It’s no secret that outer order leads to inner calm. Unfortunately, as much as we love our organized closets and pantries, we tend to have a really hard time when it comes to keeping our digital inbox clean.
Here’s the thing: email takes up a hell of a lot of time. In fact, for the average person, email takes up about half the workday.
This article has a handy-dandy tool that tells you how much time you spend on email per year. All you have to do is input the amount of emails you receive each day. The tool even gives you some other numbers to put it into perspective, like how many times you could have read all 7 Harry Potter books or how many times you could have climbed Mount Everest in that time.
If you want to minimize the time and energy you spend on email (for work or personally), a well-maintained inbox and good email habits are imperative. It will also create more space in your mind to focus on what matters, and relieve stress you might not even know was there.
So let’s discuss 6 simple email habits to cultivate that will prevent your inbox from turning into an uncontrollable demon of destruction, shall we?
1. Have a good system in place
I’m aware that this isn’t an email habit, per se – but it’s a necessary first step. If you want to stay on top of all those emails, first and foremost you need to make sure you have a system that works for you. I’m talking folders, subfolders, labels, automation – the whole shebang.
Luckily, I’ve got you covered. This post lays out several steps to decluttering your email and setting up an efficient system. Feel free to check it out. I’ll wait…
2. Schedule a clean-up session
Once your email is squeaky clean, the next step is keeping it that way. Make sure that every time you open your email, you take a few minutes to clean it up.
For my work email, I like to do this at the beginning of the day. The only emails that are allowed to live in my inbox are emails that need to be answered, or that are relevant to my workday.
At the end of my work day, I get rid of all the emails that I don’t need anymore. A crowded inbox means a crowded mind, and after your work day you don’t want to be carrying that weight home with you.
3. If you can answer in 2 minutes, do it
Here’s a simple little productivity gem for you – if while looking through your inbox you find an email that you can answer straight away, just get it over with instead of moving on to the next task or email. That way you can immediately put it out of your mind and focus on the more important and complex things that need your attention.
4. Use the ‘touch it once’ principle
This is kind of like the previous tip, but on steroids. This email habit can change your life, if you commit to it.
Basically, when you open an email, you’re not allowed to move on to a different email before you act on it. Reply to it, delete it, forward it, delegate it, archive it, put it into a folder, send it to your mom – I don’t care what you do, but do it now.
We waste so much time and mental processing power by leaving emails for later, then having to reread them, deciding we’ll do it later again, rereading them again, etc. Please don’t take care of it later. You know what you can do later? Thank me. 🙂
5. Use email only when you have to
Believe it or not – the emails you send can actually have a huge impact on your inbox.
In order to keep your inbox from overflowing, you need to be ruthless about the emails that live in it, but also about the emails you’re putting out into the world. I don’t know what Justin Timberlake’s inbox looks like (probably not great), but he got something right when he said “what goes around comes back around”.
Make sure you’re only writing emails when it’s necessary or adds value. If you need to explain something to a colleague who’s on the other side of the office – just go over there, dude! You’ll probably get your point across a lot better and faster, and you’re doing them and yourself a favor by preserving precious inbox real estate.
6. Send concise, clear emails
Another important thing to consider is the way you’re writing your emails. Keep your emails short, to the point, clear and actionable. That way you’re not only saving time (which in turn will help you to not stress the F out), but also limiting the amount of replies you receive.
People are busy, and busy people really suck at reading your emails. If the person you’re sending the email to doesn’t immediately know what you mean or what you want from them, guess what’ll happen? Bingo – they will send you a reply to get more information, needlessly cluttering up your inbox.
I love the idea of creating a personal email policy to minimize the length of your emails, if you want to take this to the next level.
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If you start to really implement these email habits, you’ll find that you can tame your inbox-monster in no-time. BUT remember, only when you turn these tips into habits will your inbox remain an orderly, stress-free zone. We’re all about playing the long game here.
