By Will Lion
I thought I would write a quick post today about Email Overload! I haven’t been feeling well for the last month. I have had a sinus infection that won’t go away and a migraine that is a side effect. It sucks! So, my email inbox has grown considerably. Most of the time, I am lucky to have it under 20 emails and in very good times 0. How do I do it?
My tips for keeping email overload under control:
1. Create folders that make sense to you. These folders should be to hold any emails that you MUST keep archived. My folders contain “receipts”, “e-courses”, “swipe files”, and so on. This list of folders does not contain emails that I need to reply to or work on.
2. Get an account at http://www.instapaper.com. This website allows you to add a bookmarklet, which is a button that stays at the top of your browser. When you are at a site that you want to read but don’t have time to, you can click this bookmarklet and it will add that site to your Instapaper account so that you can read it later.
3. In your Instapaper account, create folders to separate reading items that have deadlines, must read, can get to sometime, and outsource.
4. Create an account at a site like Backupify so that you can backup your archived emails just in case something happens with your email account.
5. Now, when you go through your email box:
a) Quickly reply to those emails that will take less than a couple of minutes. However, I suggest that you look through your email at the end of the end of the day, when you can take care of all your replies and not let it take over your day.
If you are worried about missing urgent messages, have your virtual assistant check your emails and notify you, or use a service like AwayFind that will notify you of any urgent messages. Yet, another option is to create an autoresponder similar to an “out of office” response that tells others that you only check email at a certain time of day and if their message is important to call you or contact you some other way.
b) File in the email folders, emails that don’t need action, but that you want to keep archived.
c) Emails that have content that you want to read, click the link to go to the site where the content is, and click the Instapaper bookmarklet to add it to the account. You can later read the content when you have some free time. Or, you can add the content to your outsource folder and have your assistant read or watch the content for you and give you a detailed summary that you can quickly look over.
d) If you don’t have time to get through emails that need more of your time to do something that you can either leave it in your inbox, or add the to do and notes to a site like Remember The Milk and get to it when you can. I suggest adding it to the “to do” site or other way you track your to-do’s and delete it from your inbox. This will help you release the stress of email overload.
I hope this helps. This is what I do to keep my inbox at zero.
Leave a comment below with tips that you use to handle email overload.
Update:
Thanks to my commentators I have a couple more tips to add.
Unsubscribe: If you find that you are constantly deleting emails from the same sender without reading them, it may be time that you just unsubscribe from their mailing list.
Add to Notebook: If here are emails that have good information that you want to keep, you can copy that information into a notebook to remember it. Another great tool that a reader reminded me of is Evernote. You can save notes, notebooks, photos, websites, and videos to this online application. It also has many tools that work with your browser, mobile phones and other applications and tools that are around for saving time and organizing (for example Livescribe). By using this tip, you really can keep your inbox and the folders cleared as much as possible.
Client emails: (copied from my comment reply)
“I also had tons of client emails filling up my inbox. I decided to create one folder for all my clients, and separate folders for those clients that I knew I would be working with for a long time.
I would then file all the client emails except for the last one, which I kept to remind me of any actions I have to complete for that client.
If you are good at using a to do list, which I am not but tried to, you can put a note/to-do in Rememberthemilk.com to-do lists and then file the email.
Now, my client email problem is solved!”
Previous post: The Right Way, And Wrong Way to Provide Feedback | Next post: Marketing News – Well, not new, but condensed and served up.
Enya (1)
Nichole Evans (1)
Print Design Delhi (1)
Nice tips regarding handle of email overload. Most of the times i think about the thing that, What would happen when my email account will be full of emails. I know, it’s quite kiddish. But, after reading this article. I know, what to do regarding this. It’s really helpful. Thanks.
Really helpful advice Emily
I’ve never heard of InstaPaper or AwayFind,
so I’ll have to take a look at what they offer.
I do follow the 2 minute rule when responding to e-mails and it’s been a great time saver.
Thanks for the great post.
Coaching with John Komatsoulis recently posted..Small Business Marketing Through Facebook
Emily,
Great advice. Although I scan through my emails several times every day and delete those I don’t need and reponsd to those that are immediate, I find my inbox growing in all my accounts. Finally, I started to put emails from my professional organizations into folders. I keep planning to read their newsletters but there are soo many, they just clog up the inbox.
I will have to check out instapaper. I don’t want to add any sites to the top of my computer, more overload.
Thanks,
Erica
Dr. Erica Goodstone recently posted..10 Simple Steps for the Caretaker
I triage my messages quickly in the morning when I have my ‘wake up time’. I put imortant to read later emails in a special folder that I cN read later when I have reading time, receipts in another folder that I open and print later, important reply to today emails get a red flag, those that need replies urgently get a reply immediately even if to say I will get back to you when I get to the office.
Then I quickly repeat thia when I do get to my office. Plus I clear out any unwantes emails bu unsubscribing or sending ine of my preprepared Don’t email me again emails to them.
