How to Organize Emails More Efficiently With Inbox Zero

Email is an essential part of doing business, but many executives and staff members complain they’re overwhelmed by the number of messages in their inboxes. In fact, a McKinsey Global Institute study shows that workers spend nearly 30% of their week reading and answering emails. 

Thankfully, staying in touch doesn’t have to consume your (or your employees’) workdays. This article will explain how to organize emails, offering a step-by-step guide for managing your inbox. 

What’s the Inbox Zero Approach?

Inbox Zero is the practice of regularly organizing, clearing, or responding to emails so messages don’t pile up and overwhelm you. That doesn’t mean you focus all your energy on answering or deleting every message. Instead, the goal is to prevent your inbox from becoming a cache for all your pending tasks. By following the steps in this article — and delegating some of the work to your Athena Assistant — you can achieve Inbox Zero.

4-Step Guide to Organizing Your Email Inbox

The Inbox Zero method is one of the best ways to organize emails — here’s how it works.

1. Begin With a Deep Inbox Cleanup

Delete or archive old emails that are no longer important or never were. Archive messages you may need to reference in the future, and delete the rest. If you have dozens of marketing emails from a single vendor you want to get rid of, search for the company name and delete all.

As you’re sifting through, consider unsubscribing from email senders you don’t want to receive content from. Think marketing emails, newsletters you never read, and unnecessary LinkedIn alerts. This reduces the time you spend on inbox management since you’ll receive fewer messages overall.

2. Organize Emails Using Folders and Automated Sorting

Most email systems have folders or labels that allow you to sort your inbox by category, such as sender, project, and urgency. Use these to your advantage by creating a system that reflects your work style. Here’s an example:

• Action required: These are emails you need to reply to or provide instructions for completing a task. 
• Pending: This category could include email threads where you’re waiting on another recipient to reply or further instructions for a project. 
• Read later: If you don’t have time to read a longer email now but want to revisit it later, put it in this folder. 
• Archive: This category is for emails you’ve handled but may need at a later time or want to retain for documentation. 
• Projects: Establish subfolders for each project, client, and team. 

Once these categories are in place, use your email system’s filtering rules to automatically sort new messages into the right folders. 

3. Set Times to Check Your Email

Use the time-boxing technique to set aside specific periods for checking emails. For example, you could schedule 15-minute blocks to check your email at 8:30 a.m., noon, and the end of your workday. This means you won’t get bogged down reading and responding to messages as soon as they come in. 

4. Manage Each Incoming Message

During your prescheduled block, handle each new email with the following techniques:

• Delete or archive: Get rid of unneeded messages, or set them aside in the archive folder for future reference.
• Delegate: Clear your inbox by delegating tasks directly to your Athena Assistant. They can categorize your email tasks and, in many cases, handle responses themselves.
• Respond: If your answer is brief, send it right away.
• Defer: Schedule time to handle in-depth messages. Use the snooze function so your emails reappear before you forget about them.
• Do: If someone emails you a quick request you can complete in a short timeline, do so. Use the “2-minute rule,” which dictates that if your task takes under two minutes, you should do it immediately before moving on. But look for balance here, too — tackling dozens of two-minute tasks can quickly take up your whole day.

How to Maintain an Organized Email Inbox

Once you clean up your inbox, the next step is to keep it that way. Here’s how to ensure your email stays clutter-free:

• Delegate inbox management: Your Athena Assistant can review your inbox, remove the clutter, and sort your emails in order of priority. Many executives find a time management matrix useful for this chore.
• Organize your inbox regularly and often: Cleaning your inbox should be a daily task for you or your team. If you have an Athena Assistant, discuss your email management priorities so they can take over this duty.
• Use task management tools: Don’t fall into the trap of treating your inbox as a task manager. Relying on emails instead of a clear to-do list might mean responsibilities go overlooked. To avoid this common issue, move the items in your “action required” folder to a task system, like Asana, Todoist, or Notion. These programs track everything you need to do and can send reminders so you never miss a deadline.
• Train importance markers: Some of the more popular email providers use AI algorithms to learn about the emails that you find essential. Mark the “important” flag on priority messages to train this tool. You can also use rules to automatically assign emails by sender, subject line, or other designators to specific folders.‍
• Use templates for repeated replies: If you often need to send the same response, create a reusable template you can copy and paste. Just remember to make the appropriate modifications before sending. Athena Assistants can help you set up canned responses for client FAQs, scheduling, and follow-ups.‍
• Turn off push notifications: Push notifications might encourage you to check your email outside of designated times, taking away from other tasks. Turn these alerts off so you’re not tempted to open your inbox off schedule.‍
• Mark junk mail and spam: Tell your email providers which messages you don’t want to see and didn’t ask to receive. They’ll put these emails in a separate folder or delete them altogether, and marking messages as spam helps providers identify future messages you likely don’t want to receive.

Get started with an Athena Assistant

You don’t have to manage email accounts alone. Athena Assistants can review your inbox every morning to remove clutter, mark high-priority emails as urgent, and reply on your behalf when possible.

And our assistants support you in more than just email management — they’re highly trained professionals who can do everything from preparing reports to organizing business travel. If you’re ready to focus your time and energy on big-impact items, contact Athena today.

FAQ

How do I get started organizing my emails effectively?

Managing an already cluttered inbox may seem daunting, so break it down into smaller steps. Start by cleaning out your inbox, creating folders, and using filters to channel emails into their proper place. Once you’ve set up your inbox correctly, set aside some time each day to organize and respond to messages. 

If you’re looking to save even more time, delegate these tasks to your Athena Assistant. They’ll prioritize important communications and handle the rest.

What are some common categories for email folders?

Most executive assistants start with the basics: Action required, waiting on, and archive. You can also create folders specific to projects and clients. But don’t make too many folders, either, as this can become confusing and hamper productivity. 

What if I’m falling behind in maintaining my inbox?

If you clean up your email inbox and you’re still getting bogged down with new messages, it’s probably time to delegate. Hire an Athena Assistant to help you manage your inbox and other executive functions.

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