The Email Pile

As a blogger I get a lot of emails. I also work as an assistant so there is almost always a huge pile of emails. Add in the things I sign up for, book release announcement, groups I am a part of and well you can imagine. There are some times that I have more than three thousand emails in my inbox. So what to do with all of that?

It took me a long time but I have a system to get through those emails. First was to set up some folders. Doing that meant I had a place to move some emails to. It makes finding emails easier as well.

What Sort of Folders?

I have several folders but ultimately your folders will be what you want or need. I have one folder that is labeled Mornings and another labeled End Of Day. Those two are where 85% of emails end up before they are responded to or moved to another folder. First thing every morning I go through any emails that are in my morning folder.

That folder is for all of the newsletters or other stuff that I sign up for. You know those things that can be read at any time. Not to mention things that come in at the end of the day that can wait til morning. Anything I sign up for that I don’t like or isn’t important for me anymore I flag. If for a full month that is true about everything I receive from them I unsubscribe.

Once I do that I skim all of the emails that have come in. Everything goes into a folder or is answered right away if important. I do this again just before lunch and just before I am finished for the day.

My work folders are divided by month and I put the emails I need for each project or review into the month it will post. Typically those need a quick response and are answered right away. Then they are placed into the folders. If I am waiting for products to arrive I have an Awaiting Arrival folder and will move it to the correct month once i get the product.

My End of Day folder is where I still things that I need to handle before the day is complete. Things that need responses, etc but is not so important that I have to answer right away.

Does It Work?

The short answer is yes it works. I am able to get through all of the emails much quicker and I am getting rid of things that I no longer need. Before I would have this pile and it seemed never-ending. Now I at the end of each day my inbox is empty. When I shut things down I know, for the most part, I am on track for the day. Of course there are other systems that I have in place but this one has been the one that has helped me the most.

When I open my email I don’t look at what the inbox has for me right away. That will only make my blood pressure go up. I go to my folder and relax a little while reading all of the newsletters and such that I signed up for.

I also turned off all email notifications on my desktop and my phone. I don’t need to be distracted by all of those while I am trying to focus on other things.

Do you have an email system? Share it with us in the comments below.