4 Unique Strategies for Reaching Inbox Zero

We all know how this goes.

我们打开收件箱，而恐惧的过于熟悉的感觉会消耗我们，因为大胆的主题线条淹没了屏幕。我们甚至不想查看“收件箱”旁边的括号中的数字。

根据Radicati's Email Statistics Report，企业专业人士在2017年每天平均发送和收到126封电子邮件。And that number is only increasing.

With this incessant stream of emails flooding our inbox, it's hard to stay sane, let alone productive. We can barely fathom the day when our inbox is clean -- when we have zero unread emails.

Customer support reps and customer success managers work with a lot of customers on any given day -- which means they're receiving a lot of emails, too. So we've compiled four distinct strategies for email inbox organization -- so you can choose which works best for you, implement it, and get back to the work you love, instead of wasting time (and mental energy) wrangling your unread messages.

接下来，让我们深入了解收件箱零电子邮件管理的规则。

The 5 Rules of Email Management

有lots实现收件箱的方法，所有这些都集中在电子邮件组织和收件箱管理上，从创建多个收件箱到使用标签或过滤器。

The problem is that it's hard to find the right method to achieving inbox zero when everyone has such different email habits and characteristics. What if you just want the best approach for you?

In this blog post, we've compiled the four best strategies for every type of emailer out there. But before we jump into the details of each strategy, let's review thefive commandments梅林·曼（Merlin Mann）创造的收件箱零方法original approach:

1.并非所有电子邮件都是平等的。

与大多数事情一样Pareto Principle在此处持有：我们20％的电子邮件将消耗我们80％的重点。不要战斗。欢迎使用少数电子邮件，并迅速处理剩余的80％。

2. Our time is precious.

Accept it: We won't be able to read and take action on every single email we receive. The input will always exceed the output. But that's okay. The sooner we acknowledge that we can't do everything, the sooner we'll be able to concentrate on what matters at the right time, and finish the rest later.

3. Less is more.

我们正在发送电子邮件，而不是一篇论文，论文或书籍。单行电子邮件还可以，10段电子邮件不正确。Bullets are great。Big blocks of text which require me to scour the nightstand for my reading glasses are not.

4. Lose the emotions.

Guilt, anxiety, whichever emotion floods us when we open our inbox, we must cut loose. Everyone feels overwhelmed. We can't concern ourselves withfeeling, though, we must focus on the正在做。

5. Be honest.

在我们真正钉住“收件箱零”之前，我们必须对自己的优先事项诚实，并设定现实的时间期望。我们所有人都有一个直觉的本能，应该得到哪些电子邮件应有的响应以及应该删除的响应 - 这可能很难，但是学习何时否则，对于实现收件箱零是至关重要的。

现在，让我们检查一下任何类型的电子邮件者如何获得收件箱零。

1. The Everyday Emailer

嗯，就像听起来一样，他们只是通过回复消息来处理收件箱。这个人非常忙，但没有花时间来组织收件箱或学习任何电子邮件提示和任何电子邮件提示和技巧。

管理电子邮件的有组织的过程是日常电子邮件的最好的朋友 - 基于MerlinMann's original approach, rooted in the把事情做好time-management method.

我们不断地淹没了来自客户，员工，经理，顾问，投资者，合作伙伴，爸爸，妈妈，弗雷德叔叔，媒体，建议专栏的电子邮件 - 列表还在不断。bob综合博彩下载

Navigating this battlefield of an inbox in the midst of starting a new project or taking care of the kids or delivering on Q3 objectives for the boss can be cumbersome.

Every time we get a new email, we should ask ourselves these questions to determine what we should do with it:

1. What does this email mean to me and why do I care?
2. What action, if any, does this email require of me?
3. What's the best way to deal with this email and the action it contains?

