How to Manage Email Inbox Overload Effectively

From our bad habits in checking it constantly, to having complete email overload – email can be a huge problem in this day and age.

Personally, one of the biggest “stress” in my life is my email inbox. Not complaining of course – I appreciate all emails I receive, but it was an issue that I have had to take quite a few steps with dealing.

From changing my emailing habits to fixing some settings for greater email productivity, here are some ways I create a more stress-free emailing environment in my life. They have helped me greatly so I wanted to share them with you as well.

Email Overload & Your Habits

We may complain that we get way too many emails, but it’s also about how to handle what we do have ourselves. Here’s some habits you can adopt to make handling your emails better:

Don’t check your email as soon as you’re up. Unless you’re an emergency worker, there is no need to open you inbox everyday and stress yourself out! Whenever I open my inbox first thing in the morning, it creates so much stress and I tend to quickly focus on that, instead of the most important things to do that day. Also, I’d recommend not checking your emails once you get to work, either. Take a few hours to really get the important stuff done, and then check your email. It’s mostly ’cause of habit you are checking your emails first thing in the morning; which can decrease your productivity and make you focus and stress about that. Instead, get into the habit of writing down a list of 3 things you need to do for the next day that are the most important, and start your day doing that.

Check your email at certain times of the day. I have found this change such a huge help for me. Now, I check my emails after lunch (around 2pm) and evening before I “wrap up”, which is around 4 or 5pm. And when I reply at those times only, it kinda gives the message to those regular-emailers (you know the kind!) that I am not available 24/7 – what is it about emails that make some people think you have to reply straight away? Is it because it is “instant”?

Wait before replying. Again, this might help with the “regular emailers” (people who tend to email you several times during the day), but wait to respond at your specific time of the day. Then, instead of replying every single email, you can reply as a whole – less writing for you, less time wasted, less stress. Other people in your work place might get into the habit that you don’t respond immediately and may even cut back on the email sending!

Clear the short ones fast. If an email will take less than 5 minutes to reply, just do it! That’s a rule I have for myself, and so far: if it’ll take less than 5 minutes, reply right now. It works well in clearing out the “little” emails.

Write shorter emails. Get into the habit of writing shorter emails. Everything can pretty much be said in a few sentences. I’ve “trained” myself to write emails no longer than a few sentences (adding canned responses and an email signature helps a lot!) and my email writing has been cut down by a lot.

Email Overload & Your Inbox

Here are some actions you can do today to get a hold of your email:

Unsubscribe to any newsletters or mailing lists you are no longer interested in. This helps cut down emails a lot. I once had a habit of subscribing to every single “cool” newsletter I found and in the end only made my email inbox a complete mess – and I hardly read any of the newsletters because I was so overwhelmed by them! As far as blog updates, why not use a separate program – that way, when you actually have the time, you can check out the blogs. Websites like Bloglovin’ (my personal favorite, have you followed Beautifille yet?) allows you to subscribe to your favorite blogs and see all the new updates in a magazines-style “quick view”, so you can scan and see what you want to read. Totally saves a lot of time – and the best part, it’s out of your email inbox.

Create folders and filters in your email account. This will allow you to read the emails concerning a topic when you want to. Folders such as “Urgent”, “Family”, “School”, etc, will help you categorize your emails for easy viewing and reading, and keeps your front page less cluttered.

Create separate email accounts. Some people would rather have all their emails in one inbox, but this option may be the best if your work and personal life is thriving. Keep your work email for work only, keep your personal email for personal stuff only.

Put a useful signature. Adding an email signature is really helpful. Instead of writing the same things over and over again (such as what you do, what’s your phone number, etc), you can add all information about yourself that may be regularly asked. For example, if you’re an artist, add in a link to your portfolio. Also, always add a “sign off” and your name to your email signature, so you don’t have to type it out every time. A good email signature is: “Best regards, Jane Doe, Artist, Los Angeles, California”.

Two words: Canned responses. This is a lifesaver of all, my friends. If you tend to get the same kind of emails over again, there is an option of canned responses which basically mean you write out a default response, and all you gotta do is click on it when you want to send that response to someone.

Email Management To-Do List

Do you have email overload, and don’t know where to start? Here’s a quick check list:

1. Add in an email signature, including all the basic information about yourself and/or information you are asked about all the time. Your full name, phone number, occupation, location and any links to portfolios or social media should be added there. That way, the next time someone asks you for that info you can just reply back “it’s in my signature” or “info is below”.
2. Start unsubscribing to newsletters, websites and blogs you no longer are interested in. Consider using a different program to subscribe to your favorite blogs, like Bloglovin.
3. Start creating folders and filters for your emails. Start organizing older emails and also for future emails, get in the habit of putting them into filters and folders.
4. Start writing out canned responses. Think of some of the more popular emails you get, and write out some short responses. You can always edit these responses, but writing out the “meat” of it helps a ton.
5. Set an e-mail time. For example, I like to check my email in the morning for an hour, in the afternoon for half and hour, and then once again at night. Stick to this emailing schedule and try not to be so overwhelmed. Tell yourself you’ll spend and hour, or however long, and then log out after. What I like to do is reply the quick “less than 5 minute” emails and then end with the longer ones.
6. Remember: think short. When writing emails, start getting into the habit of being to the point. Don’t go on and on – not only do you waste a lot of your time, but I also think the reader of the email would also rather not read a long email and waste a lot of their time, either!
7. There’s always the telephone… I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a fan of talking on the phone. But nor am I a fan of writing long emails, so the telephone is the better option! So for longer talks or when you have to explain things in detail, there is always the good old telephone which you can get across a longer message in way less time and effort.

Over to you

I hope my email overload tips have helped you. If you know someone who is struggling with email overload, please share this article to them. And if you have any more email overload tips, feel free to share them with me on Twitter, I’d love to hear them.

P.S. For those extra stressful email moments, check out How to: take a mental vacation.