Are you afraid of your email inbox?
Do you dread opening your email every day?
Do you have trouble finding an important email when you need it?
Are you losing potential clients because their emails are buried unseen in your inbox?
If you said yes to any of these statements, welcome to the “Email Overwhelm Club!” Its membership is much larger than you would expect.
Email overwhelm is when you are stressed out over the amount of email you receive. It occurs when your inbox is constantly full, you receive so many emails that it’s difficult to keep up, and you feel like you’re always behind with little possibility of catching up. This can definitely be a drain on your overall productivity and also your mental health.
What to do?
There are definite steps you can take to tame that email overwhelm and take control of your inbox. Here are some suggestions from people who have studied this issue:
- The first thing you can do is very simple: Turn off your email notifications. Hearing that “ding” or whatever sound you have selected to make you aware that an email has been received sets off a Pavlovian response of “I must stop what I’m doing and look at that email!” When you turn off the notification, that response goes away.
- Now that you aren’t responding to every “ding,” you are free to establish set times when you will check your email. Some suggest two 30-minute blocks of time per day, but you can make it three or even four blocks of time. Then stick to that schedule. I have a friend who checks her work email at 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. Once you get in the habit of checking your email at those times, you will find your mind is free to be more productive throughout the day.
- Do a triage of your inbox when you first check your email:
- Look for emails you can respond to immediately and do it. Then move that email to “Archive” or to its appropriate folder. (Utilize folders to move emails regarding projects, people or companies with whom you regularly communicate.)
- If the response will take longer or you want to think it over first, move those emails to a folder called “Reply.” NOTE: You must remember to regularly check your “Reply” folder, so these emails don’t get overlooked. (A calendar reminder is helpful.)
- The emails that you want to read for information, move to a folder called “Read.”
- The many emails you receive that are subscriptions, determine which of them you still want and move them to the “Read” folder. All other subscriptions (which should be most of them), do an “unsubscribe.” There is always a link at the bottom of the email, in very small type, where you can click to unsubscribe.
- Everything else is for “Archive” or “Trash.” Don’t be shy about using the “Trash,” but if you just can’t part with an email, “Archive” it.
- Develop consistency in performing this triage and soon you will reach “Inbox Zero,” where all you have are emails currently coming in, with everything else having been acted upon, placed in its appropriate folder, archived, or trashed.
Don’t overlook using a virtual assistant to help with this task.
This is where a virtual assistant can step in and manage the email overwhelm for you. Guided by your instructions and knowledge of your business, your virtual assistant can sort, organize, and even respond to many of the emails you receive. Your job is building and running your business, not be bogged down in your email inbox.
Many small business owners and entrepreneurs find themselves with severe cases of email overwhelm. Their businesses are growing, and emails are piling up. They can’t keep up with the volume and they are afraid of missing potential clients and leads buried among the hundreds of emails in their inbox.
If you suffer from email overwhelm, consider hiring a virtual assistant to set you free to do what you do best—run your business!
Please check out my other blog, “Thoughts for Your Day.”
