How to set up your own system for organizing email and get your email inbox to zero once and for all. Resources and tutorials to help organize your inbox and you make it happen!
Have you set a goal of getting your email inbox organized? Maybe you'd even like to eventually get to Inbox Zero?
As someone who used to have about 27,000 emails in her inbox, I can tell you, it IS possible!
Why Our Email Inboxes Are So Out of Control
If you're thinking about your own email inbox, you may be puzzled as to how it got so full.
I know it was a mystery to me.
When I started to take a good look at what kinds of emails I was getting every day, I realized that a lot of them were for things I signed up for a long time ago.
I was getting coupons, social media updates, bills, notices from school, and so much more.
The amount of emails I was signed up for was creeping up day by day.
And I wasn't subscribing from anything!
Why It's a Bad Idea to Go Through Your Emails One by One
I tried to tackle my email issue by going through each email in my inbox and making a decision about what to do with it. I made decisions about what to do with each message – unsubscribe? delete? save (and where to?), take action, etc.
Needless to say, I didn't make much progress.
It was a long and tedious process, and it did little to empty out my inbox that kept getting new messages by the hour.
If you're thinking that organizing your email will take hours of your day for weeks on end, I'm here to tell you that there's an easier way.
Emails to Zero
If you want to get your email inbox to zero, without having to go through each and every message in your inbox, you've got to do this free Emails to Zero training.
It's totally free, and you can get started on it right away.
It will teach you step-by-step what to do to organize your emails, create a sustainable email processing routine, and finally get your email inbox to zero.
The lessons even include videos that show exactly what to do if you're using Gmail or Outlook.
But even if you don't use those email service providers, the you can use the same principles taught in the lessons to organize your email.
What It's Like to Have an Empty Email Inbox
Before I got to “Inbox Zero,” I didn't think having thousands of unopened emails was really a big deal.
I felt like I could find what I needed if I searched enough, and it seemed like a waste of time to go through my whole inbox and read every single email.
But now that I can get to “Inbox Zero” every day, I know that those extra email messages were weighing on me.
Here are some changes I've noticed since taking the Emails to Zero training and organizing my emails:
- A feeling of accomplishment. Every time I get my email inbox to zero, I feel like I'm on top of things!
- Less worry. I always had a nagging sense that something was falling through the cracks. Now that I have a good system and routine set up, I don't worry about missing important emails.
- Less distraction. Constantly seeing new emails in my inbox meant I constantly had to decide what to do with them – even if I decided to ignore them. Fewer emails = fewer decisions = fewer distractions.
- Less temptation. Now that I've unsubscribed to store/coupon emails, or at least put them in a different folder, I'm not as tempted to take advantage of sales and spend money.
- More time. Before I felt like I needed to constantly be checking my email so as to not miss out on something important. Now I feel more comfortable just checking email a few times a day. I know that I'll still be able to see my important emails at a glance when I log in.
- More organization. After getting my emails organized, I had more time and motivation to organize other parts of my life too. After getting to “Inbox Zero,” I started organizing paper and set up a paper organization system for our home.
Join the FREE Paper Organization Challenge!
Want to FINALLY take control of the paper piles and get your important documents organized? Sign up for my newsletter, and you'll automatically be signed up for the FREE 7-day Paper Organization Challenge. Start today and make missing papers, disorganization, and worrying about important records a thing of the past!
Tips for Organizing Email Going Forward
Once you've gotten your email inbox to zero, you've got to stick to a routine to maintain it.
I use the routine recommended in the Emails to Zero training, and it keeps me on track.
As I go through my inbox each day, I'm ruthless about unsubscribing.
If I've tried to unsubscribe from emails in the past, and it doesn't work, I set up a filter in Gmail.
It's way more time-intensive than just unsubscribing, so I don't recommend doing this unless you just have to.
To set up a filter in Gmail, click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner of your email message.
From there, you can either set up a filter to have the message automatically go to a designated folder, or you can block the sender.
If you get repeated questionable emails and you're unable to unsubscribe from them, this is a good way to keep those messages out of your inbox.
More Organization Ideas You May Like:
- Emails to Zero – Free training to help you organize your email.
- Free Paper Organization Challenge – Get your paper in order with this free step-by-step challenge.
- How to Stop Getting Junk Mail – Junk mail leads to clutter, and it's so wasteful! Find out how to get rid of it.