The Four Folders You'll Need

Based on our answers to the above questions, we should create four folders in our inbox to improve our email organization:

• 需要采取的行动：For emails that require us to complete a task or follow up.
• Awaiting response:对于我们期望重要响应的电子邮件。
• Delegated:For emails we've delegated to others.
• Archived:对于电子邮件，我们希望从收件箱中出发，而不会完全删除它们。

所有电子邮件都应将其提交到这四个文件夹中，并使我们的收件箱清晰。现在，让我们浏览我们应该分配给每封电子邮件的五个操作，以将它们移至这些文件夹中。

Delete:Is this email relevant to me?

This is the hardest action to adopt. We love to hold on to emails. We read and re-read and re-re-read and re-re-re-read them until we finally agree with what our gut first told us when we read the email:Delete it。

这种回旋处方法使电子邮件在我们的收件箱中毫无意义，随后在我们的脑海中浮动。它消耗了宝贵的心理空间。

代表：Am I the best person to handle this?

Sometimes the best action is to forward an email to be dealt with elsewhere. We can CC ourselves and place the email in a "Delegated" folder to ensure that we check on it later.

Respond:Can I respond in two minutes or less?

这很容易：如果我们可以在两分钟或更短的时间内做出响应，我们应该响应，然后删除或存档电子邮件。

推迟：这需要超过两分钟吗？

If an email will take longer than two minutes to respond to or if it requires additional research or a third party, we should defer it. Place it in an "Action Required" folder or on a to-do list and then delete or archive it.

Do：我们可以在两分钟内完成任务吗？

We should act on an email if we can do so within two minutes. For example, if the message requests us to complete a short survey or to RSVP to an event -- just do it.

如果我们立即完成任务，我们可以节省更多的时间，而稍后再恢复行动，将自己重新定向到主题，然后完成任务。

How to Set Up Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero in Gmail

In lieu of folders, we can also set up multiple inboxes in Gmail so that our general inbox will appear on the left, and our labeled inboxes will appear on the right, like this:

Step 1:Navigate to Gmail "Settings" and go to the "Inbox" tab.

Step 2:Change Inbox Type to "Default," then deselect all tabs except "Primary."

步骤3：转到“设置”中的“收件箱”选项卡。选择“无标记”和“不要覆盖过滤器”。现在保存更改。

第四步：再次导航到“设置”，然后转到“实验室”选项卡。

Step 5:Search for "Multiple Inboxes" and click "Enable."

步骤6：Scroll down under the "Compose" button to "Create New Label."

We can create labels for various groups we'd like to categorize our emails into. Keep in mind the four labels we recommend: Action Required, Awaiting Response, Delegated, and Archived.

Inbox Zero in Outlook

Step 1:In the Nav bar, click "Categorize."

Step 2:我们可以通过单击“编辑类别”来删除我们不需要的任何预先存在的类别。现在，单击Plus Arrow以创建新类别。我们的最后类别窗口应该看起来像这样：

步骤3：Navigate to the "Organize" tab and select "Arrange By." Then, click "Categories."

第四步：Go back to the "Home" tab. Here are all the categorized emails that we just created. If we want to organize these into separate inboxes as well, we can create folders by right-clicking on "Inbox" and clicking "New Folder."

Step 5:Click "Rules" in the navigation bar.

步骤6：单击“编辑规则”，然后单击此窗口底部的“+”按钮。

步骤7：Set up rules to automatically filter emails into these folders. For example, when a new email enters my inbox categorized as "Action Required" it will automatically be placed in my "Action Required" folder.

Bonus Tip

We can automatically act upon our emails by setting up Rules. For example, we can create a rule to delegate a message to our colleague Fred who handles all support issues. Now, any message that I receive from support will automatically be forwarded to Fred and moved to my "Delegated" folder.

2. The Traveler

旅行者是一位勤奋的商业专业人员。无论他们是在棕榈树下放松一周，还是越过客户交易的边界，他们都迫切希望避免返回后不可避免的一群电子邮件。

Owning multiple carry-on suitcases and being a gold member of a frequent-flyer program ... the traveler is always on-the-go. Whether we travel for work or for pleasure, there's still one thing left: How do we prepare for the stress-inducing, overflowing inbox that we know we'll return to?

