How do you keep up with email when you have multiple accounts? In this article, I will discuss the best way to manage email for a busy entrepreneur. Email is an important tool in business, but many people struggle with how to use it effectively. This article will teach you how to get your work done quickly and efficiently by managing your inboxes in the best possible way.
Create a list of email addresses you’ll need to create
The first thing you will need to do is create a list of email addresses you need (if you don’t already have this). This is an important step so that you can determine just how much work you have ahead of you. If you have a lot of email accounts, it may be best to prioritize those that require your attention most urgently. If you don’t know which emails need immediate attention, try testing which ones are receiving the most messages.
This approach will get your most important accounts under control first. That should have the largest impact on your daily workload. After you have cleared out your most important accounts, then go through the rest.
Managing email doesn’t have to be a huge job. Take it one day at a time. Follow along with the email management tips provided here and on the Top Tier Coaching Services Coaching Insights area.
One of the biggest challenges is managing all of those emails in your inbox. It can be overwhelming to try to process every single message that comes into your account as it arrives. To manage this problem, you can use some simple tips to help you get your inbox under control.
This article will provide several important email management strategies that will show you how to not only get your primary inbox under control but how to control every email inbox you have.
Decide on inbox rules for each address
One of the best ways for managing email is by using inbox rules. You can set up these types of rules for every email inbox you have so that messages arrive at your primary address with little or no effort on your part.
This will also help you keep a handle on important emails from customers and co-workers when they do come in. It’s easy to train people to follow certain protocols, especially if it keeps them from having a delayed reply because their message went into another folder than expected.
Create folders for each type of communication to manage email
To make managing all those emails even easier, consider creating different folders for different kinds of communication (i.e., notifications/bills vs customer support). This way, not only will sorting be much faster, but it will also be easier to process messages as they come in.
This organization method is especially helpful if you are using more than one email address. You filter incoming messages once so that you get visibility on the important messages you have received. Your email notifications will not be as cluttered when you use this system. You will have important messages in the appropriate folder while unimportant messages can either be deleted or delayed until later. This will immediately result in a more organized inbox.
Set up your email accounts and filters accordingly
Another thing you can do to make email management easier is to set up your email accounts and filters accordingly. This will allow you to use keywords in the subject lines of emails so that they are sorted into folders automatically.
This approach works especially well for people who receive a lot of automated messages (i.e., notifications, alerts). You’ll save yourself time by not having confirm receipt or other similar messages come through on a daily basis when it’s unnecessary.
Some service providers also include an option with their filtering systems where any incoming message containing certain words can be moved directly from your inbox into its own folder without even opening those emails first. These kinds of system-sorting approaches will cut down on the number of steps you have to take to reach inbox zero. Ultimately, the goal should be to achieve inbox zero each day at the end of your workday. This is going to save time for you.
Label all emails as “to be filed” or “actionable” so that they’re not overwhelming to Manage Email
Once you have your primary and secondary accounts under control, it’s time to move on to the tertiary email inboxes. Set aside a few minutes every day so that you can quickly review all incoming messages in these addresses.
If an email does not fall into one of the main categories (i.e., notifications/bills vs customer support), then label that message “to be filed.” This will allow you to look at everything without slowing yourself down by having too much information come through as soon as possible each day when other emails are going out with important details about what is happening within your business or personal life.
Use filters for emails coming from companies such as Groupon, Amazon Deals, etc.; this way they won’t hit your inbox directly. Promotional emails should be treated the same way. Delete messages you know you won’t read or are not interested in. If you get something spammy, report spam.
Create parent categories for your emails so that you can tag them accordingly. Review past mail to help you determine what categories you will need. Perhaps you get lots of requests that need follow-up, so create a follow-up folder to filter those into. You can then address those when you have the time.
If an email is not currently actionable, but you want to be reminded of it later, snooze emails that fit these criteria. Set reminders to help you remember important things coming from your email. This is going to help you stay productive.
Delete any emails that are old, unimportant, or spam (if possible) to Manage Email
You should also review your inbox and delete any emails that are old, unimportant, or spam (if possible). Watch for multiple messages from the same person. Your email program should have a way for you to flag these for further review. Look at the subject line and determine if the email will be of interest to you and act accordingly. Perhaps even make use of canned responses to help keep your inbox organized.
If you do this every day, then the email messages will not be piling up on top of each other. You’ll have a much easier time sifting through them for important information if they aren’t overwhelming in one big pile at the end of the day.
Email management requires diligence on your part. This is especially true when you have multiple inboxes. A cleaner inbox is going to create more sanity for your workday.
Keep an archive of important emails in case you ever need them again later on
Email is a communication tool and that should never be forgotten. That is why you should keep an archive of important emails. Do this so that it is outside of your email account. Manage your email like it is money because the time you waste costs you money. Sort them by subject line or any other way you feel is right.
Any time management strategy must address how to manage emails. Email management is a strategy that must be implemented in order to save you time and money.
Create Templates To Speed Up Replies and Other Strategies to Manage Email
Many have the same response sent out over and over. A template will help you to respond more quickly. Again, this is especially important when managing multiple inboxes. A canned response can save you a lot of time.
Your email to do list should include creating an alias address that can be used for specific places. An email alias will help you identify the source of spam in your email. If you use myemail+time@domain.com to subscribe to a newsletter, you will be constantly reminded where the spam comes from.
If your email programs allow you to schedule emails, take advantage. This is very useful for business emails, but it can also help with personal emails. Perhaps you have time sensitive emails you don’t want to forget to send, but you also don’t want to send too soon. That is when scheduling can be a great tool.
Clean Your Inbox Daily to Manage Email
Having a clean inbox is going to make email communications much smoother. Email organization in general will improve your productivity in a massive way. This is one form of email management that everyone attempts, but few manage to execute.
Congratulations!
Now that you’ve created a list of email addresses, decided on inbox rules for each address, set up your email accounts and filters accordingly, labeled all emails as “to be filed” or “actionable”, deleted any old unimportant spam emails (if possible), and archived important ones, you’re ready to start organizing your inbox. We hope this article helped! Let us know how it goes by commenting below.