{"id":201515,"date":"2025-04-23T22:56:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T22:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/marketing\/5-steps-to-inbox-zero-erin-blaskie\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T22:56:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T22:56:56","slug":"5-steps-to-inbox-zero-erin-blaskie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=201515","title":{"rendered":"5 Steps to Inbox Zero \u2014 Erin Blaskie"},"content":{"rendered":"


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For example, you may want to use the \u201cFrom\u201d box to filter all e-mails from a certain person or you could even use the \u201cSubject\u201d box if you want to group e-mails that all contain a specific subject.<\/p>\n

In my own inbox clean-up, I will sort by people and then I\u2019ll typically sort by familiar subject lines.<\/p>\n

For example, all of the receipt notifications I receive from my shopping cart, when someone makes a purchase, all have the same subject line. By filtering all of those out at the same time, I can easily label them (see the section on that below) and then archive them out of my inbox so they don\u2019t take up valuable, actionable space.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve set your parameters, click \u201cCreate filter with this search.”<\/p>\n

Now, you can choose what you want to do with those e-mails.<\/p>\n

You can mark them as read, apply a label, delete it, etc. Plus, you can click the box next to \u201cAlso apply filter to matching conversations\u201d to quickly and effortlessly perform a bulk action on all of the e-mail of that type.<\/p>\n

Remember, any filters you create will be applied to all future e-mail as they arrive in your inbox so choose carefully.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to create filters just for the clean-up process, that is okay, too! Set them up and run them and then, when you are all done and your inbox is clean, delete the filters. Keep any filters in place that you wish to auto-run whenever you receive new e-mail.<\/p>\n

Review What\u2019s Left<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Now that you\u2019ve archived, deleted and filtered your e-mail, you should be left with only the e-mails that need processing. For this, we\u2019re going to move on to Step #3 \u2013 Processing Your Inbox.<\/p>\n

This step can be used immediately after the initial clean-up to further reduce your e-mail and then it can be used as a daily \/ twice daily procedure on an on-going basis to help keep you at inbox zero.<\/p>\n

Step #3 \u2013 Processing Your Inbox<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now that you\u2019ve got your inbox cleaned up, it\u2019s now time to put a daily processing system in place and process any remaining e-mails from your clean-up. Below, you\u2019ll find some of the tips that have helped me to achieve inbox zero each day.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d encourage you to add what works to your own flow and of course, modify it to suit your needs. Leave a comment below if there\u2019s anything you do on the processing side that others might find useful.<\/p>\n

The 2-Minute or Less Rule<\/strong><\/h4>\n

David Allen, author of the very popular book\u00a0Getting Things Done<\/em>, wrote a productivity rule in his book that I have never forgotten. His idea was simple:\u00a0if you can do the to-do \/ e-mail \/ whatever it is in two minutes or less, do it right away<\/strong>\u00a0without moving it to another system (ie: a to-do list) or leaving it sit idle without action.<\/p>\n

I use this rule all the time for my e-mail inbox. As I\u2019m reading through my e-mail, I will reply instantly to any e-mail that requires a two-minute or less reply. This does two really important things for me:<\/p>\n

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    Creates momentum\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 when I\u2019m getting smaller things done, I begin to feel that amazing feeling of accomplishment, which bleeds over into the other aspects of my day.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Clears out the easy clutter<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 getting rid of the e-mail that is easy to reply reduces any overwhelm that I might feel when I look at my e-mail inbox. This makes me feel less apt to avoid my e-mail altogether.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Go through your inbox a few times per day and reply to any e-mails that will take you two minutes or less to craft your response. Once done, archive it out of your inbox and don\u2019t look back.<\/p>\n

    Move Your E-mail to To-Do Lists<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Once you\u2019ve cleared out all of the easy-to-reply-to e-mails, the next processing phase is to scan your e-mail and move whatever you can to a to-do list. I use\u00a0Monday.com<\/a>\u00a0to track my to-dos but you can use whatever tool is the easiest for you and compliments your workflow.<\/p>\n

    In my own inbox, I receive a lot of e-mail from Monday, our company\u2019s project management tool. Typically, these e-mails are simply a mirror of a message or a to-do that exists in Monday already. Getting the e-mail is simply a notification \/ alert that it\u2019s inside of the tool and more often than not, they require action on my part.<\/p>\n

    When I receive e-mail like this, e-mail that is simply an action that exists in another tool, I don\u2019t really need to keep the e-mail in my inbox. Instead, I can pop into Monday.com when I get an e-mail from the tool, add a due date and other pertinent details and archive the e-mail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n