Regardless of the length of our trip or the reason for our journey, we can utilize the traveler's approach to inbox zero to help manage our email overload. Here'sRebecca Corliss'方法，以及如何设置它的分步指南。

您需要的六个文件夹

我们建议创建这六个文件夹来组织旅行者的收件箱：

• 不结盟运动e of Trip:For emails we receive while we'reout of office。
• High Priority:For urgent or high-priority emails we receive while out of office.
• 需要采取的行动：For emails that require us to complete a task or follow up.
• Awaiting response:对于我们期望重要响应的电子邮件。
• Delegated:For emails we've delegated to others.
• Archived:对于电子邮件，我们希望从收件箱中出发，而不会完全删除它们。

所有电子邮件都应将其提交到这四个文件夹中，并使我们的收件箱清晰。Now let's walk through the five actions we should assign to each email in order to move them into these folders:

Label:我是receive this while I was away?

If we'll be out of the office for an extended period of time, we should create labels to help keep our inbox organized. With labels we can easily distinguish between emails we need to catch up on from our time away and emails we begin receiving upon our return.

Filter:Is this relevant to me when I return?

这些对于在旅途中留在电子邮件之上至关重要。过滤器自动识别并categorize emailsthat are high priority, or emails that we don't need to read at all, saving us valuable mental and inbox space.

Delete:Is this outdated by the time I read it?

旅行时，将会有很多无关紧要的电子邮件淹没我们的收件箱。我们甚至不应该瞥了一眼这些---过滤器会帮助我们删除，删除，删除。

优先级：这是紧急的吗？

当我们返回的时候,我们想要地址s the most urgent emails first. So, we should make it easier for us to prioritize those emails by using our filters to flag emails sent by managers, executives, or key team stakeholders.

How to Set Up Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero in Gmail

Step 1:Create a folder -- or a new "label" in Gmail descriptive of the trip. Rebecca, for example, was preparing for a month-long sabbatical to Spain, so she labeled her folder accordingly:

Step 2:Set up a filter by clicking the dropdown arrow in the right corner of the search box at the top of our inbox. Create a filter that recognizes any emails being sent to *@company.com. Then click "Create filter with this search" and check "Skip the Inbox (Archive It)" and "Apply the label."

例如，丽贝卡使用*@hubspot.com，以包括她所属的所有电子邮件别名。然后，这些电子邮件将跳过她的收件箱，并将其放在她的“西班牙休假2015”文件夹中。这使我们能够避免神经检查我们的电子邮件，同时我们应该专注于登陆大型客户或放松度假。当我们返回办公室到一个溢出的收件箱时，这也使我们不感到焦虑。

Bonus Tip

Most people are very reluctant to use the word "URGENT" in the subject lines of emails, regardless of how important they may be, but we don't want people to be afraid to grab our attention for truly urgent matters.

因此，我们提出了河马技术，以帮助识别燃烧的“需求响应”项目。我们应该建议我们的团队在紧急电子邮件的主题行中使用无害的“河马”（如果是非常紧急的话，“紧急河马”），我们应该在返回时优先考虑。

步骤3：Add a second filter that deletes irrelevant emails.

每个人都会收到许多内部电子邮件分发列表，例如每日或每周的度量更新，而我们不在办公室时无关紧要。这些电子邮件在我们返回后也已经过时了。为了节省时间和精神能量，我们应该创建另一个过滤器来自动删除这些更新。

第四步：返回“零收件箱”。

When we return, rested and refreshed, we can release a sigh at the comforting sight ofno new mail.

Then we should turn off all filters so we start receiving emails as usual. Hop into the inbox folder we created for the trip, in this case, "Spain Sabbatical 2015," and start scanning for any emails with a "hippo" or "important" in the subject line. We can also spotlight search for any emails sent by managers, executives, or key team stakeholders.

