How To Categorize Emails and Manage Your Inbox to Reduce Stress

Are you drowning in a sea of unread, unanswered emails? Does the thought of navigating your inbox leave your ADHD brain filled with anxiety? You’re in the right place. In episode 236 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast, we’re diving into email anxiety and how we can categorize emails to simplify our inbox management . 

Inspired by a flood of requests from busy-awesome listeners, this two-part episode (236 & 237) explores many of the common inbox obstacles, including:

• How to handle the ever-increasing “unread” email count.
• Sorting important information from digital clutter.
• Finding time to read the emails you actually want to read. 

If you’re looking for actionable steps to quiet the noise and gain control of your inbox, I’ve got you covered. 

Tune into episode 236 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast now.

https://youtu.be/0WZyW4KrT-I

You can listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app here.   

Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for the entire podcast transcript. 

In This Episode, You Will Discover

• How to handle the ever-increasing “unread” email count.
• Sorting important information from digital clutter (by categorizing emails)
• Finding time to read the emails you actually want to read. 

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Episode #236: How To Categorize Emails and Manage Your Inbox to Reduce Stress (Transcript) 

Today, we are kicking off a two-part episode on a topic I know so many of you are curious about, which is how to deal with email. More specifically, we’re talking about how to navigate email anxiety by simplifying our approach to managing an inbox.

Several weeks ago, I sent an email to everybody on my email list, and I asked what topics they wanted to hear on the podcast. I got so many incredible responses. So, first of all, to those of you who wrote back, thank you. I really appreciate your time, your thoughtfulness, and your willingness to share where you’re at. I read every response, and I can’t wait to start moving through the list!

Also, if you would like to add to my list of topics, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can send me an email at paula @ imbusybeingawesome.com, and it will land straight in my inbox and get added to the list. I love hearing about where you are at and whats coming up for you, so I know that I’m creating support and tools for what you need right now.

As I mentioned, the first listener suggestion for episode topics is all about emails, and I chose this one specifically because I heard this request from several different people.

So I’m going to read a gist of one of the emails to give you an idea of where we’re at and how we are going to approach managing an inbox over the next two emails.

Staying On Top Of Different Types of Emails

“Hi Paula, My topic is emails. I receive basically 3 different types of emails that I struggle to stay on top of. The first bunch are news-related. Most of them are short with basic news. However, some may have longer stories, like opinion pieces. I begin them, then in the middle of it, I think “I don’t have time to finish this.” I star it, and go to the next category of emails. These are author and writing-related. (My client is an author – but for those of you listening, just put whatever industry-related news in this category). I begin reading the emails, and again for the lengthy ones I think, “I don’t have time to read them.” Again, I star them and go to the next ones and the pattern continues. I currently have about 50 I have starred.”

How relatable is this? You have emails you want to read. There’s information that you genuinely want to learn about. But there’s only so much time in the day, and if we constantly pop in and out of our inbox for a quick 2 to 3 minutes, we don’t have time to sit down and actually read and comprehend the information.

So instead, we start it, or if you’re like me, you “mark it as unread,” and by the time you come back to it, you can’t remember what you read in the first place and need to start again.

In addition, other people replied to my request asking about ways to stay on top of emails that require some form of action or response.

How do we stay on top of all of those emails?

Some people shared they feel so overwhelmed seeing the number of emails constantly rise throughout the day, and they feel frozen. They can’t get themselves to answer the emails, but they can’t focus on their work either, and so they get stuck in this constant state of procrasti-working without getting any of the important things done.

Plus, when you have everything the newsletters and industry-related emails, and the emails requiring your action or response – all mixed together in your inbox, with the number of unread emails continually ticking upward in your inbox, it’s no wonder so many of us start to feel quite anxious when we think about tackling the inbox.

We have replies to write, projects we might be behind on, things we genuinely want to do, but don’t know where to start, and potentially a bunch of projects or tasks we agreed to do but also have ZERO desire to work on because we agreed to them from a place of people pleasing or a struggle to say no, rather than a genuine, full body yes.

