7 Reasons to Keep the Inbox Empty – Part 7
#7: There are more appropriate places to store email messages
Today’s blog is the seventh and final post in a series of 7 Reasons to Keep the Inbox Empty.
One of the biggest reasons you tend to leave message in the in-box is because you’re not sure where else you can store them. You don’t want to forget them (or lose them) so they are left in the in-box, creating lots of clutter and distraction.
However, once you get your e-mail folders organised it becomes much easier to move each e-mail out of the inbox.
If an e-mail is no longer needed, it should be deleted.
If you do need it again at some time in the future, it can be moved to an appropriate email folder (eg: Subject A, B, C or Client 1, 2, 3 or Project X, Y, Z).
If you have no folder for a specific e-mail, or you’re not sure which folder it should go to, or there’s not enough of this type of message to justify its own folder, you can move it to a ‘catch-all’ folder (eg: called ‘Reference’ or ‘Filing Cabinet’ or ‘Miscellaneous’).
If you have to hold the message while waiting for someone or something else to happen, it can be moved to a Waitlist or Pending Reply folder. Add a reminder to these so you stay in control in case the ‘someone’ or ‘something’ else doesn’t actually happen.
If the e-mail requires you to do some work, it should be converted to a calendar appointment, scheduling a block of time at an appropriate date and time to fit in with all your other commitments and workload.
Woo hoo – an empty inbox!
Once you made one of the above decisions about where to relocate each e-mail, the in-box is empty again. Every e-mail is now stored in an appropriate location, rather than left to accumulate in the in-box.
Why not check out these ideas to get your e-mail folders organised so you can keep your inbox empty and get e-mail under control?
