Every company is defined by its work culture. However, any work culture or business model is tied down by emails. Emails offer a structure to the work culture by strengthening it. In spite of that, there is still a thing as too many emails as they can burden the working professionals. At the same time, most people will agree to the fact that too many emails can hamper productivity completely. However, there are certain practices that can help you to reduce the email count. You need to embrace the idea of inbox zero as it can reduce the burden of too many emails.
5 Tips to Take your Inbox to Zero
- Sort them out
The main problem with too many emails is the load that it brings. Handling a lot of emails takes time and patience. In such a scenario, filters can come to your rescue. A lot of email softwares like Gmail has the option of setting filters to sort the emails. You can use the filters to divide the emails based on sender or urgency.
This is a very effective email management strategy as it helps in sorting and replying to these emails.
- Cater and Delete
If you fail to deal with the emails then sorting is of no use. You can deal with each email immediately or some time later. However, this completely depends on the time it will take to cater each task in the email. If it takes a minute for you to do a particular task, then do it and delete the email immediately. A task that requires time can be scheduled for later for better email management.
If you require the email for future reference, then archive it. These emails take less space and make your inbox lighter.
- Unsubscribe
A lot of emails in your inbox can be deleted. This consists of the emails from newsletters, product alerts and more. They aren’t productive and you can choose to even unsubscribe from them. You can use Gmail extensions like Gmail Unsubscriber, HelpNinja and Unroll.Me for better email management.
Although, if you need these subscriptions, then create a separate email id for them. This will help in keeping your work inbox zero.
4. Create a to-do list
Emails can be converted to tasks as this is the most strategic thing to do. It will reduce the number of emails you end up with and it will take minutes for you to type a response. This strategy will save your time and increase your productivity level as well.
You can choose to download email management softwares like ToDoist and Trello as they work really well as project management tools. They will convert your emails into assigned tasks and send you reminders as well.
5. Use extensions and software
If you want to achieve inbox zero, then using extensions and software is a must. There are a lot of different email management softwares available in the market, and each serves a different purpose. Tools like EmailAnalytics, Mailman, Gmelius and more are recommended for better email management.
Email management softwares can function separately as a different app from your email software. At the same time, email extensions work in your email software. Some of the extensions that you can try are: Boomerang, FlowCrypt Gmail extension and Simple Gmail notes.
Conclusion
Emails are an important part of our daily working life. Thus, it is important to have an email management strategy that helps you to cater to them efficiently. These are the best tips for handling your emails and achieving inbox zero.