In addition to keeping up with the informational emails, we also have the category of emails we want to respond to or take action on as well.

If you’re already feeling anxious, take a deep breath. Know that I got you. And over the next two episodes, you will have specific, actionable steps to take to help you move through all of this, okay? So take a minute and remind yourself that it’s going to be okay.

Why is it important to manage your inbox?

Most of us need to regularly deal with email in some form or another…

• For the work we do
• To stay on top of information for our kid’s school events
• Simple life admin like doctors, appointments, utility bills, insurance, etc.

We all deal with emails at different levels, and based on the number of responses to my request for podcast episode topics that highlighted email as an obstacle, I think most of us would benefit from having a more efficient approach to dealing with it.

Now, for reference, I was looking into some email statistics, and this past year:

• The average professional received roughly 121 emails per day.
• The average non-office worker received an average of 50-56 emails per day.
• The average office worker sends around 33 emails each day
• The average non-office worker sends around 19-20 emails per day.

That is A LOT of email, friends.

I was astounded when I read that the average employee spent about four hours per day reading, writing, and managing their inbox. That is more than half of your workday. Based on what I hear from the majority of my clients – the other half of that time – or more – seems to be taken up by meetings.

So, when on earth are you supposed to actually get your work done? No wonder those emails pile up!

(Source)

Structure of This Email Episode Series

So how are we tackling this topic over the next two episodes?

This episode…

1. Look at overwhelm and anxiety when it comes to email

I think it’s so important to address this and understand what’s going on here, so that’s where we’re going to start.

• How do we handle this feeling of anxiety and overwhelm?
• How can we care for ourselves as we move through those emails one by one?

2. Determine How To Categorize Emails

Then, we’re going to talk about how to categorize emails so they don’t seem like one giant mess of information. We’ll look at how to simplify all the incoming information and remove some of the visual input to help reduce the visual overwhelm.

Next Episode (next week)…

3. How To Manage Your Inbox

Then next week, after you get your inbox set up with the tools we talk about today, we are going to approach the topic of actually managing an inbox. We’ll explore some actionable, tangible strategies that we can use to help reduce the amount of decision-making, reading time, and response time overall.

As always, I will leave you with clear action steps, so you can implement what you’re learning both today and next week. Remember, you don’t have to do everything, just take one small concept and give it a try.

Also, if you find this episode helpful, would you be a rockstar and share it with a friend? What I’ve found to be true over is that we all deal with email overwhelm at different times, and if this episode can help our brains cut through the noise and focus on what matters just a little bit easier, that’s amazing. If you know someone else who’s constantly overwhelmed and navigating an overflowing inbox, would you send them a text with this episode? Or share it in your Instagram stories? It’s such a great way to support your friends and colleagues who could also benefit from these tools, and it’s also one of the best ways to support the podcast. Thanks in advance; I really appreciate it!

Why You Feel Overwhelmed and Anxious Thinking About Your Inbox

Let’s start by talking about the feelings of overwhelm and anxiety so many of us experience when we think about our inbox.

There is a really important distinction I want to make here. So if you often feel super overwhelmed and anxious when you think about your inbox, really listen up. If you’re parallel-tasking, pause what you’re doing for a minute and tune in.

The reason you’re feeling overwhelmed and anxious is not because of your inbox.

Similarly, the number of unread emails is not making you feel overwhelmed. It is not making you feel anxious.

Your inbox and all those unread emails are just sitting there as words and numbers on a screen.

The thing that’s making you feel anxious is what you are thinking about your inbox. It’s what you’re thinking about when you see the number of unread emails in your inbox or the number of tickets that need a response.

There was a meme going around at the beginning of the new year. It was the scene where Ross from Friends is yelling, “We were on a break!” And the text written above the image was something like: “When you finally check your work email.”

First of all, I love this simply because it’s hilarious. Second of all – and more importantly – I love this because it offers a powerful reminder of the fact that your inbox is not what makes you feel anxious. Here’s what I mean.

