If any deadlines or required tasks are associated with them (especially on the Tickler emails), record them on your calendar and task list with a quick reference to the folder where the email is stored.

File the Logins, Read & Review, Someday, and Tickler emails as explained above.If youвЂ™re getting all kinds of updates via email about social media, search вЂњHow to turn off email notificationsвЂќ (on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). Delete and unsubscribe as much as possible.If youвЂ™re worried about your emails being вЂњout of sight, out of mind,вЂќ you may want to utilize GmailвЂ™s Multiple Inboxes available in Gmail Labs. Instead of working out of a cluttered inbox, youвЂ™ll be working out of a specific folder that consists of very doable email-focused tasks.

This is the main thing you are going to change.

Put вЂњactionвЂќ emails that will take longer than two minutes into Action.

Anything that can be done in two minutes or less, handle right then. STEP 2: Process the First 100 Emails Using These Rules:

To Sort вЂ“ A lot of the emails in your inbox will never be needed by youвЂ“now or in the future, but if you canвЂ™t quite bear to part with them, simply move them in bulk here! (WeвЂ™ll talk more about this in a second.).

You save the email exchange with all the details here. Example: Your assistant is going to make some final edits on a document you need.

вЂ“ Have you delegated something to another person and are waiting to hear back from them? Put those emails here, and youвЂ™ll check it once a week in your Weekly Review.

Once youвЂ™ve filed the agenda, you note on your Friday calendar to вЂњcheck for agenda.вЂќ Example: Your business partner emails you an agenda for FridayвЂ™s meeting.

вЂ“ These are emails that do not need to be handled now but are linked to a date-specific event and referenced on your calendar.

Example: You receive a notification about a new product youвЂ™d like to check out. Add a calendar trigger if you want to be sure you donвЂ™t forget it.

вЂ“ If you want to act on an email вЂњsomedayвЂќ (because itвЂ™s really wonderful), but now is simply not the time, put it here, and it will be waiting for you.

Example: Your favorite author just sent you the first chapter of her book that is launching next month.

& Review вЂ“ Do you receive eBooks, newsletters, articles, and other great information in your email inbox? Put those items here so you can review them at your leisure.

Example: You just joined an online course that youвЂ™re excited to complete.

вЂ“ A handy place to keep auto-login links or login information for non-confidential online resources.

Example: A colleague of yours has asked you to send some information that will take you about 10 minutes to locate/email about.

Action вЂ“ You work from this folder each day, check it before you go to bed at night, and get it all the way to zero at least once a week.

All right, here are the seven folders we suggest you create: A couple of other notes: The sign moves these to the top of any other folders youвЂ™ve created, and if this is your first time creating folders (or labels, if youвЂ™re in Gmail, simply Google, вЂњHow to make folders in my Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail accountвЂќ). There are a lot of different perspectives out there when it comes to how many/what kinds of folders to create, but these will serve you well. STEP 1: Create this Specific Set of Email Folders (Simply follow the five steps weвЂ™ve outlined, and if youвЂ™d like us to send you additional email techniques used by experts like David Allen, Julie Morgenstern, Merlin Mann, and Michael Hyatt, click the green button belowвЂ“or at the end of the post. This is our favorite screen on GmailвЂ™s Inbox app, and you can experience it, too! Getting your emails to zero (and keeping them that way) might sound like a dream, but itвЂ™s totally doable, and you can get this whole process set up during a lunch break, while your children are having some quiet time, or during another hour of the day youвЂ™ve dedicated to moving your life forward.

Michael hyatt controlling fmail