10 Tips For Keeping Your Inbox Clean

Below is a listing of our top 10 tips for keeping your email inbox clear, which will keep your inbox clean and your email experience more efficient and enjoyable! 

1. Setup rules, filters, or labels

Today, all email programs and online email services have rules, filters, or a labelling system that allows you to move and otherwise organise incoming email. Use these features to organise your email and get to what is most important first.

2. Do not be afraid to delete

After reading email, always take action on that email. Do not save it for later or move it into a folder to deal with later. If you are unable to take action on the email, delegate it to someone else, or postpone it for later that day delete it. Every email does not need a response and there is no reason to save email that is going to be deleted later.

3. Automatic replies, FAQs, and canned responses

If you find yourself using the same reply over and over again, consider creating different signatures or a list of your frequent replies that you can copy and paste.

4. Keep it simple

Often people over complicate their email by creating dozens of different folders to help organise their emails. Keep it simple do not have dozens of different folders to organise your email into. If there is no way getting around your need for folders in email use the rules to filter your messages into the folders.

5. Always do quick short replies

When replying to any of your emails try to keep the reply as quick as possible and do not spend too much time on an individual email. We suggest spending no more than five minutes on a single email and avoid anything longer than three paragraphs.

6. Your email is not a calendar or to-do list

Many times a person’s inbox is full because they are treating it as a calendar of things that they need to do. Do not use your email for this. Have a separate program or text document that keeps a list of things you need to do or that keep track of your calendar of events.

7. Unsubscribe from newsletters and disable notifies

Although you may have had good intentions when subscribing to a newsletter or other email list these are often distracting and often clutter your email. Unsubscribe from any newsletter you have not been reading.

8. Do not reply to spam

If spam sneaks past your protection or rules never reply to it. Delete it.

9. Keep at it but not too much

Try to read your emails at least once daily or every hour, depending on how much email you receive. However, do not live in your email. Create a schedule where you check your email in regular intervals and then ignore it all other times. If you have any notification about new incoming emails disable these or close your email program or email web page.

10. Delete some more

Finally, if after following all the above steps you still have emails that are weeks old delete them.