Once we address the more urgent messages, we can schedule some time in our calendar to respond to the remaining emails in this folder.

就是这样。没有漫长而乏味的播放电子邮件追赶。只有几个过滤器和一个文件夹，现在我们可以回到工作的秋千中。

Inbox Zero in Outlook

Step 1:Create a new folder in our Outlook Inbox that's descriptive of the trip or vacation.

Step 2:Click "Rules" in the navigation bar.

步骤3：单击“编辑规则”，然后单击此窗口底部的“+”按钮。

第四步：Let's name the rule "Spain Sabbatical 2015" and then set the rule to recognize any emails being sent to @company.com.

For example, Rebecca used @hubspot.com in order to include all email aliases that she belongs to. These emails will then automatically be moved to her "Spain Sabbatical 2015" inbox folder.

Step 5:Add a second filter that deletes irrelevant emails.

步骤6：Set up another filter for any emails with a "hippo" (see Bonus Tip above) or "important" in the subject line.

步骤7：Finally, filter any emails sent by managers, executives, or key team stakeholders.

步骤8：现在，我们可以从旅行回到有组织的收件箱，并拥有所有高优先级电子邮件。只需切换“安排：”“优先”，他们就在那里 - 等待我们筛选我们甚至还没有离开。

3. The Executive

The Executive is always crunched for time. They manage a company or large team. Email is their primary means of communication. They've already attempted inbox zero -- creating multiple inboxes and filters -- but it just doesn't work for them. They need abetterstrategy.

根据Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, we must process 10 of yesterday's emails before we're allowed to look at any emails we receive today. Tony calls this process "Yesterbox." By forcing ourselves to process 10 of yesterday's emails before receiving the reward of reading any of today's, we avoid procrastinating on emails that require more focus or effort.

Yesterboxis a method to manage emails that creates a "to do" list each day based on yesterday's email inbox. Using this technique, we eliminate the dreadful feeling of besiegement because our focus is on a固定的time period.

Emails are streaming in today, of course, but we're only taking action on emails from昨天。因此，我们实际上感觉就像我们在收件箱中取得了进步，慢慢地获得了零箱的日常版本。HSIEH使用此技术来处理和管理他的工作电子邮件。

您需要的六个文件夹

For the Yesterbox approach we should set up these six folders in our inbox:

• Yester Box：对于我们昨天收到的电子邮件。
• Today:For emails we receive today.
• 需要采取的行动：For emails that require us to complete a task or follow up.
• Awaiting response:对于我们期望重要响应的电子邮件。
• Delegated:For emails we've delegated to others.
• Archived:对于电子邮件，我们希望从收件箱中出发，而不会完全删除它们。

然后，遵循这些规则，每天正确执行：

Schedule:Have we set aside time for email?

留出一个反复出现的时间筛选昨天's emails based on how long it usually takes us. For example, it takes Tony Hsieh about three hours to get through his Yesterbox, so he schedules a three-hour meeting at the beginning of each day. If we have another meeting in the morning, we can schedule that time block for later in the day.

Calendar:Will this take more than 10 minutes?

Any email that requires more than 10 minutes of our time, additional research, etc., should be filed in the "Action Required" folder. Then we should schedule a time on our calendar to complete that action -- almost as if it were an official meeting.

On the calendar appointment, we can note the subject line of the email and the folder we filed it in. Or we can use HubSpot Sales email scheduling to send these important emails to ourselves later, when we know we'll have more time to reply.

报酬：我们是否处理过昨天的10封电子邮件？

In the "reward" stage of reading our emails (after we've managed 10 emails from yesterday and are allowed to view today's emails) we're only allowed to take three actions: Delete/archive, file, or forward. Only if an email is urgent or pertains to yesterday's email should we respond.

