Episode 93:January Reset - 3 Tips For Managing Email

Before we close our 2022 planners and open the crisp new ones, blank with possibilities for 2023, there are some things we can do to make way for all those possibilities. We need to unload some things and straighten up others. Let’s kick off the January Reset series in Episode 93 with my best tips for managing email.

All this month, we’ll work on getting organized … just a little at a time. Think of it as a January Reset, opening yourself up and making room for all the new blessings God has for you in 2023. My one word for 2023 is “FOUNDATIONS,” and I’m determined to shore up some of the foundations in my business. Wanna join me?

Each week in January, we’ll focus on one area, and I’ll give you two or three assignments to choose from during the week.

So let’s dive right in to one of the biggest time sucks we face … email.

Here are three tips for managing email and keeping things simple… two for incoming and one for outgoing.

1. Review Your Subscriptions

We know how important email lists are. Most of us with an online presence work to build a relationship with our audience using an email list. But honestly, if my email is just going to sit unopened in your inbox, that’s not much of a relationship. So I give you permission. Unsubscribe from my list or any other list that is not delivering something you love to your inbox.

2. Clear Your Inbox

Once you’ve got the subscriptions under control, now it’s time to clear that inbox. Now, I admit … I am horrible at this.

Michael Hyatt has a great method for clearing out the inbox.

Do –Take action on the task right now.
Delegate –Pass the task on to someone else
Defer –Consciously decide you will do it later
Delete –If you don’t need it for later, send it to the trash
File –If you need it for later, file it

And this piece of advice from Mr. Hyatt set me free:

Do not create an elaborate set of file folders. This is the single most important piece of advice I can give you. Just file everything in one folder called “Processed Mail” or use Gmail’s Archive function.

3. Remove Your Inactive Subscribers

If you have people who have been on your list for over six months and not opened any emails from you in that time, there are several reasons why you need to remove them:

You are or will be paying for them at some point.
Gmail and other email services screen incoming messages to put them in Spam or Promotions folders. If your email routinely has a low open rate, Google is more likely to put it in Spam or Promotions.
Subscribers who open your emails are (for the most part) the ones who really matter. If you are ready to do this, identify your inactive subscribers, send them an email asking if they want to stay on your list (I bet very few of them will even open it!) then archive the ones who don’t respond.

ACTION STEP

Head over to my free Facebook group Plan & Pray with Do A New Thing and grab your January Reset tracker. You’ll be able to check off the actions you take all month and look back at what a difference it made.

I’m excited about this reset. If you know someone else who needs clean up their foundations to make room for what God wants to build, share this episode with them so they can join us!

RESOURCES

Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less by Michael Hyatt
Build A Better Year Workshop