Just think about the times when we’ve gone on vacation or taken a break and stepped away from our inbox, and we didn’t feel anxious or overwhelmed.

Or think about your colleague who may have the exact same number of emails in their inbox, but they don’t seem to feel overwhelmed.

Why is this? How could that be? If it was actually the 50 unanswered emails in your inbox making you feel anxious, then every person in the world would also feel anxious if they have 50 unread emails. But I can promise you with 100% certainty that this is not the case because I have at least 50 unread emails in my personal inbox, and I have no anxiety about them at all.

So what gives? If it’s not our inbox or the number of emails or the number of unanswered tickets we need to fulfill, what is making us feel so overwhelmed? It’s what we’re thinking ABOUT those emails that’s the problem. It’s what we’re thinking about and telling ourselves when we open our inbox and see that number.

You might be you might be thinking things like,

“I’m never going to get this all done. I have so much to do. I’m so behind. I can’t believe I haven’t responded to this yet; they’re going to be so angry.”

You might be telling yourself, “There is so much to do, and I have no idea where to start.”

Or maybe you think, “These responses are so tedious. I cannot get myself to sit down and do them.”

And you feel a sense of restlessness and dread that’s keeping you from sitting down and responding. Again, it’s not the number of emails, it’s what we’re thinking ABOUT the emails.

What Stories Do You Have About Your Inbox?

So before we get into the action steps and the strategies for managing your inbox, I highly recommend that you clarify for yourself the stories you’re telling about your inbox.

• What do you think about it?
• When you see the number of unread emails, what do you think about the inbox AND what do you think about yourself or your ability to stay organized or your value as an employee?

These thoughts matter. And want to be really mindful of what we’re intentionally choosing to think.

For example, rather than thinking to yourself, “I have no idea when I’m going to get this all done; I can’t stay on top of it; why did they even hire me?” You might instead think, “I can tackle these one step at a time.” Or “I’ve felt overwhelmed and moved through it before, I can do it again. I just need to practice zooming in and zooming out to give myself perspective.”

Think about past times when you weren’t feeling as overwhelmed about your inbox. What were you thinking about then? Can you use a different version of those same thoughts now?

Or you might imagine someone else who doesn’t feel as much overwhelm when it comes to inbox management. Try dropping into their mindset for a minute. What would they think if they looked at your inbox? How might they approach it?

Shifting your mindset can make a significant impact on how you feel about managing your inbox. Remember, your inbox is a inbox is a tool; it’s a platform for communication, it is pixels on a screen. It is NOT a reflection of your worth or ability.

By understanding that it’s your thoughts about the inbox, not the inbox itself, causing you to feel so much overwhelm and anxiety, you gain a powerful perspective.

👉 If you want help really working through this and finding new ways to think about your inbox or any other area of your life where you’re feeling so overwhelmed, let’s talk. Diving in and working through the mindset and how we’re thinking about these areas of our lives is one of my favorite things to explore with my clients, with 1:1 coaching and in my group program, We’re Busy Being Awesome. I’ve got you.

Types of Emails: Main Email Categories

Right. So now that you have built up your awareness of what you’re thinking about and how you’re feeling about your inbox, let’s talk about some tactical ways we can approach inbox management.

How can we simplify the process?

Today we’re going to talk about a powerful way to categorize emails to streamline management, and then next week we’ll dive into more specific strategies for staying on top of everything going forward.

First of all, let’s talk about the types of emails that land in your inbox. When I think about emails, I like to zoom out and keep my categories fairly broad.

When dealing with my own inbox, I have essentially two categories of emails, plus a subcategory.

1. Emails that require a response or action.
2. Informational or reference material.

That’s it. Now, could I zoom in and get much more detailed in the type of emails? Yes. And if you find that’s helpful for your brain, please feel free to do so.

