0 emails (click image to view large)

I’ve seen numerous people who’s inbox is just cluttered with unread emails. I don’t know about you but I can’t stand to have unread emails sitting there. I used to mark emails unread as a way of letting me know that I would have to follow up with that email. Now, I use gmail’s built in tools such as “starring” an item. If you look at the image, all my spam is actually in the spam folder.. all 600+ emails. The best thing about gmail is the anti-spam system. So how do I keep my inbox clean and clear?

1. Set specific times to check email.

I think it’s terrible to constantly check emails.. possibly unhealthy. I’ve done a pretty good job at closing my email client so that I cannot see it.

2. Don’t sign up for newsletters.

I suggest using a different email account if you’re going to sign up for any newsletters or sign up for something that offers a free product or trial. These sites may sell your email address to those who spam.

3. Empty the deleted items.

The trash folder is for trash. It’s not an organizational folder for important emails. I’ve had people come up to me asking how they can recover emails from the deleted items because they’ve used it as an organizational folder.

4. Next Action

Do what you need to do to clear that inbox. Reply to the email now or put it in a “need to process” folder. Develop a next action to get to zero.