I’ve realised in the last two weeks my relationship with emails is unhealthy – both at work and at home. I’ve also realised that my use of emails is old fashioned and needs improving. I have resolved to ‘triage’ my home (with a small side gig) and work emails WAY better in the future both for my productivity and mental health. I’ve read a bit and watched a few youtube experts and think I know how I’m going to handle this going forward (‘going forward’ – did I just write that? I’m such a knob). Better use of a few labels, better layout of gmail, use (sadly for the first time I add) of archiving.

But what to do with the backlog……I can see how could much easier daily triaging of my inboxes will be if I start each day with 10-15 emails and get that down to zero with a couple of triage sessions a day as an ingrained habit. But that’s not where I am now. There are 12000 emails in my home inbox(s) and 15000 in my work inbox. Every one of those ****ers I must have paused and not deleted because I thought they might be useful – some with info that was maybe pertinent, some because I needed to action something (I might have actually done it…or not – no idea). Some (most) will now be irrelevant even I thought them useful at the time. Some of them are probably just spam circulars for companies that I was just too busy or disorganised to do anything with and once they got onto the 2nd or 3rd page of my inbox got forgotten about. Who knows – there’s a lot to sift through.

So……has anyone tamed their inbox beasts and how did you do it? Not so much how you keep on top of your daily incoming mail (although that is interesting too – I will be one of you very soon), but how did you get from where I am now to where you are now. You could just select all and archive or delete I guess, but something in the back of my mind says I didn’t slay them on the day they arrived for a reason. If they are just archived they can just be dipped into with a search I suppose so no really hard done….

For info its a gmail workspace environment at home and office 365 at work. I’ve resolved never to use an App again (outlook or mac mail)- it’s online within chrome (with offline viewing turned on for gmail) from here on in.

I feel kind of envious of past generations that didn’t have to deal with this shit – the work pigeonhole and notice board were not such a demanding mistresses. I also think way more education/training should be given about this – it’s kind of assumed we all know how to do this but asking around most people have an unhealthy relationship with email and spend WAY too much time with it daily. How much time is wasted daily or tasks missed by poor email handling?

delete them all and move on,

or mark them all as read and move on.

Beaten. Mark all as read. If it’s important they’ll chase you again for it.

or mark them all as read and move on.

^^That! 🙂

I run my inbox like that – clears out the time-wasters who have bulk emailed 20 different companies fishing for a dirt-cheap price.

The serious ones will get back in touch.

Stick them all in an archive folder so you can search for anything you need, then start fresh.

I’ll fourth the above. Select All > Mark as Read, did it last week after two and a half weeks off. If they don’t understand the Out of Office the first time round they deserve it.

Archive rather than delete. They are still there if you need them, but your inbox is clear for your new start.

I use Spark Mail https://sparkmailapp.com which has made controlling emails easier for me. It has a ‘snooze’ function that is simple to use, so if I have an email that needs dealing with in a few days it can be ‘snoozed’ and not sit cluttering up my inbox.

Archive and Snooze. Honestly, it’s easy.

One of the pleasures of Gmail is the search function. Labels are handy for keeping some subjects together but mainly I just use search when I need to find something.

I use Spark Mail https://sparkmailapp.com which has made controlling emails easier for me. It has a ‘snooze’ function that is simple to use, so if I have an email that needs dealing with in a few days it can be ‘snoozed’ and not sit cluttering up my inbox.

Google mail also has this function. I also like how it uses AI to know if you have sent an email that requires a response and it will flag it in a few days to see if you would like to follow it up.

Archive rather than delete. They are still there if you need them, but your inbox is clear for your new start.

I use Spark Mail https://sparkmailapp.com which has made controlling emails easier for me. It has a ‘snooze’ function that is simple to use, so if I have an email that needs dealing with in a few days it can be ‘snoozed’ and not sit cluttering up my inbox.

Archive and Snooze. Honestly, it’s easy.

This feels the best for me so far – but my inner retentionist really wants to go through them all and label the ones I ‘think’ I know I’ll want. But as you say I’m not deleting them. I need to play with office 365 more but in gmail a search will dip into archive alongside the labels and the inbox. An email can also be labels and archived at the same time. Not sure yet if office 365 does the same.

Interesting re Spark. My wife uses it on her android as she didn’t like the feel of the gmail app. I didn’t like the look of it. Gmail (on phone and in chrome) snoozes natively so I don’t think that alone is a good reason to switch.