向前：这对我来说是紧迫的吗？对于非紧急电子邮件，例如每周阅读列表，请将这些电子邮件转发到个人电子邮件地址（提醒：我们为工作电子邮件设置此过程），并在您有空闲时间时通过该收件箱进行筛选。

How to Set Up Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero in Gmail

Step 1:In Google Calendar, select a date and a time to check email that will work for you on most days. Select the checkbox next to "Repeats" and then set the repeats option to "Every weekday (Monday to Friday)." Click "Done" when it's all set up.

Step 2:Follow steps 1-8 of the Everyday Emailer's approach in order to set up multiple inboxes. We'll be creating the following labels: Yesterbox, Today, Action Required, Awaiting Response, Delegated, and Archived.

步骤3：Voila, our inbox is now organized! But, let's filter out the emails from today by typing in the search bar "after:yyyy/mm/dd before:yyyy/mm/dd" where the after date is yesterday and the before date is today. For example, if today is Friday, July 24, the search bar would look like this:

Inbox Zero in Outlook

Step 1:Open your Outlook calendar and click on "New Appointment." Adjust the start and end time to fit a block of time that works best for your schedule.

Step 2:单击“复发”，然后单击“自定义”。现在，将约会从星期一到星期五重复。

步骤3：Go back to the "Home" tab under "Mail." Now let's create folders by right-clicking on "Inbox" and clicking "New Folder." We suggest creating the traditional folders for the inbox zero Yesterbox approach: Yesterbox, Today, Action Required, Archived, Awaiting Response, and Delegated.

第四步：Click "Rules" in the navigation bar. Then, click "Edit Rules" and then the "+" button at the bottom of this window.

Step 5:Set up a rule to move all of yesterday's emails to our "Yesterbox" folder.

步骤6：And set up yet another rule for today's emails -- to keep yesterday's and today's inbox separated.

步骤7：Now we can start achieving inbox zero with Yesterbox! For example, when I see an email in my Yesterbox folder that I can't immediately respond to, I'll move it to my "Action Required" folder.

4. The Entrepreneur

The Entrepreneur is tech savvy, has set up multiple inboxes, and uses shortcuts and labels. As soon as they read an email they make a decision: Delete, archive, reply. They're looking for extra tools and tips that will take their email management to the next level.

有some who already own their inbox. Multiple inboxes, labels, filters, shortcuts -- they have it all down. But, there's always room for improvement.

Entrepreneurs typically spend two to three hours in email each day. With email consuming such a large investment of our time, we need a smart process to help us get the biggest return. That's whereBrian Balfour's strategy comes in.

您需要的六个文件夹

• 每周评论：对于电子邮件，我们不想立即阅读，但应在本周末之前进行审查。
• Backlog:For emails that simply aren't a current priority that we should revisit eventually.
• 需要采取的行动：For emails that require us to complete a task or follow up.
• Awaiting response:对于我们期望重要响应的电子邮件。
• Delegated:For emails we've delegated to others.
• Archived:对于电子邮件，我们希望从收件箱中出发，而不会完全删除它们。

然后，遵循这些规则进行组织 - 并删除您的电子邮件。

大规模取消订阅：Have we gained value?

为所有新闻通讯采用两击政策：如果我们阅读两篇文章，我们没有学到任何新bob官网官方网站的东西，我们会取消订阅。如果我们不从中获得价值，我们还应该退订促销和社交媒体更新。要取消订阅，请使用Unroll.me。This allows us to more easily maintain a zero inbox because we're not swimming in redundant, unnecessary updates.

移动：Does this belong in email?

This is key to maintaining an organized inbox. Move anything that isn't pertinent to the world of email. We can save interesting articles to read later withPocket。Then, we can read it later when we have downtime. We can also put emails that are notes intoEvernote。Anything that isn't essential to complete or respond to immediately should be moved to the "Backlog" folder so that we don't forget to get around to it at a later date.

决定：Have we assigned an action to this?

No email left unturned. This is the entrepreneur emailer's mantra. Every email we receive should be assigned an action immediately, filed into one of our six folders or scheduled to be reviewed later.

Schedule:Is this a time-consuming request or task?

