If getting organised is one of your resolutions, don’t get started without a reliable process. Without making a systematic change, you may well end up going in circles – or even backwards. Then you’ll feel rotten, and we don’t want that.

I know you don’t have a lot of time, so here’s a quick and dirty (but solid) process to help you tackle the clutter in your life, whether it’s electronic, physical or mental.

The Quick and Dirty Organising Process:

1. Get real
2. Get some breathing space
3. Get past the guilt
4. Get new systems
5. Get a new mindset
6. Get support

This month we’ll look at how to apply the Quick and Dirty Organising Process to email. In future articles, we’ll look at paper, time, goals and clutter at home. If you would like to see examples for something else, just let me know.

Quick and Dirty Email Organising

If I only have an hour to help someone with email overload, this is what we do. I usually have to get a little bossy. It’s not pretty, but it works every time. Ready for me to slap you around a bit?

Step 1: Get Real

Admit that you’re not going to go through all those emails in your Inbox anytime soon. This is boring, time-consuming and probably unnecessary in most cases. So let’s get that email clutter out of your way.

Next, recognise that most of the time you spend filing emails is wasted time. How many do you really reach for again? When you do look for one, how successful is your search? Exactly. Let’s stop all that silly micro-filing.

Step 2: Get some breathing space

Move all your emails from the Inbox to a folder called Inbox 2009. Going forward, unsubscribe or set Junk Mail rules for stuff you don’t want to see again.

Take all your email folders and put them into a folder called Folders 2009. You’re going to set up something new – keep reading.

Get past the guilt

Call this a fresh start, and ignore that Inbox 2009 folder.

If this is hard for you, block 30 minutes each week to systematically process all those old emails according to your new systems. If you miss doing this some weeks – don’t fret. Hopefully you’ll discover that the world doesn’t turn on your old emails. Look forward – not back.

Get new systems

1. Create some email action folders that will help you clear your Inbox quickly each day. The idea is to batch emails according to your next action. Examples:

• Reply Today (This tends to roll to the next day, and that’s OK.)
• Review on Weekend (This is for stuff you don’t need to think about until you’re planning for next week.)
• Discuss (with boss/team/spouse at regular meetings)
• Admin (All those fiddly tasks you hate to do. Blast through them once weekly – with good coffee or wine at hand!)
• Personal (Put photos in here too – to organise later.)
• Reading (Great for regular newsletters, etc.)
• Watching/Waiting (For things you’ve delegated)
• Idea Capture (A personal favourite – for great ideas you want to process into your idea/project lists later, say once a month)
• Done (For emails you’ve dealt with, don’t need to micro-file, but want to keep. They don’t live in the Inbox anymore. Going forward, most of your old emails can be deleted or stored here and retrieved using your search function.)
• Current Projects (This will probably have subfolders – but keep it simple.)

2. Wherever possible, set rules to get emails into these folders for you automatically.

3. If you find yourself reaching for some of your old folders, look for how to incorporate these into your new action-focused system.

4. Establish a regular time each day or week to deal with what’s in your action folders. Tie this to a reliable routine you already have, or set a reminder on your desktop calendar or phone until this becomes a habit.

5. If you do a lot of emailing on your handheld, make sure you have folder sync set up so you can clear your Inbox properly anytime, anywhere. This is a great way to use the time while you’re commuting, waiting for a meeting to start or sitting in the car waiting to pick up the kids.

6. Set a target for keeping your inbox count low, and don’t call it a day before getting down to this number. This is a bit like creating a ‘clean desk’ policy for yourself. Examples:

• Inbox Zero (nice, but not essential)
• No more than what I can see without scrolling
• A round number, e.g. 10 or 30
• Your age

Get a new mindset

Treat clearing your Inbox like a game. Set a timer and see how long it takes you to hit your Inbox count target. I guarantee it takes less time that you think it does. This is always a hugely empowering realisation for our clients who are overwhelmed by email. Go ahead – time it, and watch yourself get faster.

Ignore that voice in your head that says clearing the Inbox is not really working. Without processing your Inbox systematically, you are regularly robbing yourself of time to focus on the real priorities. Not convinced? Read this article.

Get support

A lot of your email woes are related to the habits that have evolved between you and the people you live/work with. You can make everyone’s life easier by establishing some shared best practices about how and when you use email. Suggest you have a coffee or a call together to brainstorm ways to be smarter about email together.

This does not have to take a long time or be very formal. Just make the appointment and start the conversation.

Filed under: Email