Dedicate time to process your emails. It’s easy to get carried away as emails keep coming in into your inbox, but try to work within a set timeframe to avoid losing your day in your inbox
File or action! When you are processing your emails, the first question to ask is: is there any action for me? If yes, is it going to take me less than 2 minutes? Yes, then do it here and then. If not, file the email. I really like the following system, create 3 folders at the top of your inbox:
@action > the action is for you but you need more than 2 minutes for it
@waiting > you’re not the only one involved and you’re waiting on a third party to action it
@read > interesting content but nothing urgent in here
Review your inbox at the end of the day. Move any emails than no longer requires your attention in dedicated folders. I like to have this sort of structure, as I’ve found that this will work for most businesses.:
- Admin (where I put anything related to administrative tasks, accounts, insurance etc)
- Customers (you can separate your current customers and your leads) or projects
- Marketing (newsletter, events etc)
That way you should end your day with a clear inbox, ready for a fresh start and a new day!
And, if email management is not your forte or you're running out of time to deal with your inbox, well, you can always get a VA to take that off your to-do list!
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