Conquer Email
Back to the GAME PAGE
Don’t think, Just do!
Pick one or do both!
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how many emails you can just delete.
- Set filters or unsubscribe from the first 5 emails you don’t need to see in your inbox.
(You can move them to a folder labeled OLD EMAILS if that makes you feel more comfortable.)
GUIDE VIDEO: Join me as we work on this challenge together
Simple setup for this Game Challenge
Set up a system to keep your important and ACTIONABLE emails front and center
- Use the star or flag system your email platform offers.
- Look in settings for different view options your email platform offers. (unread or important at the top and so on)
Set up or organize your email folders
- Delete folders you don’t actually need. (ex. empty folders)
- Merge or nest folders. (make your folder names more general)
- Create action-based folders. Waiting, To read, To do, To think on
Take time to clear out unnecessary emails that are in the way
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and see how emails you can just delete.
- Archive inbox emails older than 3 months.
(You can move them to a folder labeled OLD EMAILS if that makes you feel more comfortable.)
Join the Lux Lab and we can work on this together with friends.
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- Organize your digital files
- Untangle your passwords.
- And more Rescue your Digital Office challenges.
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Deeper work and strategy for this Game Challenge
The first step in organizing your email inbox is to know what folders or labels you need to use in your system and how you should use them.
Over the years of helping people with their inbox management, I have noticed a few things. Some people want to save everything, some people want to delete everything, and some people allow the desire for a completely organized email folder system to get in the way of an efficient and effective email folder system.
What we all agree on is that we need to be able to respond to the messages that need responses and find the saved email when we need to reference it.
STEP 1: Test your Current System
How long does it take you to make email decisions?
If it takes you longer than 3 seconds to determine where an email goes then you have too many folders and/or not the right folders.
- Think about which folders you can combine and rename in a more intuitive way.
- Pre-decide which types of emails you need to keep and why.
- Learn to take advantage of Archive and Search.
Keep in mind that the only reason to save most emails is JUST-IN-CASE you need to refer to it again and NOT because you WILL need to refer to it again. If an email contains information that you need to reference often then you should save that information elsewhere in a more accessible format. Like a client profile document or operations manual, or your address book and/or calendar.
Do you have easy access to your important emails?
Do important emails sit in your inbox and get buried under less important emails because you are not sure what to do with them? Then you need to establish a better system where they will be safe and accessible.
- Use the flag or star system in your email program for emails that require immediate attention. (NOW Stuff)
- Create a folder or label for emails that require action in the future. (NOT NOW stuff)
- Create a few folders or labels for things you might need in the future.
Do you receive too many emails?
If you are overwhelmed by email subscriptions, spam, and junk? Then you need a better habit of email maintenance. HINT: You don’t need to keep most subscriptions. You will still receive receipts and account information if you unsubscribe from ads to your favorite companies.
If you consistently receive too many emails that require you to take action, then you may need extra support in your life or find ways to simplify your life. (Limited bandwidth is a real thing)
Can you find what you need?
Do you find yourself panicking when you need to look for an email? Does this worry prevent you from moving emails out of your inbox? If this is the case you may benefit from understanding your email search feature better. Both Outlook and Gmail have powerful search capabilities that can ease your mind and help you find things when you need them.
STEP 2: Adjust your email folders
The following are the folders I commonly recommend. Some will resonate with you and some will not. Please feel free to shift and adjust this system so it works for you. Just be careful not to overdo it on the folders. Less is more.
NOTE: The symbols, !, *, and numbers can be used to keep the folders in a specific order in your system. These examples are my preferred order. Feel free to adjust
ACTION FOLDERS: Folders that describe things you need act upon.
! NOW
Other potential names for this folder ! IN-PROCESS, ! NOW, ! THIS WEEK , ! ACTION, ! TO-DO
This folder is for any email that triggers a task. Move emails here when you triage your email inbox. Then visit this folder and do the work. Note: you can also use the flagged and star features of your email system instead of this folder.