One of the pleasures of Gmail is the search function. Labels are handy for keeping some subjects together but mainly I just use search when I need to find something.

Agreed – and tragically I’m only just appreciating now how powerful it is. This is the main reason I’ve resolved never to use Outlook or Mac Mail ever again – you just self-destructively disable some of the best tools to keep on top of your inbox.

You could just select all and archive or delete I guess,

Good guess.

Why do you care? Ignore them.

Time was, “managing your mailbox” was a thing because storage was critical. Today, meh. My work Inbox is 62,000 items.

the “e” in e-mail stands for “evidence”. Never delete anything. Mark it as read, move it to an archive folder, whatever, just make sure it’s still available

Why do you care? Ignore them.

Interesting, and yes I’ve thought that. I think I care because I know lurking in there are emails referring to stuff that I should have done. And I didn’t. But finding the stuff I should have done from all the other crap is a – a hassle, b – not achieved and c- stresses me out that I have either not bothered or not achieved it. I could be all ‘if it was really important they’ll search me out again’, but I’m not wired that way. Some of those requests will be a waste of my time, but others are stuff that I’ll be letting someone down if I don’t do. Hence why I want to have a small enough inbox that I feel I’m keeping on top of the important stuff.

The issue is what to do with the stuff that was important but is no longer (or it is too late to do the right thing). I’m resolved to select all and archive the lot. But faffing around now with office 365 the search facility suck balls in comparison to the gmail equivalent.

the “e” in e-mail stands for “evidence”. Never delete anything. Mark it as read, move it to an archive folder, whatever, just make sure it’s still available

That. Saved my arse a few times.

Any company/individual that doesn’t respond to an e-mail doesn’t get mine/my companies business “going forward” 😉 I’m sure as shit not going to send repeat e-mails in an attempt to do business with you.

I would archive anything more than 2 weeks old. Go through the stuff that is newer than that and flag items for action if they need it.
Then go with a strict policy: pick one of three things – delete, schedule, delegate.
The things you have scheduled you must do them when you have scheduled, so timescales need to be realistic.

I know you said no to Mac mail, but the smart mailbox feature is really good for auto sorting your inbox. Use a particular address or keyword for sorting. Gmail probably has a similar feature.

6084 unread emails in my personal account. I prune the mailing lists regularly by unsubscribing, and read once a day if I remember. Work is different, I read several times a day, delete and never file (1925 unread emails). If it’s important I seem not to miss it.

One other thing I’ve read and am going to abide by is turning off email notifications on all my devices. I’ll get to my emails when it is right for me, not because someone (or a bot) has sent something at a time convenient to them. Tempted to do the same with whatsapp too…..Social media notifications all turned off already.

Hence my previously documented and much derided love of folders. My inbox is nice and tidy, all important emails are dealt with and tucked away and I can find pretty much any email on any subject in seconds without resorting to searching, labelling, flagging etc.

Very occasionally I do search for something but not often and that finds it also but not as quick as me just going to the folder I know the email will be in :).

Workflow is look at inbox, delete any obvious crap and deal with anything that needs dealing with then file. I spend most of my working day in email so that is kept up to date at all times. My personal emails are dealt with in the same many every few days.

My current stats are 0 unread in all my accounts and 0 outstanding to action…

Anything more than a week old ditch, if its important they will be back in touch. If its not then its no loss

Reminds me of when back in the day my organisation first introduced email. Followed within weeks by blocking most users from bulk emailing 7000 people rather than just the 25 in the fishing/bowling etc club.

I’m another folders user, and I know it’s daft but it’s so ingrained I can’t escape.

An ex colleague used to file monthly, just in chronological order and then used search function, he had a pretty decent idea if it was last few weeks, last month, or last quarter, or older..

Coupled to flagging for action any that can’t be forgotten, I was in awe of the time he spent not organising his email

My home email is only loosely filed; ‘Stuff’, “Receipts’ and a couple of other folders. Makes it very quick to file – at least as quick as adding labels to everything.

My work email is a little more convoluted but once I have dealt with an email to do with the Joe Bloggs 2022 policy it goes in that folder so again, really doesn’t take long.

But sure, there is more than one way to skin the e-cat 🙂

Search for Amazon then delete all your tracking emails that are older than 6 months.

Thats 50% or your inbox away. then pick the enxt most common email inflow…

unsubscribe to everythign and apply fileters until you remove everything.

