Get Your Email Inbox Under Control...in Just 5 Minutes

by Dee Jones

How out of control is your email inbox? Do you have a couple hundred old messages sitting in there? Or maybe you have a few thousand.

Does opening your inbox, and looking at the chaos inside, make you feel tired? If so, I bet the thought of trying to organize that mess is downright exhausting.

But having a messy inbox makes it too easy for something important to fall through the cracks. In fact, I bet you've overlooked more than one important message because of the mess.

But how can you get your email inbox under control? Where do you even start?

Fortunately, there's a quick and easy way to get a handle on the chaos in your inbox. And you can do it in five minutes or less.

How?

By using the Backlog Method.

What Is the Backlog Method?

The Backlog Method is a three step process that can help you clean out just about anything, from an email account, to a junk drawer, to an attic that's been collecting odds and ends for the past decade or so.

I first read about this organization method on Mark Forster's website. For those unfamiliar with the name, Forster is the author of several books on time management, including Do It Tomorrow (which some consider the best time management book since Getting Things Done). He also created AutoFocus, a free task management system that took the productivity world by storm a few years back.

The Backlog Method has two things going for it. First, it's  simple, so you don't need a complex diagram or flow chart to follow the steps. Secondly, it's fast. You can use the Backlog Method to get any mess under control in a matter of minutes.

And here's how you can use this method to get control of your inbox.

Step 1: Move Everything to a Backlog Folder

You've probably tried to clean out your inbox before, but soon gave up.

The problem?

When you try to clean out an overflowing inbox, it's hard to see any progress. Purging a hundred old files is great. But when you still have several hundred (or several thousand) more messages staring you in the face, it feels like all the work you just did made no difference.

Talk about demoralizing. No wonder you couldn't find the motivation to keep going.

Creating a Backlog folder takes care of that problem. All you do it:

1.  Create a new folder called “Backlog.”
2.  Go into your inbox and select as many files as you can in one go.
3.  Move the selected files to your Backlog folder.
4.  Repeat steps 2 and 3 until your inbox is completely empty.

You'll be amazed at the sense of relief you feel when your inbox has been cleared out. Yes, the old files are still there. And you still have to deal with them. (Maybe.) But, for now, they're out of sight and out of mind. The chaos has been dealt with and the slate has been wiped clean.

Have you ever thought that, if you could just go back to when you first created your email account, you would do everything differently? You'd keep everything organized and under control, so that you'd never get into the mess you're in now

Well, that's almost what you're doing when you move everything out of the inbox and into a Backlog folder. You're giving yourself the chance to start over from scratch, and to “do it right” this time around.

Which brings us to the next step of the Backlog Method.

Step 2: Get a System in Place for Handling New Emails

You email inbox is empty for now, but it won't be for long. After all, new email messages will keep coming in. And if you don't have a system for dealing with those new emails, your inbox will be out of control again in no time.

Search online and you'll find dozens of systems for keeping your inbox organized. One that's pretty well known is Inbox Zero, created by writer and productivity hacker Merlin Mann. Check it out. But check out some other systems too, to see if there's another one out there that you like even more.

What matters most is that you choose a system that you find simple and easy to maintain. The simpler the system, the more likely you are to keep using it.

No matter what system you use, keeping your inbox under control will be easier if you lower the amount of email you have coming in every day. One way to do this is to unsubscribe from some of the mailing lists you're on, especially if you rarely (if ever) read the messages they send you.

The next time you receive a message or newsletter from one of those lists, open the message, click the unsubscribe link (which you'll usually find near the bottom), and then delete the message.

Step 3: Clean Out the Backlog….Or Not

The next step in the Backlog Method is to clean out the Backlog. But I think it's okay for you to skip this step for now. Or possibly forever.

 If the thought of cleaning out your Backlog fills you with dread, just forget about it. If you ever need something in your Backlog folder, you can always use the search function to find it.

However, if you do want to deal with your Backlog, set aside some time every day to clean it out. And it doesn't have to be a lot of time either. Just ten minutes a day will slowly but surely chip away at those old, mostly obsolete, email messages.

Try to pick a specific time for clearing out your Backlog, otherwise you'll never get around to it. For example, you can work on it every night at 7:30. Or you can make it a rule that you can't get on Twitter until you spend ten minutes on your Backlog.

One way to quickly decrease the size of your Backlog is to do a mass delete of old newsletters and mailing list messages. Just search for every email you've received from each sender, select all of those messages, and hit delete.


When your email inbox is overflowing with old messages, trying to clean it out can seem like a lost cause. But, with the Backlog Method, you can get the chaos under control in three simple steps.

So how out of control is your email inbox? Or do you have some great tips for keeping your email organized? Comment below and let us know.