Email Management: 7 Effective Ways To Organize Email
Emails are interesting, from making an effort for a client, going through an important email thread, to getting an invite to a social event. However, they can also be overwhelming and sometimes frustrating if they aren’t effectively managed and organized.
In this article, I’ll highlight 7 effective ways to organize email, so you don’t get burned out going through tons of emails daily.
What Is Email Management?
Email management is any strategy meant to organize, declutter, and otherwise make handling the steady stream of daily emails easier. Usually, it requires both traditional time management strategies and digital savvy to make your email client do some of the work for you. While implementing these strategies might take a lot of time upfront, you’ll save time in the long run.
Benefits Of Email Management
Once you get the hang of email management, incoming emails will cause less anxiety. Here are just some of the benefits you can expect from learning to manage your emails effectively:
Greater focus
Enhances communication
More free time
Increases Productivity
Ways To Organize Email
Ok, let’s get into it! I’ll now take you through how you can organize your email to maximize productivity, enhance communication, and free up time.
1. Unsubscribe from specific senders
Specific email management systems and software enable you to go through all your subscriptions and unsubscribe from specific senders. Too many subscriptions can clutter your inbox and make it much harder to respond to everyone you need to respond to daily. Unsubscribing from specific newsletters and promos helps prevent your inbox from getting too swollen.
2. Find an organizational system that works for you
Some people prefer a detailed folder system based on topic, while others prefer a simplified system based on what response the email needs. Take time to experiment and figure out what works best for you.
Case 1: Create 4 folders tagged Do First, Schedule, Delegate, and Don’t Do. Here’s a breakdown of what each of these folders should contain:
Do First: First, focus on emails that contain important tasks to be done the same day.
Schedule: Important but not-so-urgent emails should be scheduled to be done later.
Delegate: Emails containing tasks that are urgent but less important, you should delegate to others.
Don’t Do: Emails with content that is neither urgent nor important; don’t do it at all. You can also archive this kind of email.
You can learn more about the Eisenhower Matrix, which was used to create the organizational system above.
Case 2: Create folders or Gmail labels based on topics (like Work, Personal Growth/Development, Finances, Education, etc.)
3. Use filters
Once you set a filter, it automatically carries out the organizational task—like moving all LinkedIn notifications to a LinkedIn or Socials folder. Some email clients call these Rules. In Gmail, you can create filters using the function in the search window’s menu options.
If you’re using Gmail as your email client, you should check out an article on creating rules to filter your emails.
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4. Set specific times to read and respond to emails
Set up 2- 3 short time blocks (e.g., 15-30 min) throughout the day and set an additional time weekly to delete/archive old emails. If possible, avoid checking email constantly to minimize stress and distractions.
5. Mark emails as read/unread
An open box, envelope, or bullet point indicates an email has been read. Only mark the email as “read” if you have read it and decided what folder to move it to or what action is required. You can access this function through each email client’s more options area, usually illustrated by three vertical dots.
6. Archive emails
The archive folder is a helpful way to keep a record of critical conversations and attachments indefinitely till you decide to delete them. By keeping them in a dedicated folder, it is unlikely that you’ll delete them by accident.
7. Maximize the potential of email organization tools
Email organization tools offer various features, from helping you unsubscribe from many newsletters at once to reminding you and your clients to follow up on specific emails. Some excellent email organization tools include Gmail, Shift, MailDrop, Unroll.me, The Email Game, and FollowUpThen.
For more details on these tools, you should check out Hubspot's post on How to Organize Your Email: 13 Management Tools.
Summary
With this article on 7 effective ways to organize email, you’ll spend less time checking emails daily, be less likely to get burned out when going through emails, and can make the most of your email client.
Here’s a summary of the ways to organize your email:
Unsubscribe from specific senders
Find an organizational system that works for you
Use filters
Set specific times to read and respond to emails
Mark emails as read/unread
Archive emails
Maximize the potential of email organization tools
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Meet The Writer!
Hi. My name is Ibrahim Salman. I am a writer and editor interested in all things tech-related (and more inclined to data analysis). I have worked with organizations as an SEO content writer, where I developed content based on keywords to improve search engine visibility. I enjoy researching to know more and make articles relevant. I believe writing with the searchers' intent is critical. I look forward to working in more writing and data analysis positions. You can reach out to me on LinkedIn :)
