Once you have your Executive’s emails under control, the next step is to establish a process that will help you organize the inbox and quickly make decisions about each email. There are many options here; again, you might have to adjust the system to your Executive’s preferences. The fundamental point is that you are not checking emails—you are processing them. Every time you go into your Executive’s inbox, something happens with the emails.
How Do You Organize Your Executive’s Inbox? Here Is My Suggested Method:
Filing
I like the Productivity Ninja process for filing emails. The author Graham Alcott suggests that emails are separated into three distinct areas:
- The live inbox: Where emails land.
- The processing folders: Where the work is happening.
- The library: Where old emails are stored for reference.
In Google Workspace, folders are referred to as labels.
The Processing Folders Are:
Action: This is the area your Executive will use to work through their emails. The folder will contain emails requiring a direct answer from your Executive or where you need further information before processing the response. If the action requires a response that isn’t replying to the email, you should ideally add the action to their to-do list and archive the original email. For example, if the email requires your Executive to follow up on a phone call or create a report.
Read: If you work in a large organization, your Executive will get tons of internal communications, updates, and newsletters. These emails must be read but shouldn’t sit in the live inbox. Move them into the read folder and find time in your Executive’s schedule for them to process and read these emails.
Waiting: Use this area to store emails you have delegated to another staff member and are waiting for a response. It is a good way for your Executive to clarify what is and isn’t being acted on. Once you’ve had an answer, you can move it into the archive.
The Library
This area stores old emails that you keep for reference and referral. Like Graham Alcott, I also do not like folders and subfolders. The search and sort functions on both Outlook and Gmail are powerful, so there is no need for many folders and subfolders. Try to keep folders to a minimum. I suggest the following:
- Personal
- Finance
- Key Projects
- Newsletters/Promotional
- Confirmations/Invitations
Again, process the library area at least once a month and archive or delete any emails that are no longer relevant.
Lastly, we have the live inbox area, the place where your Executive’s emails arrive. Once you have your processing system in place, you will find that your Executive’s inbox is much less chaotic! Pick three times daily to jump into the inbox, move the new emails into the appropriate folders, or answer quick requests.
Setting Up Folders in Outlook
Setting Up Labels in Gmail
Categorizing and Labeling
Many Assistants I know love categorizing and labeling and use the system to take the organization of emails to another level! I’m not a big fan of categorizing emails. If you use a filing system, this should be enough to keep your Executive’s emails organized. Also, you don’t want to spend considerable time processing emails, and I feel using categories or labels adds unnecessary time and decision-making.
That being said, Google Workspace uses labels rather than folders, which means the labeling options are pretty dynamic. This is a good article explaining the difference between Outlook folders and Gmail labels and how to use labels in Gmail effectively.
If you want to add categories to your emails in Outlook, here is an excellent resource.
Rules
Rules are brilliant for organizing your email folders and automating processing. Here is a good article about setting up rules on Outlook. Anything that helps automate your workflow is well worth setting up. Once you move emails into the designated folders, you’ll notice that the emails often come from the same sender. For example, the internal communications newsletter will come from the same staff member. Set a rule so the internal communications letter drops straight into the “read” folder.
Setting Up Rules on Outlook
Setting Up Rules in Google
Making Decisions
Now that you have the primary system in place for managing your Executive’s inbox, the next step in the ultimate guide to managing your Executive’s emails is to start making decisions about each email sent to your Executive.
As I mentioned, you don’t want to live in your Executive’s inbox. Ideally, you should only process emails three times per day at most. The reason is that you have other work to do! Try to keep email processing down to half an hour.
When you open their emails, I suggest you have a system in place to quickly and efficiently work through the inbox. I like David Allen’s 3 Ds method:
Do It: This is pretty straightforward. If it takes less than two minutes, as the saying goes, do it! Get these small tasks off your plate quickly. They may take two minutes today, but they could take longer or become more complicated if you leave them.
Delegate It: Assistants can delegate—I can’t emphasize this enough. You don’t have to do everything that lands in your Executive’s inbox. If you or your Executive aren’t the right people for the job, delegate the work. Alternatively, if you’re waiting for part of the work to be completed by someone else, make sure you follow up until they reply to your request. Following up is something Assistants should be highly skilled at. It’s incredibly effective if you remember to follow up and chase people for work. Things don’t get done at work because they fall by the wayside or are forgotten. If someone in the office is in charge of accountability, so much more will be accomplished. Assistants should be in charge of accountability!
Defer It: This is where things get a little more complicated. If you can’t take action on the email immediately, which can be for several reasons, have a system in place for the next steps. What happens to emails you can’t answer right away? Use the filing system to move the email out of the inbox while waiting for it to be actioned.
Working in Sync with Your Executive
The final part of the process in the ultimate guide to managing your Executive’s emails is deciding how you will communicate with your Executive about your actions with their emails. It doesn’t need to be complicated, especially if you have implemented the folder system and triaged their emails into relevant areas that require your Executive’s attention. However, you must be on the same page and consistent in your approach.
If your Executive is comfortable with you managing their email inbox entirely, communications about emails should be kept to a minimum. If your Executive prefers some oversight, I suggest debriefing them at the end of the day—ideally face-to-face. Avoid adding more emails to their inbox if possible. If the debrief is via email, keep it concise and easy to read. Let your Executive know what has happened that requires their attention. Highlight urgent emails in the action folder and suggest a course of action.
For many Executive Assistants, managing their Executive’s emails is a primary and increasingly important part of their role. Whether setting up rules and filters, filing away emails, or compiling the most relevant information from emails to share with your Executive, staying on top of their email load is essential. The ultimate guide to managing your Executive’s emails has provided you with a proactive strategy for handling email overload so you can remain efficient and productive in helping your Executive manage their inbox.
While gaining control of an inbox can be challenging, it is achievable with the tools outlined above. If you’re looking for additional support and guidance, take a look at the Effective Email Management Online Course designed to help you better manage your Executive’s email processes. Managing your Executive’s emails doesn’t have to be stressful—the right solutions will leave you confident that all necessary tasks are handled correctly and promptly, freeing up time and energy for other priorities.
