Tips for keeping your mailbox organized and clean

Email is the most used form of communication in the current world. Most of the information currently flows in and out through the email and hence it is imperative that the email box is organized to ensure that the work is not affected. This is not an easy task to achieve, especially with the influx of emails from various sources. While there are few those who want a “zero unread” inbox, there are others who go a step further and would want to organize their email box such that the emails are easy to retrieve when needed.

Here are a few tips which would help you to keep your inbox clean and thereby make it more efficient.

Periodic Checks

Having an open email box can bring in laxness of checking the mail resulting in the emails being piled up. However, if one can build in the discipline of checking in the email box in regular intervals, ideally 3-4 times a day, it would bring in a focused and disciplined approach to check the mails.

During these scheduled visits to the inbox, ensure to delete all the unwanted emails and to respond to the important ones. This would help make the inbox clean.

Removing the clutter

There are many types of emails that flow into the inbox- advertisements, Email forwards, social media campaigns etc. Ensure to have a regular check on the mailbox and delete all the unwanted emails. Unsubscribe for any advertising promotions that you would not need. There are applications available that can be used to quarantine and sort the unwanted emails which can then be deleted.

Set Time limits

As discussed earlier, a more focused approach to an email box would help to get things accomplished. One such method is to set a time limit every time you open the mailbox. For example, set a time limit of 10 minutes. This would pressurize you to attend and respond to the most important of the emails and then delete the emails which are not required. Having these time limits would increase the productive time spent on emails.

Connect the emails

There are multiple providers which an individual can subscribe to for emails. It would always be a tough thing to juggle between these various mailboxes and in many instances, these mailboxes are on various servers making it a more challenging task. The best way to come out of this predicament is to connect all these various mailboxes and have a single mailbox in place wherein you can access all the emails.

Have a To-do list

Most of the emails are the ones which need our action. Either you can use an app or use the options available in the Email box to prepare a list of emails to be action based on the urgency. These emails can be removed once the action has been taken and new ones can be added. Having this list would enable you to be more organized with your mailbox.

Conclusion

So these were some tips to keep your mailbox organized so that you can find relevant emails easily when you need them. So, what are your views on this? Do let us know in the comments below!