稍后发送电子邮件有助于清除我们的草稿文件夹和我们的待办事项列表。我们可以用电子邮件跟踪to schedule these emails on Gmail. For example, if we receive a time-consuming request, we can use a send later feature so that it arrives in our inbox later that day or the next when we've finished higher priority tasks.

Similarly, if we're writing an email at 11 p.m. we can schedule it to be sent in the morning so it appears at the top of our recipient's inbox when they arrive at the office.

批：Can we limit email as a distraction?

电子邮件可能会很分散注意力。平均而言，员工检查他们的电子邮件36 times an hour, which adds up to about 288 times a day and 1,440 times a week. (Yikes.)

为了避免每天检查我们的电子邮件288次的习惯，我们应该将自己限制在每天固定期间阅读和发送电子邮件。例如，Balfour将自己限制在两个电子邮件批处理期间。这样，当我们拥有最大的精神能量并节省较低精神能量时期的电子邮件时，我们可以专注于更高优先的任务。

How to Set Up Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero in Gmail

Step 1:First we need to set up our inbox folders. Go to Gmail "Settings," and click on "Labs." Search for "Multiple Inboxes," and select "Enable." Navigate back to the inbox, scroll down under the "Compose" button to "Create New Label."

现在，为每种电子邮件类型创建标签。让我们使用我们刚刚讨论的类别：每周审查，积压，所需的行动，等待响应，委派和存档。

Create the labels we want to appear in our inboxes under the "Multiple Inboxes" tab and click "Save Changes."

Step 2:Once we set up multiple inboxes and our primary folders, we can start managing our emails. Let's start by creating filters for weekly emails. All repetitive, metrics-tracking emails should be moved out of our inbox, and into the "Weekly Review" folder.

我们可以设置一个过滤器以自动执行此操作。单击收件箱上方的搜索栏内的箭头。输入每周更新的名称，即“ Mixpanel”。

步骤3：将标签“每周评论”应用于此过滤器，并使其跳过收件箱，因此我们不必担心以后再移动它。

第四步：打开“发送与存档”功能。转到“设置”中的“常规标签”。向下滚动，直到找到“发送和存档”部分。在回复中选择“显示和存档”按钮，然后单击“保存更改”。

This button automatically archives email after we hit reply. Constantly taking action on our emails -- whether deleting, replying and archiving, or just archiving -- helps keep us at inbox zero.

Bonus Tip

If we're stuck in a lengthy, irrelevant email thread, press "m" to mute it. Any new replies that come to the thread will be automatically archived and we're spared the inbox space.

Inbox Zero in Outlook

Step 1:首先,让我们创建folders by right-clicking on "Inbox" and clicking "New Folder." Again, we suggest creating the traditional folders for the entrepreneur's inbox zero approach: Weekly Reading, Backlog, Action Required, Archived, Awaiting Response, and Delegated.

Step 2:Now click "Rules" in the navigation bar, and "Edit Rules" then the "+" button at the bottom of this window.

步骤3：Set up a rule to move all of the repetitive metrics emails to our "Weekly Review" folder.

第四步：设置电子邮件模板。撰写一个新电子邮件，在模板正文中输入，然后在“文件”选项卡中单击“保存”，因此在“草稿”文件夹中易于访问。

Step 5:Create email batching times. Navigate to "Schedules" under the "Tools" tab. Check the "Enabled" box for "Send & Receive All." Double click "Send & Receive All."

步骤6：Set the occurrence to "Repeating Schedule" however frequently (or infrequently) we'd like to check our emails. Click "Enabled" and "Ok." Now we don't have to stress about checking our emails too often. We're prohibited from checking them as long as we have this schedule enabled.

Zip. 0. Nil. Zilch. Nada.

We did it. And we never thought zero could feel so good.

No matter which approach we ultimately choose, or how we want to say it, we now have all the knowledge and tools we need to get to inbox zero -- no matter what our email style is.

To learn more, read our list ofcanned responses接下来要在客户服务电子邮件中使用。