Three Ways to Tame Your Inbox
Some of my favorite scripts and tips for Inbox Management
Email is to the internet what cash is to an economy. You can't avoid it and it seems everything runs on it. I'll be the first to admit, there are some email accounts of mine that I have let go to the weeds. If you hope to keep on top of your communications, you'll want to make sure emails from the right people make it to you in a timely manner and emails from the wrong people don't make it to you at all.
How to Reduce Your Subscriptions
I'm in the habit of scheduling quarterly reviews of my emails. After three months, you know what mailing list you have never gotten around to reading. Cut it.
I made a rule that if a sender contacts me twice in one day, they get the boot. They clearly have no moral compass and will automate me to death with content.
I use deseat.me to send GDPR style request to websites and services. The goal isn't just to unsubscribe from this newsletter, it's to unsubscribe for life.
A Note on Email Subscriptions
It's not just you, there are more emails coming in that you've requested. Websites with super lax privacy policies - or worse none at all, add you to mailing lists without our permission.
So maybe in 2012 you purchased a nice gift for a friend. A new parent company of that now-defunct brand can reach out to you today as a potential customer!! Yep, that's how it works. While your email list is important to your business, consider whether you have a right to conscript people to your future and unrelated content. For enoma.co I've decided to prioritize the privacy of my readers and only email subscribers the content they've opted in for. I also don't sell my list or share it with third parties.
Use Scripts to Auto-delete Expired Mail
This may sound incredibly technical but I promise it's not. Google Scripts allow you to connect Google services to each other and set up recurring tasks.
I found this guide online that helped me add a script to my inbox to automatically delete emails/newsletters after a certain amount of time has passed. I get weekly emails from Creative Market as well as daily schedules from Plan. Normally, if I didn't get around to these emails they would just stack up in my inbox. Now it's practically self-cleaning.
Amit Agarwal
Use Filters to Avoid Spam
Most email clients have a filtering tool that you can set up. I handle my email directly in Gmail, so I setup my filters in the settings.
Gmail's automatic spam filters do a fantastic job of capturing junk mail but, we should make a habit of checking the spam folder anyways. The occasional piece of important mail finds itself there. There have been times newsletters I actually wanted to receive fell in there too.
I've created a list of filters I've made over the years to avoid inappropriate or junk content. These filters have made my inbox a more peaceful place and reviewing my spam folder a breeze. I've shared this free download with my members. If you don't have an account, you can sign up and download it.
Some of the most effective tips I've gotten for managing my inbox have come from other founders and friends with a lot on their plate. What do you think about these tips? What are some ways you tame your inbox?