If you are having trouble managing your email inbox you are not alone. Whether you are facing 9,000 emails or 90 emails the problem is the same – there is literally not enough time available to answer all the messages. What do you do?

1) Purge & Unsubscribe

If you really do have 9,000 emails in your inbox, then be realistic. You need to purge the clutter first. Here are two ways to approach the purge:

Delete wholesale. In all likelihood, if an email has been sitting in your inbox for more than a month and no one has pinged you about it, it can probably be archived or deleted. Play it safe and delete or archive everything two months or older, then start Unsubscribing to newsletters as they show up fresh in your inbox.

Sort and delete in chunks. If you the idea of deleting wholesale completely freaks you out (I couldn’t do it) then sort your emails by name, and then delete in chunks. This not only lets you thoughtfully delete without fear of losing an important email, but also lets you Unsubscribe as you go.

2) Triage

Now that the dead emails are pruned back, scan your emails and flag them:

• Red for anything related to money.
• Orange for anything coming from or related to a client.
• Yellow for anything coming from or related to your colleagues or business.
• Purple for anything that is fluff – newsletters, special deals, etc.

(Obviously, you can choose whatever colors you want, but try to follow your computer’s ranking system so that when you sort by flags they will sort in the above order.)

NOTE: Once you purge and create a sustainable email routine, you shouldn’t have to repeat step one. This step should be your first step in your regular routine.

3) Respond

Now respond to your emails in priority order. Red first, then orange, etc.

Any red, orange, or yellow emails that you can’t get to send a quick message saying: “Hello! Just a quick note to say I got your message. I am short on time today but will answer as quickly as I can.”

That way the sender knows they are on your radar.

4) Repeat Consistently

Set a time on your calendar to answer emails daily. I find that one hour every morning works well for me to stay on top of my emails, but you might find that it’s better for you mid-day, or in the afternoon.

Are you a late-night emailer?

If you are a late-night emailer, use the “schedule send” option on your email so the recipient still gets the email during business hours – you don’t need them knowing you’re up all night working and thinking they can get answers from you at all hours!

Still swamped?

Did you actually keep to your schedule of answering emails for an hour a day? No? Well, try again. It’s like a faucet and if you don’t empty the bucket catching those drips then, of course, it will overflow.

Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

It’s possible that you are writing emails that lead to a lot of back and forth. Check out this post if you want some tips on how to write more effective emails that will save you hours!

Need more solutions? Use your templates for faster response times.

Don’t forget to make use of template emails for stuff you say a lot. If you find yourself typing the same key paragraphs over and over (perhaps explaining your service options, or asking for key information from a new client) then get that info in a template – you can always customize before sending!

Need even more solutions? Use your auto-responder.

If you are chronically behind, consider an auto-responder. Use the vacation settings in your email to say:

“Thanks for your email! I’m over here working away on awesome projects just like yours, and so it might take me a day or two to respond. I promise to get back with you as quickly as possible!”

I recommend using this judiciously, perhaps when you are going to be especially swamped with a project or conference. If you have to use it all the time, reevaluate your systems.

But you did sort and answer your emails for an hour each day, you write careful and direct emails, you use your templates well, and you’re still overwhelmed?

Alright, now it’s time to consider help. Could someone else answer any of those emails? Are they about scheduling and coordination? Maybe it’s time to hire a VA or real-life assistant. If you could be spending that time making more money per hour than you would pay an assistant, then yep, hiring is a great option for you! And if you’re scared of hiring – I felt that way too! I’ll share how I approached my first hire in a future post – stay tuned!

Need a little help managing your systems better? How about a Quick Fix Session?

May your business always make you Seriously Happy (and leave you free time, too)!