12 practical tips and 10 powerful tools to make your emails super productive

Email is a necessary evil, and it is the primary mode of communication in workplaces today. In 2020, worldwide, 306 billion emails were sent and received every day and this figure is expected to touch over 376 billion by 2025. No matter how many new communication tools are introduced, email still reigns supreme.

A few years back, communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and others tried to replace emails with chat for internal communications. While they succeeded in reducing the number of emails, users found themselves bombarded with notifications and stuck in lengthy group chats. A study points out that on average, each Slack user sends more than 200 messages per week and there are power users who send 1,000 messages per day.

While emails cannot be replaced with group chats, the good news is you can learn to manage them effectively by following the best practices and implementing the email management tools and apps discussed below.

By following these 12 proven tips listed below; you can save hundreds of work hours by learning to organize your emails efficiently.

12 proven tips

1. Focus on your core work first

The first few hours in the morning are usually the most productive. Opening emails first thing in the morning will shift your focus and make you lose motivation. You start stressing out and can’t get actual work done. So, focus on your core work first.

2. Check your emails periodically

A great email productivity tip is to reduce checking email to just 2–3 times per day. Checking your emails all through the day and responding to them will leave you with less time to focus on your core work.

3. Turn off email notifications

If you keep getting constant email notifications you will be forced to stop your work and keep checking the emails. According to a study, it takes around 23 minutes to refocus on your work after every interruption. This will take a toll on your productivity.

4. Cut down on back-and-forth emails

Emails are not meant for discussions. Stop using emails for your regular conversations, otherwise, you will end up with too many redundant emails in your inbox.

5. Continuously unsubscribe

Over a period of time, your inbox is likely to get flooded with spam emails and newsletters. Every time you get an unwanted email, hit the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the message. This practice will reduce up to 80–90% of your email clutter.

6. Label your emails

One of the best ways to keep your inbox clean and tidy is to label similar type of emails based on category, project, client etc. You can then set auto-filters for all your incoming mails based on the labels so they are properly organized.

7. Create to-dos from emails

Create to-dos for all the important emails that you wish to respond to later. Though this feature is available in only a few tools like Clariti, it will help you with the ready context when the to do alert is triggered. Avoid using separate apps for this purpose.

8. Create automatic responses

Setting up email signatures will save you from typing your name again and again. Also, set up auto-response whenever you are going on leave or vacation.

9. Response to most emails should take less than 1 minute

As a rule of thumb, try to limit the time taken to respond to each email to no more than one minute. If you notice it takes you a long time to compose a reply, perhaps calling may be a better option.

10. You don’t have to reply to every email

If you are a person who receives a lot of emails daily, it is not mandatory that you have to respond to all the emails. Be selective on which emails you respond to. In many cases you can pick up the phone to discuss the issue to reduce the back-and-forth iterations common in email communications.

11. Combine multiple email accounts.

Having all inboxes in one place is a great way to combat email overload and save the hassle of having to check multiple inboxes several times a day just to make sure, you don’t miss an email. Moreover, you don’t have to remember all the passwords to check emails.

12. Use tools to organize your emails

There are dozens of email tools that help minimize the time you spend on managing emails. In this blog, we will introduce 10 of our favorite email management software for organizing your inbox.

10 email management tools

1. Clariti

Clariti is one of the best free email management apps where you can consolidate multiple email accounts in one place. Clariti allows you to integrate up to 4 email id’s (business or personal) in your inbox eliminating the need to constantly switch between your email accounts. While Clariti embraces emails it also effectively reduces needless emails through powerful features like “Instant Share” and “Chat from Email”.

Using instant share, you can instantly share email, images, social feed and other work artefacts with other Clariti users, without forwarding them. This removes unnecessary duplication and email chains.

Chat from email feature lets you online collaboration tools with multiple stakeholders without needing to forward emails or copy/paste their contents in chats. As soon as you receive an email from your client or customer, you can immediately start chatting with other Clariti users regarding the topic. When you chat, your colleagues will be able to see all the contents of the email that is related to the chat. You can share documents, exchange emails and set yourself reminder to-dos from Clariti. As you continue the conversations, Clariti will automatically link all the related communication in a TopicFolder.

You can name the TopicFolder based on the topic that you are discussing. In Clariti, the ability to organize all your emails using TopicFolder enables you to stay organized, even if you are managing multiple email accounts. Clariti will not only help you manage all your emails from one place but can also do additional activities like chats, voice calls, screen sharing, creating a to-do or organizing related information into TopicFolders.

2. Thunderbird

Thunderbird is an open-source email management platform, which enables businesses to organize, filter, set up, search and archive email conversations and accounts. The on-premise solution automatically blocks image attachments within email messages to protect users’ privacy.

3. Mailbird

Mailbird is an email marketing tool that helps businesses of all sizes manage multiple accounts and enhance workforce productivity. It is a Windows-based solution that enables users to sync and centralize emails and contacts from several platforms in a single inbox.

4. eM Client

eM Client is a fully-featured email client for Windows and macOS. Beyond email management, the system also offers features for the management of calendars, tasks, events, contacts and notes, and integrated chat. The software supports all major email services including Gmail, Exchange, iCloud and Outlook365.

5. Mailspring

Using a single inbox for all of your email accounts helps you get more done in less time. Mailspring supports every major mail provider — Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook.com, Yahoo!, and IMAP/SMTP — so you have a single, streamlined command centre for all your messages.

6. Unroll.Me

Decluttering your inbox has never been so easy, or looked so good. With Unroll.Me, you can unsubscribe from unwanted emails, consolidate sales, newsletters etc into a convenient daily digest called the Rollup, and keep the rest in your inbox uncluttered. Stop stressing over your inbox and get back to spending time on what matters to you.

7. Mailbox Validator

MailboxValidator is an email verifier app that performs validation of email addresses to check if an email really exists. This validation service helps to clean email lists and at the same time, it is also able to maximize email open rate, conversion rate and sender reputation. Users can verify an email address instantly to reduce bounce rate and cost. It is important in internet marketing as well as email marketing campaign because it may help you to reach your real audience with zero bounce rate.

8. SaneBox

SaneBox is an email management software designed to help businesses filter and categorize emails across customizable groups. The platform provides a SaneNews folder, which enables managers to collect newsletters and automatically archive or delete them after a specified time. Administrators can review cc’d emails in bulk and move, archive, mark as read or snooze unimportant emails on a unified interface. SaneBox allows teams to analyze email history and automatically upload attachments to the cloud using AI-enabled tools. Additionally, operators can snooze incoming messages for selected time duration and block unwanted emails.

9. InMoat

InMoat is an email extension that helps you gain control over your inbox by stopping email distractions so you can focus on what matters. Stop wasting hours a week sorting through your inbox with InMoat. Nothing to download or install, InMoat works with your existing Gmail or Outlook account. Register, set your email priorities, and you’re all set! Important emails will continue to go to your Inbox while email distractions will be sent to a new @InMoat folder to be reviewed at a later time.

10. Loop Email

Loop Email is a collaborative email platform, which provides an all-in-one team inbox to simplify and organize messages from customers, partners or internal teams. Loop Email ensures no messages get missed and teams can assign ownership, discuss client emails, share files, automate workflows and handle shared inboxes.

Sign up and start exploring these email management tools for a less stressful email experience, get your inbox organized and become more productive.