Once you have completed the task or nothing needs to be done about the email save it to one of your save folders. (or just delete it)
Feel free to name it something that will catch your attention.
The same goes for the following folders. This naming system is flexible, make it yours.
. NOT NOW
Other potential names for this folder . WAITING, . SOON, . LATER
There are many times when you receive an email with important information that you may, or will, need later at a specific date or during a specific time period. Online orders, event tickets, travel confirmations. Sometimes these emails are only necessary if something goes wrong. In that case, you need to be able to find it quickly. You also don’t need or want these emails to get lost in the long list of inbox emails.
Other common action folders are: To Read, Follow up, Delegate, Research…
SAVE FOLDERS: Folders that hold stuff that you may want to reference later.
* COMMUNICATIONS
This folder is for all the emails that contain actual conversations between you and your people. When you need to reference an email that is in here you can easily find it by doing a search for the sender via email address.
1 FINANCE
Anything to do with money should live here.
2 PROFESSIONAL
Anything to do with your work.
3 PERSONAL
Anything related to your personal life.
4 REFERENCE
Anything that doesn’t fit the above categories.
SAVE
This is for emails that you want to save but are not sure where you should save it. Many of my clients use this instead of the more specific numbered folders listed above.
STEP 3: Fill in the Gaps, Make it Yours
You may find that use and need more folders. If that is the case, you can nest your more specific folders under the top-level generic folders.
Nesting is an excellent way to balance the desire to have many labels and keep things clean and simple.
NOTE: Resist the urge to add these immediately. You may not actually need this many folders. Only add the folders you need as you need them and most importantly know WHY you need them. It is also a good idea to create an email system document where you can make notes on why and how you set up your system the way you did.
Here are some examples I have seen and have recommended:
Nest a folder called Waiting or NOT NOW folder under a ! TO-DO folder for any email that contains information that you may need to complete a task in the future. Like airline and hotel confirmations or online purchase tracking numbers.
You can also create a folder with the name of a current and temporary project like Moving and nest it under your ! TO-DO folder and when the project is complete you can delete the label or nest it under a zVAULT folder or a Past Projects folder.
Nest a folder called Tax Documents under 1-FINANCIAL to save all your receipts and other things you will need for your taxes.
Nest a folder called Resources under 2-PROFESSIONAL to save all your industry and training emails.
Remember, you should only need 3 seconds to put emails away.
If you find that you don’t use your nested folders and only file things within your top 6-10 labels, Congratulations! You have weaned yourself from too many folders.
STEP 4: Practice Search
Trusting your system is one of the keys to true productivity. Once you have filed something away there can be a fear that you will never find it again. This fear is both real and unfounded. Real, because if you are not confident in HOW to find an email in your system then it doesn’t matter if you filed it properly or not. The fear is unfounded because you can learn just a few tricks that will give you the confidence to find any email you need.
Search Trick #1: The Search Field and its Nuances
- Just start typing within the search field. Start with the name of the sender and pay attention to what appears in the dropdown lists.
- The many search systems will instinctively try to search for an email sender with the letters you type.
- It may try to look in the location you have open or selected when you start your search.
- It may give you hints to other options as you search.
- Watch the box.
Search Trick #2: Look for More (arrows, dots, the word “more”)
The search box will often have a down arrow or “more” option nearby. Click it and see what happens. The advanced search box often has options to:
- Search specific locations within your system. (inbox, all folders, trash, and other folders)
- Words in just the subject line or in the entire message.
- A date range
- If it had an attachment
- And more…
Search Trick #3: Other locations
Not strictly a search trick, but in the contacts list of both Gmail and Outlook systems is the ability to see the email interactions you have had with an individual. No need to create folders for individual clients.
Resources associated with this Game Challenge:
BLOG POST: 3 Steps to Rescue Your Email Inbox!
WORKSHOP: Inbox Rescue Workshop – Video & Workbook
