Marty’s mail management

By Martin Piccoli, Digital Navigator

Is your inbox starting to feel more like a junk drawer than a helpful tool? You’re definitely not alone! Even as The Center’s Digital Navigator, I struggle to keep my inbox tidy.

Here are some of the ways I manage my email. These aren’t necessarily “the best” or only ways to manage email, but they work for me.

1. Give a specific time each week to really work on email
   Almost every Saturday—and if not Saturday, then Sunday—I set aside an hour just to do email.  Sometimes I need more time than that, but I make a small pot of coffee, and I set a timer.  (The “pomodoro method.”) This allows me more freedom during the week not to look at email.
   
2. Move items out of the inbox
   For me, the inbox is a temporary holding space. I try to keep my inbox under 50 items, and if I get over 200, I will take a Saturday morning off and attack the inbox.
   
3. Touch once, or maybe twice
   If you open an email and you can resolve it and get it out of your inbox in less than two (or three or four) minutes, do that. If you can’t resolve it quickly, leave it in your inbox, but only touch it one more time.
   
4. Check your oldest emails and knock off a bunch
   Sometimes I find that an item that is at the bottom of my inbox is an item that I have been avoiding.  Some Saturdays I sit down during email time and start with the 5 oldest emails in my inbox. I don’t give myself permission to ignore them anymore.
   
5. Use basic tools to manage your inbox
   All email providers give us at least some tools to manage our emails. Gmail includes Stars, Important, Snooze, Oldest, Search, Labels, Schedule Send
   
6. Use more complex tools, like filters (rules), to manage mail before it lands in your inbox.
   I use filters to automatically file my payroll statements, my newspapers, magazines, and other subscriptions. I also use filters to auto-delete some senders. (You can apply filters to entire domains.) For my family, I have a filter that automatically stars any email from them.
   
7. Think of email as temporary storage
   I do save emails and their attachments, but nothing that I will need for more than 3-4 years. If I know I want something longer than 3-4 years, I choose another way to save it.
   
8. Maintain a junk email address (that you will occasionally check)
   Mine is an old AOL address from about 1990. I check it once or twice a month. For reasons beyond Amazon’s control, it is their primary contact method for me, and they won’t let me change it.
   
9. Use your phone to clean the obvious junk
   I find the phone to be a great tool to swipe away much of my daily junk. I do not use it to figure out questionable email or to respond to important emails. I use a tablet or a computer for that more complex work.
   
10. Mark spam when you can; unsubscribe if you trust the sender
    Your email provider gives you the tools to mark spam. Figure them out and use them. If you identify something as spam, that will help take it out of your email and others’ email accounts in the future.
    
11. Don’t be afraid to start over with a new email address
    Sometimes the best way to declutter your email is not to clean and organize, but to move on. It won’t be quick. For a while you’ll have to use both as you switch from one to the other, but it will work out. My current email is the second personal of my life, and I’ve kept it pretty clean for over 20 years.

The Center provides a variety of programs and services to help you navigate the digital world. If you need help with your email or have other technology needs, we are here for you. Learn more.