Did you know we send 200 billion emails a day! It’s no wonder we’re overwhelmed and feel as if we’re stuck in our inboxes. It’s heart-breaking how many business owners are losing time and patience with their inbox, when it’s something that can be swiftly dealt with, if it’s managed effectively.
So, if you’re looking to learn how to get your inbox organised and under control again, here’s some tips that will help!
Create a filing system inside your email account
Make use of the folders, tags and categories within your email account. Look to set up separate folders and tags for your clients. Create folders to house those emails you need to follow up on and even create a priority inbox for your most important emails.
Make use of rules to help keep your inbox organised
Set up rules that will enable you to file important communications, so you can deal with when you have the time. You can use rules to by-pass the inbox altogether, but still appear nice and bold showing it’s new (& unread) in your folder system. Another great rule to set up is to file those newsletters you want to stay subscribed to, into their own folder too. That way, you’ll know exactly where they are, when you do have time to read them.
Use template responses
I’m sure you have a lot of emails that you find yourself typing out over and over again. If you want to save time and energy, why not set up templates for them! You can usually turn on template responses within the settings of your email account. Then you simply have to set up the typical responses you need – such as an overview of your services, answers to commonly asked questions etc.
Archive old client emails to get your inbox organised
If you want to keep old emails, you don’t have to store them in your inbox. When you archive an email it’s stored in your email account (within an ‘all mail’ or ‘email archive’ folder), but it isn’t deleted. So if someone then replies to it at any time, it will then appear back in your inbox. You can also set up a rule to automatically archive your emails, by using filters within your email account. The key with archiving emails is to keep those emails you need to keep – such as client emails etc. If you don’t need to keep them, delete them and free up your email storage space!
Consider using a second email address for promotional content
If you subscribe to a number of newsletters or online services, you’ll probably receive a load of promotional emails and content. If you’re genuinely interested in keeping those emails and others like them, consider using a second email address for them. It helps to free up your time a little more, as you’re not having to sift through them in your main account and it helps to tame that to-do list.
Hire a Virtual Personal Assistant to clear out your inbox for you!
You could engage a Virtual Personal Assistant to clear out and organise your inbox for you. A Virtual Personal Assistant will delete the spam, file the rest in logical files so you’ll be able to find them and then set up a system to ensure that you don’t have to go through the whole process ever again. Let them help you organise your inbox so you don’t have to keep hunting for lost emails and anything from a particular client or supplier will all be in the same easy to find folder.
It’s heart-breaking how many business owners are losing time and patience with their inbox, when it’s something that can be organised and managed. By following the above tips you’ll be able to get your inbox organised and back under control again, quickly and efficiently, with the minimum of fuss.
With email being the main form of communication now, having an organised inbox is essential. But initially getting it under control and keeping it that way, can be time consuming for you. So if you’d like to get some help, either clearing out your inbox or managing it on your behalf, do get in touch. Let’s discuss how a Virtual Personal Assistant can help take the stress out of your inbox and free up your time, so you can focus on what you’d much rather be managing! Simply head over to our contact page to fill out a query form and request a call back.
Alternatively, let us help to get your inbox, calendar and to-do list organised with our Getting Organised Programme – made with you in mind.