Mark everything as read and file in a folder: inbox2022.

All new stuff set up rules
Anything automatic, mark as read and file in a sub folder.
Unsubscribe too.
Keep going and you’ll be down to a few important emails a day.
Use labels for this – community groups, cycle campaigns etc

Then repeat step 1.

My inbox only contains active stuff. Things I have to respond to/take action on and things I am waiting on a response on. If I need to make a note to do something I send myself a mail and it will get done with everything else.

10 emails on work inbox, 1 on personal inbox.

Everything else gets deleted without reading (just from the title) or read and deleted or filed based on what I think after reading it.

I am a VERY organised person though so comes easily.

I’m terrible at this. I get too many emails to deal with so sometimes lose control of it. I’m going to try moving anything over 2 weeks old out of my inbox.

I do a rough filing system that seems to work – it’s basically 5 folders:
– Projects
– Responsibilities
– Team
– Personal
– Reference

And means that most things are pretty easily findable

Users of folders/labels…..do you always action before ‘foldering’? If not, how do you remember to go back to it? Or is this where you create a task list to remind you? I guess the snooze function in gmail is good there – I don’t want it in my inbox now, but I’ll want it back in a bit to do something with. Or starring I guess. Star and archive. Then when you are ready search for your starred emails – action and unstar. I get a lot of emails along the line of “this is the info you’ll need for the thing you are going to have to do at some point before the deadline in three weeks”. I’m not doing it now but when I do it in a spare moment in three weeks I’ll want what’s in the email to refer to. I suppose a lael called ‘will be important at some point soon’….

I could be all ‘if it was really important they’ll search me out again’, but I’m not wired that way. Some of those requests will be a waste of my time, but others are stuff that I’ll be letting someone down if I don’t do. Hence why I want to have a small enough inbox that I feel I’m keeping on top of the important stuff.

Use the little status flag to mark anything which requires a follow-up. Or send them to a to-do list. Actually, maybe that’s the answer, you’re fretting over having an unwieldy inbox with things to do in it which might get lost when what you really need is a to-do list or similar.

Your dedication is laudable but kinda futile. Have a read up on Monkey Theory. Half of that stuff you’re fretting about, the requester likely doesn’t give two stuffs about.

The issue is what to do with the stuff that was important but is no longer (or it is too late to do the right thing).

I believe I’ve already given you the answer to this. (-:

I get a lot of emails along the line of “this is the info you’ll need for the thing you are going to have to do at some point before the deadline in three weeks”. I’m not doing it now but when I do it in a spare moment in three weeks I’ll want what’s in the email to refer to. I suppose a lael called ‘will be important at some point soon’….

This I’d likely use OneNote for. Have a page for That Thing and copy the info into it. You no longer need to find the original email again.

I’m starting to think this is your issue. It’s nothing to do with being “on top of” your emails. Email is a communication medium, you’re trying to use it as a knowledgebase / time management system / to-do list / project manager / file store etc etc and it’s the wrong tool for the job. Rather than try to organise your Inbox, take important data out and put it somewhere more useful.

Users of folders/labels…..do you always action before ‘foldering’?

If it is in my inbox it has not been fully actioned. Once actioned it gets swiped straight out into the relevant folder.

Any junk, mailing list stuff that I am not interested in gets deleted first to generally cleanse my inbox for the day so anything that arrives (particularly in my work email) is to action. Don’t get much junk etc to my work one so it makes it more straightforward. As mentioned as well, for what I do email is my primary tool so I have the luxury(?) of spending 7+ hours a day in it so have plenty of opportunity to keep it tidy.

Unrealistic in email dependent jobs to manage everything that comes in now.
Used Sanebox.com for a few years until I left my last job with a very heavy emphasis on email communication and it’s a much more sophisticated filter (although the usual programmes are starting to catch up) It’s a monthly subscription. I used to insist anyone who had anything life and death to communicate, which it literally was, texted or better still telephoned me and not use e-mail. Always quicker to sort out on the phone and then follow up with an e-mail record.

I like a clean inbox, 20 items or less in it, if it’s in the inbox I need to do something with it. As soon as I have I then put them in a file.

I’d suggest, in the following order:
Mark all as read. Makes thigs easier if you start clean.
Order them by sender. This makes it a lost easier to mass delete, or at least mass move them into files. You’ll also see how much duplicated stuff and odd threads and chains there us.
If in doubt, archive.

