Is that number just running next to your inbox and do you want to get rid of it? We have listed a few tips, with organization as the keyword. This way you too go to inbox zero.
On the way to Inbox Zero
If you receive a lot of e-mail, the messages quickly pile up. That is not nice for the overview, but also not for your rest while working. Because those dozens of unanswered and unread emails just don’t disappear. In fact, that number keeps growing if you don’t do anything.
Below we have listed a number of tips to help you bring order out of chaos. These are fairly general tips, so that you can use them with almost any mail app (both on iOS and Mac). On to an organized mailbox!
1. Archiving
If you have an overflowing inbox that you don’t want to sift through looking for unread emails, this is a pretty drastic approach. It is almost impossible to go back in time months and deal with all emails one by one. You can, however, select all emails and archive them. You do not throw them away, but they are no longer in your incoming box. Voilà : inbox zero.
2. Dare to delete
Has a (series of) e-mail (s) been dealt with and do you no longer have to worry about it? Then just delete them. If you do not dare to do that immediately because you think you will need it again, start with older mail, because messages that are a few years old can probably now be deleted. By deleting e-mails that you no longer need, you make space in your inbox for other e-mails. When you archive, they remain stored and therefore take up space, which is often not infinite.
3. Set up labels
Start dividing your mails into categories. For example, create labels for ‘work’, ‘purchases’ or ‘family’. If mail comes in that you want to keep in a convenient place, you can attach the corresponding label to it. The mail will then disappear from your inbox, but will be placed in the appropriate group. Do you have a concert and are you looking for the tickets, then just go to the folder ‘tickets’ and you will find them again.
4. Unsubscribe from newsletters
A good way to get less mail is to simply unsubscribe from organizations and companies that send you mail. You may be registered with organizations from which you receive mail, but which you never open. Senders of these types of newsletters are required to include an unsubscribe button in the mail, so that unsubscribing is easy. You will usually find it at the bottom of the relevant e-mail.
5. Don’t wait too long to answer
If an email arrives to which you can reply quickly, just do it. Otherwise it will end up on the big pile and you will forget it. If you do not have time, many e-mail apps nowadays have a snooze button, with which you later receive a notification about the e-mail to which you still had to reply. After replying, you can immediately process the message again. Examples of apps that offer this include Inbox by Gmail and the recently released AirMail for iOS.
6. Choose an app that suits you
There are plenty of mail apps out there, but try a few and stick with the one that best suits your needs. If you like bundled emails and a beautiful design, Inbox by Gmail might be something for you. However, the brand new Airmail is also recommended, because that app is as extensive as you want.
Ultimately it comes down to your own organization. The app can be so good, if you don’t intervene to keep your inbox tidy, it won’t work. So make sure you find a working method, for example by taking a fixed time every day to get rid of mail, and stick to it.
Do you have any good tips or recommendations? Share them with us!