Do you dread opening your email in the morning, knowing there are going to be hundreds of emails in your inbox? Many entrepreneurs have come to me saying that they love what they do, but they are drowning in emails. I am here to tell you that there are ways to dig yourself out and get them more organized.

For Gmail the use of labels is extremely helpful. You can use these to filter your emails. Here are some examples of creating labels:

  • Create a label and folder for each client
  • Create a label and folder for your e-zine subscriptions
  • Create a label and folder for different levels of priority (high, medium and low)

An easy way to get this organized, is to use the search function to find all emails from a certain person and then create a folder and label based on that person. Then every time that person emails you, you will see it in their folder instead of your main inbox.

Designate times during the day that you will check your emails. I would suggest something like checking them first thing in the morning, midday and then at the end of the day. Also, I highly suggest that if there is anything you can unsubscribe to, you do. You don’t want to add to the volume if emails. The archive feature is also helpful. Once you have attended to emails you can archive them. That way they don’t clutter your emails. You can always use the search function to find them if you need them later.

A great resource for getting organized and decluttering is David Allen’s Book, Getting Things Done. If you have a simple task that only takes a few minutes, complete it and move it off your to do list and out of your emails.

Here are some great plugins for Gmail from Fast Company that put you closer to avoiding email overwhelm. Hopefully these tips will move you closer to inbox zero!