Most of the time, when you’re going through emails, you’re just trying to keep up. And that’s fine.
But every now and then, it’s time to deep clean your inbox.
Deep cleaning your inbox is different than just going through your emails because as you go along, you’re putting systems in place to make things easier to handle in the long term.
This post goes along with my YouTube Video on this topic. In both the post and video, my hope is to go past the obvious advice and help you turn your inbox into a space that is manageable for you in the long-term.
Understanding Your Email Threshold
Everyone has a different sense of how many unread messages can be in their inbox before they feel like they’ve let things get out of control.
When you hit your personal email threshold, it’s time to make an appointment with yourself to tackle your unread messages. And when that time comes, it’s worth taking the time to get all the way to zero.
Redefine Inbox Zero
□ Understand that inbox zero means zero UNREAD messages – not inbox empty
□ Set up your inbox to show only unread messages – Make sure you’re only looking at what needs attention
□ Commit to making the red circle disappear completely – This is important for three reasons:
- It turns this into a project task instead of a maintenance task (with a clear endpoint and accompanying dopamine hit).
- It forces you to grapple with ALL types of emails and issues that keep things in your inbox.
- It gives you momentum to power through all the micro decisions involved in cleaning your inbox. (There are so many!)
Pre-Cleaning: Disconnect Any Old, Not-Really-In-Use Emails
Ask yourself: Do you have an email address that should be off the books completely?
Many of us have an old email that’s now 90% spam. There’s a good rationale for not releasing these emails back into the universe, but it should not be adding to your total email count.
Disconnect it from your phone and computer. You can check it every few months if you really want to, just to make sure there isn’t a stray email that’s worth reading.
Round One: Cut Your Number in Half (Low Hanging Fruit)
□ Work in rounds, trying to cut the number roughly in half each time
□ Handle the easy wins first – The more unread emails you have, the more are likely to be low hanging fruit:
- Receipts
- Shipping confirmations
- Event notifications for events you’re not attending
- Notifications that just require you to mentally say, “Uh huh. Yup. Got it.”
- Back and forth about events that have already passed
- Things you’re not interested in
□ Use the search bar for bulk handling – Search for words like “shipping,” “confirmation,” or “receipt” and mark them all as read
□ Unsubscribe with bonus momentum – Every unsubscribe saves you hundreds of future emails. Do a word search for other emails from that same sender and delete them all in bulk
□ Pause here and handle all your low hanging fruit
Set Up Your Email System (Optional but Recommended)
□ Consider setting up three additional email addresses for different types of content:
To-Do List Email:
- For things that are not time sensitive
- Put tasks right in the subject line
- Leave unread until handled
- Forward non-urgent items from high-priority inboxes
To-Read Email:
- For articles and newsletters
- Scan daily for urgent items
- Let emails build up for waiting room reading
- Subscribe to newsletters here instead of main inbox
Future Project Ideas Email:
- For “someday” projects that may be far in the future
- Ideas you don’t want to lose but aren’t ready to act on
- Only connect to computer, not phone
- Think of it as idea capture
□ Set up these email addresses during your deep clean (or skip for now and consider later)
Round Two: Handle 5-Minute Tasks
□ Skim remaining emails for things that can be handled in 5 minutes or less:
- One sentence answers
- Quick RSVPs
- Ordering something you already have the link for
□ Get rid of all but the most stubborn high-priority inbox items
Round Three: The Sticky Emails
□ Recognize that final emails are hanging around for more personal reasons
□ Handle emails that belong on your calendar – Put them on your calendar on a date that makes sense, then remove from inbox
□ For emails that don’t fit previous categories: Pause and think about how you handle this type of information coming through email
□ Consider what changes you might need to make to your overall system
Final Rounds: Handle Your Secondary Inboxes
Your To-Do List Email
□ Create a separate, organized document instead of handling directly from inbox
□ Organize items into categories as you cut and paste:
- Things to research
- Appointments to make
- Repairs to look into
- Miscellaneous tasks
□ Make the decision to NOT DO some things – Not everything you once thought was worth doing is meant to be done. If it’s not worth preventing you from reaching inbox zero, take it off the list.
Your Future Ideas Email
□ Create another organized document for future ideas
□ Consider the time commitment and timeline for each idea:
- Some may transfer to your immediate to-do list
- Some need to be saved for distant future
- Some you may organize by when you can actually tackle them
□ Don’t worry about using every idea – Some you won’t use, but some will be great, and you may not know which is which yet
The Final Moment
□ Click on your last email and make it go from unread to read
□ Watch that red circle disappear – You are now at inbox zero!
□ Plan to tackle your organized documents – Set a goal for today or tomorrow to handle the items you’ve organized into separate documents
Remember: This system is about putting processes in place to make your inbox more manageable in the long term, not just clearing it out once. Each decision you make during this deep clean helps you build better email habits for the future.