If you’re constantly checking your emails, if your inbox just keeps growing and growing and if you can’t help but sigh when you receive a new message, this tool is for you. You can use email in a way that supports your work, rather than hindering it. If you’re already an Inbox Zero master, maybe you know someone that might benefit from this tool.

1. Managing Your email
If email rules your working day, you’ve failed. It’s time to usurp the demon king
of email and rule your inbox. Head over to your inbox now and start processing
your emails.
Who this tool is for
If you’re constantly checking your
emails, if your inbox just keeps
growing and growing and if you
can’t help but sigh when you
receive a new message, this tool
is for you. You can use email in
a way that supports your work,
rather than hindering it. If you’re
already an Inbox Zero master,
maybe you know someone that
might benefit from this tool.
What you will get out of it
An empty inbox that stays that
way and keeps you focused on
your real work.
What you’ll need
• 1-2 hours free of interruptions to
set up
• Access to your email with ability
to set up folders and rules
• For best results use after the
Project Focus Tool and alongside
the Daily Review.
Tools created by
www.peoplewhodo.co.uk
CLICK HERE TO LEARN
HOW TO WORK SMARTER.

2. The tool
Don’t check your emails
constantly
Find a new default setting.
Turn off notifications and check
emails only two or three times a
day. Schedule this time in your
calendar. (If you need help on this,
see our ‘Managing Your Calendar’
tool.)
Manage expectations
If people are used to getting a
reply from you instantly, let them
know that you are changing your
habits and will only be checking
emails at certain times of the day.
You can do this when you next
speak to them or by inserting a
signature like ‘I only check emails
at 11am and 4pm.’
Change the culture
If you believe others have
expectations that you should be
looking at your emails at all times,
use the argument that you’re
actually getting work done when
you’re not checking them. If it’s
urgent, perhaps it’s quicker to pick
up the phone instead?
Maybe you can lead by example.
The next time you have a quick,
urgent question, why not pick up
the phone instead of pinging an
email?
An effective system to process
your email
1. Create the following folders:
@Action
Here you will file all the emails
that you need to action. Visit this
folder every day and schedule
the related actions/tasks in your
calendar. Don’t forget to look
carefully through this folder
during your daily review. (See the
Daily Review tool.)
@Backburner
This might be a good place for
newsletters you’re interested in
and other unimportant emails.
Only place emails here if you really
don’t need to look at them again.
@Waiting
This holds emails reminding you
that someone needs to come back
to you on something, more on this
later.
@Filed
Here is where you file away those
emails you have finished with and
need to keep.
Don’t forget that you already have
a Trash folder, it’s an important
part of your system.
2. Store your filed emails
in one place
Move your current folders of filed
emails to the @Filed folder. From
now on store all your filed emails
in a single folder. It’s faster to
run a search for an email than go
through your folders to find it.
(Some people still find it helpful
to keep temporary folders, for
example when they are related to
a discrete project. That’s fine, just
move the folder to @Filed when
its over.)

3. 3. Use @Waiting for to
keep track
Create a filter that moves any
email received from you (but
where your name is not in the
To: field) to the folder @Waiting.
When you send an email you want
to track, BCC yourself and it will
appear in the @Waiting folder.
Checking this folder should be
part of your weekly review. (For
more on this, see the Weekly
Review tool.)
Running the system
Now you can start using the
system. Go through your inbox
every day and clear it by filing
away your emails.
1. Archive
Put anything that’s older than a
week or two (or whatever cut off
point you are comfortable with)
in the @Filed folder. It’s ancient
history by now.
2. Bin it
Look through all the remaining
emails in your inbox and delete
anything that is junk or you don’t
need to keep. Unsubscribe from
every newsletter that you never
read.
Managed to clear your
inbox? Share your success
on Twitter:
@NokiaAtWork
#smartereveryday
3. Keep it for later in the
@Backburner
Move any emails to the
@Backburner folder if they aren’t
urgent but you hope to read them
at some point in the future. Make
sure these items aren’t taking
up headspace. If they are, you
probably need to rethink where
they need to go.
4. Your @Action folder
All that is left now is to deal with
your @Action emails. Do the
upfront thinking now: what needs
to happen next?
Can you deal with them in two
minutes? Deal with them now.
Otherwise, put an action in your
calendar and deal with it then. If
you find that you have numerous
emails you can process in two
minutes, schedule a time that suits
you to deal with them all at once.
You need to inspect your @Action
folder every day, as part of your
Daily Review. Our Daily Review
tool can help you with that.