Then through out the day I look only for urgent emails and the rest wait until the end of my day to repeat my triage again.
Now I do get emails on my smart phone even when I am away from a computer. I look at them as they come in (set for every 30 min) and if they are not urgent they wait until my morning wake up time.
I also recently went through my emails and moves all personal emails to a personal box so they don’t distract me during the day. I read thoae either in the evenings when relaxing or on weekends. This grratly reduces the distraction of personal mail during busy work hours.
Anna
Anna recently posted..Newest Arrival & Giveaway- New Zoobies Slumber Pets
Thanks for sharing your routine. I forgot to mention the “unsubscribing”.
I really like these tips.I can get overwhelmed if I let my emails get ahead of me too. I will use some of these ideas.Thanks.
Beverly Monical recently posted..Waa Baby Bev Has Branding Questions
Hello from France Emily,
Sadie here,
Email is definitely something i have to keep and eye on through the day. I also have a spring clean on email subscriptions every couple of months.
Interestingly, many young people here in Europe rarely use email because they find it too formal so maybe inbox overload will begin to ease off and that won’t be a bad thing!
I am finding less people using email for personal reasons as well. Texting and Facebook seem to be becoming the preferred informal communications methods.
Excellent information and tips.
I do try and put some things in folders.
and deleter right away.
I appreciate you sharing.
PS I can help you with migranes.
Thanks. Thankfully my migraines are gone. They were do to the sinus infection. Otherwise, I never get them.
Fantastic tips Emily! I am glad you shared about “instapaper.com” as I had no idea a site like this existed & seems pretty easy to use (from the description you gave). Appreciate you sharing
Christine
Christine Casey recently posted..Success in Network Marketing is all about Building Relationships
You’re welcome. Instapaper is a great tool.
Excellent tips Emily!
I receive a ton of emails and I use google email folders and filters to keep me organized.
I am going to give instapaper a try
Peter
Peter Fuller MBA recently posted..How to Attract your Niche to your Blog – Day 3 of 5
Thanks. If you are not using a backup for your emails, you should do that as well.
Nice tips. I was also suffering from this problem of email overload. And i found this information useful.
Hi Emily
Thanks for this timely post! Every so often my inbox’s get a bit clogged up and I have to have a session to clear them up! I will check out the resources you use, so thank you.
I also think it is important to regularly unsubscribe from anything you are not finding valuable.
Sue
Sue Collier recently posted..Want To Know The Secret To Getting Your Emails Read
Hi, Sue,
Great ideas to overcome email overload. I love the idea of the bookmarklet.
From time to time, I go through my emails and do a mass unsubscribe. Over time, your interests may change, and you might want to delete items that are no longer of interest or that which may be unnecesary.
Thanks for sharing.
Angela
Angela Arnold recently posted..Internet Marketing Secrets the Gurus Won’t Tell You
Emily,
Great information. My inbox is always full of emails that I keep telling myself I am going to get around to reading them, but never do. Thanks for sharing this info, it will help me get organized.
Jaden
Jaden Daniels recently posted..Do You Know An Entrepreneur
Great post, Emily! I really like the idea of bookmarking so you can read something later. I think that it is always a good idea to know that everything doesn’t have to be an emergency, and there’s nothing like having an “I want to read this, but I don’t have time right away” list.
Great post for me to read right now ~ recently I posted on facebook something about “when do you just give up and push delete all” …. not really my plan, but after a few months of morning sickness with this pregnancy my emails got WAY backed-up and I have yet to resurface!
I have never heard of any of these tools, but will definitely be checking them out. Thanks Emily!
Beth Allen recently posted..Condition Your Mind for Accelerated Success!
I have to admit that some days I just have too many emails and I just highlight and delete several at once – a sign that I need to unsubscribe from a few.
Hi Emily,
First of all I hope this comment of mine finds you well and healed. I look at every symptom that we have as a guide. our bodies always trying to show us something…it’s an amazing navigating system…don’t you think?
Great tips for managing emails. I am already doing a few of the things that you are suggesting here (yea
) yet the instapaper.com is new to me. I bet your desk is very organized too. It seems like you have some systems and rules in place that helps you getting away from being overwhelmed. I love it.
Sigal Zoldan
Clinical Hypnotherapist & Master Results Coach
Still Single? http://AttractYourTrueLove.com
http://blog.sigalzoldan.com
Sigal Zoldan recently posted..Can I share with you how I am getting free prizes You can too- just ask me how…
Hi Emily,
Really great tips on managing email. I’ve tried a few of them but I’m just not the organized type, I guess. Nothing seems to work. Right now, near the end of my day, while I’ve reviewed all of my emails and taken care of the ones that I could, I still have 103 sitting in my inbox to face again tomorrow… and there will be well over a hundred that come through when I open my email in the a.m. UGH! I definitely suffer from email overwhelm and I’ve been unsubscribing for weeks, even though I have a “read” folder. Most of my emails are about projects I’m working on for clients, to do items, etc., so filing them would cause a problem.
