3 Things for Work Email Bliss
Inbox Bliss in 3, 2, 1…
Digital Organizing: Work Email
Wouldn’t it be great if your email inbox could spark joy, too? I offer digital organizing services to not only help bring organization to your email inbox, but ALSO to help you reimagine your workflow, re-examine your processes, and reset how you’re using your digital tools.
I recently started working with my client “B” bringing clarity and organization to her work email inbox. “B” had over 400 unread emails and was losing sleep over things slipping through the cracks. Together, we setup filtering Rules, sorted, and archived emails — but most importantly, we identified 3 KEY things that were contributing to her overall inbox stress.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed in your own work email, consider these 3 things, too!
1️⃣ Re-order Your Email Folders
Similar to a physical paper filing system with folders, creating digital folders for your inbox helps keep saved emails organized for faster access. When you do this, email servers automatically alphabetize your folders by title. However, we want to make sure the folders you FREQUENTLY need to access are at THE TOP of your list. This will eliminate unnecessary scrolling! To do this, you can add a number to the front of your folder’s name or an asterisk or the “@” symbol — these will all bump that folder to the top of the list.
Examples:
1 - January Photos, 2 - February Photos, 3 - March Photos, etc.
(If you did not put numbers in front, the order of these folders would be alphabetized as February Photos, January Photos, March Photos, etc.)*Important Docs
@Action Required
Play around using the numbers, asterisk and “@” symbol to see what works best for you!
2️⃣ What Emails are Essential to Receive?
As a manager, “B” was cc’d on almost all her team’s emails. This meant that she was cc’d on very low-level conversations to track an assignment’s completion, which drowned out her own important emails that required action. It is important to ask yourself, “What is essential to be cc’d on?” Perhaps it is creating “CC parameters,” like only being cc’d on high-level projects or when certain high-level people are involved.
Another question to ask is, “Does this need to be an email?” Perhaps there is another alternative communication that might be easier or more effective such as an instant message or delivered during a meeting.
3️⃣ Set Boundaries and Expectations
Email works 24/7, which means it can feel like the emails never stop. “B” felt a lot of pressure to reply quickly to inquiries, and felt like a failure when she couldn’t keep up. If you feel similar to “B,” ask yourself: “What is a reasonable email response time?” To help set expectations, you can include your typical email response time in your signature.
Example:
I typically reply to emails within 24 hours. If you require a faster answer, please give me a call.
Signatures are a great place to set boundaries and expectations around email. One of my favorites I saw was: My work day may look different than your work day. Please do not feel obligated to respond out of your normal working hours.
⭐️ Bonus Tip for Deep Work
Disengage the pop-up notifications or sounds for incoming email! And when you need to do deep work with zero distractions, completely close out your email inbox. If you feel worried that you might miss something while you’re doing this, you can always setup an Auto-Reply that says something like: I am heads-down on a project and only checking my email periodically. You can expect a response from me within 24 hours. If your request is urgent please give me a call.
📧 Remember, email is a tool.
It should HELP you do your work, not completely dictate your work day. Cheering you on to email inbox bliss! ✨