I want to explain the reasoning behind my broader approach, however. Personally, I tend to get lost in the minutia when I have lots of different categories, folders, and subfolders. That makes my brain want to melt, and it becomes incredibly inefficient because I spend too much time trying to make decisions about where emails fall within the multiple different categories.

Subcategories:

I mentioned that I have a subcategory.

For myself, in the overarching category of emails that require action, I like to divide it into…

• Emails that require a written response
• Emails that require me to take action outside of my inbox.

I’ll go into that in more depth in next week’s episode. But for now, I have these two main categories.

Why is it important to only have 2 main categories?

Well, knowing which category my emails fall under is critical because I approach these categories very differently.

This is one of the areas that I think most of us get tripped up.

We decide we want to tackle our inbox, but there’s so much to do. And if we manage to dive in, we find ourselves reading long newsletters, then we have to respond to an inquiry, then we need to log into our insurance platform and pay our co-pay.

When we’re doing all of these different things all at once, we require so much of our executive functions because we’re trying to do a lot of different types of tasks. In other words, we’re in a constant state of task-switching, which is exhausting for our brains.

So what can we do? I’m going to offer the most simplified version first, and then I’m going to describe one additional thing that I do to personalize my inbox for my current season.

So remember that what I offer today isn’t the be-all-end-all. Is isn’t set in stone. As always, I offer these approaches as a framework that you can play with depending on your season of life.

Implementing Our Category Set up in Email

I mentioned that I like to have two categories and a subcategory, and I visually create these email categories using the different tabs in Gmail. I know that Outlook also offers a similar feature with their two tabs labeled: Focused and Other.

So I encourage you to play around with whatever email service provider you use, and see if you can filter your messages with tabs, too.

When I think about keeping it as simple as possible we have two categories…

1. Primary inbox for emails that need a response or some action taken
2. Newsletters and informational and updates.

Again, you can literally set this up in your inbox.

For Gmail Users:

• Go to the gear icon in the top right corner, which is settings.
• Once you click on the gear icon, select ‘see all settings’.
• Then go to the inbox tab where you will notice categories.
  • With categories, you will see, primary, promotions, social, updates, and forums and you can choose how many tabs you want included in your inbox. I personally have primary, updates, and forums selected.
  • If you want to keep yours at the simplest level possible, you might do just your inbox and forums or updates.
• That’s it. Make sure you click save.

I’m sure there are ways you can set this up in other email providers, too, just Google it, and you’ll likely find the solution in the first one or two articles listed.

Why we are creating these separate categories?

The reason we’re we want to create separate categories is to help your brain navigate the visual overwhelm of so many emails.

When you open your inbox and you see 643 unread emails, it makes it very easy for your brain to start thinking, “I’m never going to get through all of this. I’m so bad at managing email. Why can’t I keep up with everything?”

However, if you set it up so that the emails that require a response or need you to take action are visible when you open your inbox, and all of the information and promotional emails are in a separate tab, it’s so much less for your brain to process at once.

Plus, you know the informational emails can wait. They are there for you whenever you have time, and they are not plugging up your inbox and distracting you from the work you want to do.

As I mentioned, I also have a third tab.

For this tab, I keep any emails related to the current courses I’m taking, the programs I’m in, and any emails or updates from my personal coaches, etc.

Again, this is not something that everybody would need. But I give it as an example of how you might have a circumstance that would benefit from a little bit more nuanced sorting. I like having all of my course materials and action items that I want to take each week separate in a different tab so that when I sit down and work on my own coaching, or I want to watch the next module in a course I’m in, I have all of the information in that tab waiting for me.

For example, for my clients in We’re Busy Being Awesome right now…

You might have a tab where you would filter the Weekly Reminders emails so they don’t get lost in the shuffle. Instead, your email provider automatically pulls them out of all the other emails and has them ready for you in the updates tab, so you can easily see “this week we’re looking at how to prioritize your daily tasks; here are the videos to watch, and here are the workbook pages to look at.” You don’t have to go searching through your inbox; you know exactly where to find them.