I know, I know. I better get organized before I go freaking mad, right? LOL. Thanks for the tips. Perhaps I’ll try again.
Deb Augur recently posted..How many “Gurus” does it take to screw in a light bulb
I can relate. I guess I forgot another tip.
I also had tons of client emails filling up my inbox. I decided to create one folder for all my clients, and separate folders for those clients that I knew I would be working with for a long time.
I would then file all the client emails except for the last one, which I kept to remind me of any actions I have to complete for that client.
If you are good at using a to do list, which I am not but tried to, you can put a note/to-do in Rememberthemilk.com to-do lists and then file the email.
Now, my client email problem is solved!
I am a big fan of handling email twice a day. And I love gmail’s ability to search not only who the email is from, but also the body of the message.
Thanks for the cool, new tools for reading things later. I love Evernote and use it the same way.
Evernote is great. I use it to create notes and notebooks on certain subjects. For instance, I have a note on resources that I want to someday check out but don’t have the time or need for it currently.
Hi Emily,
Thanks for the email tips. I’m a fan of organizing my email folders and like the idea of buckupify. Will put that one to use.
Mike Sweeney – TSA
Mike Sweeney from Home Business Success recently posted..Home Business Success Requires Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Great list of services here.
Honestly all I do with email is create appropriate folders and move stuff to them and read it when I get time.
But I like the tips you offer here. Will have to check them out thanks for sharing.
Steve
Steve Shoemaker recently posted..Simple Way To Create A Custom Youtube Channel
Emily, very informative article with lots of helpful tips and advice. The InstaPaper solution you discuss is a brilliant solution. I always have a million tabs on my browser of sites I want to review/read/etc which causes real havoc for my browser. That’s a great way to solve that problem and saves me time as I no longer have to wait so long between clicks now that my browser isn’t so bogged down. Great tips, thanks!
Hans Schoff recently posted..Creating Wealth – When Was Your Last Financial Checkup
Hello Emily,
Really informative tips on managing emails. I will manage all my read mails into different folders, thus I can manage and flag my read mails and keeping my mail inbox clean and sort. By the way thanks for this information and like the idea of buckupify. Thnaks a lot, want to see more from you. best Wishes.
What a unique topic to educate us on Emily! I always try to keep my inbox at a low number if not zero (0).
Such great tips and so many suggestions!!
Instapaper is something new to me, gotta check that out. As for Evernote, I have an account online but mostly use it via my iPhone. It’s great because it helps to keep my notes and ideas organized and easy to find by placing tags on each item saved.
As far as Unsubscribing, I’ve been having a problem with this one sender. I’ve unsubscribed literally 10 times but I still receive messages from them. Any ideas or comments on this problem??
Thanks so much for the valuable tips!
-Jaclyn Castro
Jaclyn Castro recently posted..3 Deadly Business Mistakes To Avoid and Easy Solutions
Glad you are enjoying the tips.
I do have an answer to your question about the sender that keeps sending email even when you have unsubscribed: block them! Just about every email software, yahoo, gmail and others, have an option where you can block senders. The instructions are different depending on what email provider you have, so take a look at their help section to find the way to do it. Usually, you may find the option in the advanced options menu.
Hopefully, you don’t have too many people who do this to you. For those that do, you can also report them to the “spam cops”. I usually avoid reporting them, hoping that they will eventually learn their lesson. By blocking them, they will start to be noticed by the email providers and will become flagged by them eventually and their emails will start to go into spam folders instead of the inboxes.
Hi Emily,
It is a very nice and interesting post,Thanks for sharing such a useful tips for handling email overload.It is really helpful post.
waterpearls recently posted..FREE Micfo hosting for 6 months
Oh great ! This has been a problem… I have got it SOME sort of order by unsubscribing heavily and creating folders. But then THEY seem to get “heavier” hahaha ! I have to take a day to concentrate on solely this. It will save SO much time !
Thanks for sharing,
Katri
Katri recently posted..2 NEW VIDEOS ABOUT TAPPING
Hi Emily,
It is a very nice and informative post.Thanks for sharing the tips to handle email overload.These tips are very helpful for us.
waterpearls recently posted..Search And Recover Review & Coupon
One solution I have been doing is to create 2 separate account, one is for public like signing in to the internet and give away for my sites and the other is for private and important person only.
rubyannegomez recently posted..Top Free Dating Sites
Hi Emily hope your sinus infection will be okay. I have that one too so annoying especially in working. Oh well, what I usually did with the overload emails is I just see if there is an important message from someone at the subject itself otherwise I just click the whole message and hit DELETE.. hehe
allexaU recently posted..How to woodworking
I backed up my Gmail account for free last week. I found an amazing company called SysCloudSoft that offers a free backup to all personal users. I backed up Gmail,Google Docs,Contacts,Sites and my Google Calendar http://www.syscloudsoft.com
There was a time, I was suffering from the same problem. But later on, I cut it down. And this article is a big help for all those, facing the same problem.