Three tips to stop email overload

Do you dread your email inbox?

Does it seem like there are monsters lurking there?

Maybe a wave of anxiety rushes over you as open your emails and anticipate today's new number.

Your stomach knots - that short delay before they hit.

A tsunami of work waiting to cascade down on you.

A mountain piling higher and higher.

Ready to topple over on you. 

You wince as you watch the number rise.

To add to the hundreds already there.

You've got snippets of to-do lists whirling round your head.

I need to finish those slides for the investor meeting.

But I have to check these emails. 

You want to run away.

I can’t face this right now.

You grab another cup of coffee instead.

Why can I never seem to get on top of these?

Wait! The meeting with the investors. I've forgotten about that...

Now imagine opening your inbox and feeling ease.

By the time you check, you’ve already prepared for the investors meeting.

Because you did that first thing this morning.

Your most important result for the day.

Already completed. 

With a sense of accomplishment you spot a handful of new emails.

You sip your coffee and read them one by one.

You take a moment to check each one with intention.

To actually consider what really needs done here. 

You reply to two. 

Forward a couple more to your team to pick up.

Add a reminder to your calendar to check in with them.

Hit unsubscribe to a marketing one you no longer read.

You archive the rest.

You high five yourself as your inbox number is 0 again.

You're on top of it all. 

You close down your emails.

And don't think about your inbox until it's time to check again.

The first scenario used to be us.

But now, it's the second. 

Coaching helped us realise that our inboxes can't control how we feel.

Even though it can feel like they do. 

Because inboxes and emails, numbers and words on a screen, can’t possibly make us feel anxious.

It’s the story our brain attaches to them.

It's what we make them mean about us.

Or what we think is in there that might go "wrong" (our brains love convincing us worst-case scenarios are a certainty!).

You can regain control of your emotions from your inbox. 

And regain control of your time.

You can stop the worry and the dread.

And your brain's story about inbox monsters lurking there. 

You can use your brain to do so much more than worry about your inbox.

The first step is awareness.

What story is your brain telling you about your inbox?

Is it even true?

Who would you be without worrying about your inbox?

As well as noticing your thinking, here are three practical steps to get you started on the journey to control of your inbox:

1. Use one subfolder (e.g. Archive) instead of many. You can always search for any past emails. It's easier when they're all in one place.   
2. Only process your inbox at set times during the day (and put these in your calendar).
3. Either reply to, forward, delete, archive or defer (move the details to your calendar) any email. 

It's time to own your inbox. 

You've got this!