My Inbox Zero
Getting my email organized was a lot of work, especially since I have been neglecting my inbox for years and it already has a thousands of emails! AHHHH!!!!For me the idea of an empty inbox is piece of mind. A heard about inbox zero while working through Set Up Shop by Jess of Create and Thrive. It has cleared up mental space for me, I feel like I can find the most recent and relevant emails. Deal with the stuff that needs to be dealt with, have a place to stash it and move on.
Here is what I did.
I create some categories that work for me. Then I broke them down. I am pretty detail oriented, so just achieving messages I was done with was not enough. My plan is to officially archive the messages at the end of the year so that I can stay organized throughout and then move on from there.
My System Looks Like This:
Inbox
Needs Response - Cleared out and caught up on ever week
New Orders - To be put into order book daily
Needs Action - Cleared out and caught up on ever week
Defer - Check once a week and wade through:)
Interesting & Inspiration
Six Bits Story Books
Fibre Works Archives
sub folders include:
- Order
- Supply Order
- Customer Inquiry
- Wholesale Information
- Projects
- Festivals
- Exhibitions
- E Books
- Patterns
- Guilds
- Taxes
- Receipts 2016
- January
- February
- March
Personal Archives
sub folders include:
sub folders include:
- Photo Transfer
- Family
- Funny
- House
- Cat Sitting
These categories work for my life, your categories can and likely will be unique, just like you:)
When an email lands in my inbox I sort it into the correct folder if I can't deal with it right away. For me this allows me the space to have my email open for reference as I work through tasks to be completed, but removes the distraction of worrying how I will remember to get back to that email.
Now to work through all the organized Needs Response and Needs Action emails!
