necessary to continue your archiving process.

Going through that batch of emails sitting in your inbox helps you get in the habit of archiving them where they need to go, and is actually pretty therapeutic as you steadily chip away at the volume.

If the email needs to be actioned, do that right now if possible. Send a follow up email. Forward/delegate to the appropriate person. Request a status update. Put the ball in someone else's court. Then archive it, knowing you did your part. Hooray!

If the email needs to be followed up again by you at a later time, flag it, and either set a reminder to alert you at a future time, or else create a "Follow Up" folder for your Favorites, and then make a point of going through it at the end of every week until it's empty. My stance is that once you've passed the baton to someone else, it should no longer be your responsibility to mom it. However, there are times when it's necessary to keep a specific email on your radar, and those are the ones I keep flagged.

*****

Keeping your inbox well-oiled may not seem like a roadblock, or a complicated process that requires a massive undertaking, but if you've ever opened up your inbox on Monday morning and just didn't know how to even START your day, that's a pretty major sign that a renovation to your workflow is in order.

It may take a few iterations before your process flows smoothly and you can handle email exfoliation like a pro, but keep tweaking here and there until it becomes second nature for you. As your role evolves, and your needs change, so too should your support system.

Good luck, and Happy New Year!

-Stella