In future:
Auto-archive anything that you’re copied into. People only do it to cover their own backside’s or as a “thought you might like to know”. Neither is your issue so get them out of your inbox.
Once you’ve dealt with an e-mail make sure archive, delete or file it. Keep your inbox clean.
If poss, allocate 15 mins each week to do a quick clean to make sure you’re on top of things.

As mentioned as well, for what I do email is my primary tool so I have the luxury(?) of spending 7+ hours a day in it so have plenty of opportunity to keep it tidy.

Yes this is true. I’m a teacher type (with some other responsibilities) – I’m expected to spend my days teaching, marking or prepping. I know – crazy! But, I’m also expected to be on top of an email inbox that I’m not expected to be looking at, but is busy. Mostly with emails from people who are not teaching all day so maybe having unrealistic expectations about the time you have to do not-teaching stuff.

I’m starting to think this is your issue. It’s nothing to do with being “on top of” your emails. Email is a communication medium, you’re trying to use it as a knowledgebase / time management system / to-do list / project manager / file store etc etc and it’s the wrong tool for the job. Rather than try to organise your Inbox, take important data out and put it somewhere more useful.

This is very perceptive. Yes, at work certainly that’s probably the issue. Needs more thought. In google there is a plug in called inboxwhenready.org that makes your inbox disappear and the other stuff around it become the thing you see. Toggle on and off. I don’t think there is a similar for office 365. To do lists, one note – I’ll do more looking around at what’ll work for me.

I like a clean inbox, 20 items or less in it, if it’s in the inbox I need to do something with it. As soon as I have I then put them in a file.

I’d suggest, in the following order:
Mark all as read. Makes thigs easier if you start clean.
Order them by sender. This makes it a lost easier to mass delete, or at least mass move them into files. You’ll also see how much duplicated stuff and odd threads and chains there us.
If in doubt, archive.

In future:
Auto-archive anything that you’re copied into. People only do it to cover their own backside’s or as a “thought you might like to know”. Neither is your issue so get them out of your inbox.
Once you’ve dealt with an e-mail make sure archive, delete or file it. Keep your inbox clean.
If poss, allocate 15 mins each week to do a quick clean to make sure you’re on top of things.

That sounds like an awful lot of tedious administration for a net gain of an Inbox which looks nice.

Back when I was doing customer-facing support I had a folder for each regular customer. Crucially though, each one had an Outlook rule which said “when email arrives from *@foocorp.com, move to FooCorp folder.” Moving every single email about manually? Bollocks to that, life’s too short.

I was just sorting my email before going away. I have “important” emails flagged so they stay – stuff I’m interested in, the rest get archived.

“Triaging”, “inbox zero”.

ROFL.

I delete obvious spam and nonsense, but other than that, my inbox has every email I’ve ever received for well over a decade. I occasionally sort by size and delete the powerpoint attachments etc. to control the total volume.

Remember that (computerised) searching is far more effective than (manual) filing, tagging, etc. If I want to look back on a conversation with person X where we talked about Y, I can do that in seconds, I don’t need to have put all those emails anywhere!

I use a flag for emails where I think I’m actually going to have to do something. Of course over time some of the flagged emails lose their salience, I sometimes look over them and unflag.

I’ll do more looking around at what’ll work for me.

I think that’s the crux of it. Everyone here, myself included, has gone “well, what I do is this.” Which is fine, but my workflow may not suit yours.

For me personally, OneNote was a life changer. I still hold that it’s one of the best things MS ever wrote (though its move to a Store App was a retrograde step IMHO, I prefer the classic installer). I have two workbooks, one personal and one for work, and I would be screwed without them. I have everything from my recipe book to installation steps for the system I’m working on currently.

The OneNote data store all lives in OneDrive, which was another gamechanger. I can get at “My Documents” (or, OneNote) from multiple computers or my phone instantly.

I don’t use a To-Do app but I probably should. That’s likely a topic for a different thread.

As what you decide though the key is a mantra I use a lot: “we’ve always done it this way” is the worst reason to do anything. For the cleaning fairies above, their method seems to work for them but sounds horrendous to me; whereas my method works for me and would likely be anathema to them. Currently, however you slice it, your way is not working for you and that’s what you need to address. What will work for you only you can decide, but if you keep doing the same thing you’re gonna get the same result.