5 Steps to Simplify Your Email Inbox

Monday, July 8, 2013


One way I am trying to destress this year and focus more on minimalism (having less) is by decluttering, organizing, and simplifying my email inboxes.  I've posted about decluttering your online life before but here's a few more tips!
I have 2 email accounts.  My gmail is for blog and work related stuff.  It's the email address listed on my business card.

My Comcast email is used for ebay, Paypal, bill paying, and surveys.

 
My Comcast one is pretty simple, if it's in my inbox, I have to pay it or do it.  When it's done, I delete it. 

My gmail inbox however, is very large and full.  So here are my tips to simplify your email.

1. UNSUBSCRIBE
 Take a look at what you subscribe to, and then unsubscribe to whatever you end up deleting all the time.  No need to clutter up your inbox with newsletters from stores you don't shop at or newsletters for blogs that you never read because you are too busy actually visiting the blog itself.  
2. USE FOLDERS
I make folders for everything. Here are some examples of folder types:
  • Finance Articles
  • Fashion Articles
  • Organizing Articles
  • READING
  • Personal
  • Pictures
  • Receipts
  • Product Reviews DONE
  • Product Reviews Current
3.  USE FILTERS
Did you know that you can set filters so that anything that comes from newsletter@(YourFavCompany.com)  will automatically go into a designated folder? You can even have it marked as read, OR keep it as new.  I have filters for Reading (newsletters, etc.). This cuts back on A LOT of stress for me because I don't have to worry about what's in my inbox since I only see the important stuff when I glance in now.

4. TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS
I have notifications only for my gmail because it's my business contact email.  My comcast only gets checked when I go to theinbox.  This means that on my iPhone, only one inbox comes through with notifications. Way less stress for me!
And in my social media accounts, I disabled any email notifications. No point if I have another way to get the notification!

5.  DON'T SAVE EVERYTHING
I used to save tons of articles for reference then I realized, the main points of the articles were things I read, and did, and had in my memory, so why bother keeping the articles? I only kept a few and now my mailbox has way more space in it!






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4 comments:

  1. I really need to do some major cleaning of my inbox. I think my biggest problem is that I like to save things, but at least I keep them organized with creating folders. I do need to go back and see what all I'm subscribed to though and really cut back!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, it totally makes a difference. I have had to do it about three times this year and its only now that I finally find that I'm not as stressed at my desk at wrk because i dont hear my cell constantly buzzing from emails

      Delete
  2. You should also checkout the website unroll.me. It's so great! It will sync with your email and create an "unroll.me" folder. Then, you can specify which email addresses you would like to unsubscribe from, keep in your inbox, or add to your unroll.me folder. For examples, all of my emails from job sites, stores, etc. are sent straight to that folder. It really helps in keeping the important emails at the top of your inbox.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome!!!!! I'm trying that! Thanks Megan!

    ReplyDelete

I love reading and responding to comments but in order to get my reply you must ensure you are NOT a no-reply blogger. If you are, here are some quick steps to change that!

1. Go to the home page of your Blogger account.
2. Select the drop down beside your name on the top right corner and choose Blogger Profile.
3. Select Edit Profile at the top right.
4. Select the Show My Email Address box.
5. Hit Save Profile.