Dividing your emails into these two categories, combined with identifying your current thoughts about your inbox and email are the most important things that I encourage each of you to explore this week.

As I mentioned, this is going to be a two-part episode, and I’m doing that both because – frankly, it would be entirely too long if I shared everything at once. But more importantly, I don’t want to overwhelm your brain with so much information.

I know how easy it is to look at a process and think to myself, “oh my gosh, this is going to take way too much work. I can’t handle it. There’s no way I can get it done.” And when I’m thinking that to myself, I feel totally overwhelmed, I shut down, and I don’t do it. I don’t want to do that to you. I want to help you break down the process into small steps so that you can take them at a time.

Your Homework For This Week

So, this week, I encourage you to approach your inbox and do two things.

1. Notice what you think about when you think about your inbox.

You could even do an exercise with this. Open up your inbox and have a notebook next to you. Then write down all your thoughts that come up when you look at your inbox.

What do you think about it?

How are you feeling?

Get it all down. Start raising your awareness of the stories you have about you, answering emails, and your inbox generally.

2. Create 2 or 3 Tabs In Your inbox

From there, I encourage you to create two or three tabs in your inbox. Then start sorting the emails into the respective tabs.

You have your primary inbox – these are emails that literally require a response or need you to take action.

And an informational/ resource tab where you put all the reference emails, newsletters, etc.

Now I have two caveats here…

First, if you have certain newsletters that you know you want to read immediately and not have it filtered to the other tab, you can absolutely keep those in your primary inbox. I do that with one newsletter I’m subscribed to, and that is the newsletter that comes out from my business coach.

Otherwise, everything else goes into my Updates tab, and I read them at a separate time.

If you are a Gmail user, you will notice that Gmail (and I believe that Outlook does this too) will start to learn where the emails should go. Sometimes a pop-up will come up, and it will say, do you want me to always send emails from Target to your Forums tab? You can click yes or no.

It will take a little bit of trial and error on your email provider’s part. You may find things in the wrong categories every once in a while, but you just drag them to the other tab, and it learns. And when I say drag it, I literally mean on your desktop, click on the email and drag it to the other tab, and it will land there.

The other caveat is for those of you who have completely shut down thinking about needing to sort through hundreds and hundreds of emails. Don’t worry, I see you. I can almost hear you thinking, “Oh my gosh, Paula. I have thousands of emails in my inbox. There’s no way I am going to sort through all of these.” Take a slow breath. I got you.

If this is you, I highly encourage you to consider archiving your emails. All of them. Now, I did NOT say delete them; I said archive them. Archiving emails means that they still exist in your inbox. They have not been deleted, they are just archived out of sight. They are not cluttering up your inbox. You can search for anything, and it will pop up immediately.

You can archive in the following ways:

• All emails. You could literally select all emails and archive them.
• Emails from anything older than two months ago, or one month ago.
• Emails older than this year.
• Select all & then deselect specific emails you want to keep (emails from boss, team, or anything you want to keep)

I hope you feel so much permission to do this. Remember, you’re not deleting them. They’re not going anywhere. You’re just removing them from your site, so they’re not cluttering your inbox and your mind.

Depending on how many emails you leave in your inbox, you can either sort the remaining emails into the two folders OR you can begin the process completely fresh. I promise you, it is such a freeing feeling.

How To Categorize Emails: Recap

So again, catch all the thoughts you have about your email.

• Notice the stories you are telling yourself.
• Then check in and see if they are supporting you.
• Notice if they are stories you want to keep telling yourself or if you want to consider a new perspective.
• Then, set up two tabs – on Gmail, maybe it is your primary inbox and your Forums category, for example. In Outlook, I believe it is your Focus and Other tabs.
• Then start sorting your emails accordingly between the items that require action and the items that are informational or references. That’s it.

Focus on those two areas this week, and then next week, we’ll dive in further and talk about powerful strategies that allow you to stay on top of your inbox in a much more effective and efficient way.