How to Beat Monday Inbox Chaos

Inbox Zero: 6 Strategies That Actually Work Email, am I right? If you are like me, you probably have hundreds if not thousands of emails across multiple inboxes. You respond, you delete, and yet it seems like a Sisyphean task as the next day, your inbox is full again. My New Year's resolution was to reduce my work inbox to fewer than 500 emails and my personal inbox to below 100. I haven't accomplished that yet. So, I decided to ask AI for solutions and discovered practical strategies that significantly helped me reduce the number of emails in my inbox. 1. The 2-Minute Rule If responding takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately. Don't let quick tasks pile up. 2. Schedule Email Time Blocks I check email just 3 times daily: Morning, midday and end of day. This prevents constant interruptions and reclaims 90+ minutes of focused work daily. 3. Use the "Touch-It-Once" Principle When you open an email, decide its fate immediately: • Respond • Delete • Archive • Delegate • Schedule for later action Tools that help me implement this: • Todoist: I forward emails requiring action to my task manager with one click • ClickUp: For emails that become projects, I create tasks directly from my inbox • Microsoft Teams: I've moved quick questions and daily communications from email to Teams chats No more marking as unread or revisiting the same messages repeatedly. 4. Create Smart Filters & Templates Set up filters for automatic sorting and use templates for repetitive responses. I reduced my email processing time by 40% this way. Some tools that transformed my workflow: • Gmail Filters: I automatically label emails by project and route newsletters to a "Read Later" folder • Microsoft Outlook Rules: Set up rules to move emails to dedicated folders • Copy'Em (MacOS): Saved templates for common responses (meeting scheduling, information requests) • Boomerang: Schedule emails to return to my inbox if no response within 3 days • Created a new inbox for general inquires and my admin helps monitor it. 5. Embrace the Weekly Reset Every Friday, I spend 20 minutes clearing out my inbox. This ritual prevents weekend anxiety and gives Monday a fresh start. I also use in-flight time to respond to messages; no Wi-Fi needed; they will go out when I get back online. 6. Ruthlessly Unsubscribe I dedicate 10 minutes monthly to unsubscribing from newsletters and promotional emails I no longer read. For each new subscription that comes in, I ask: "Does this provide real value?" If not, I unsubscribe immediately. Tools like Unroll.me have helped me identify and mass-unsubscribe from dozens of mailing lists I didn't even remember joining! What email management strategies work for you? Share in the comments! #ProductivityHacks #EmailManagement #WorkSmarter #ProfessionalDevelopment

How I Hit Inbox Zero Every Morning For years, my inbox controlled me. Unread messages piled up, important things got buried, and I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up. Then I built a system. Simple, repeatable, and impossible to ignore. Now, every single morning, I start with inbox zero. Here’s how it works: Step 1: Clear the inbox daily - Junk? Deleted. - Takes under 10 seconds? Replied to on the spot. - Takes longer? Turn it into a task → archive the email. The key is never letting an email linger. It either gets handled or moved. Step 2: Centralize all tasks - The real trick isn’t email—it’s where those “longer than 10 seconds” items go. - This was the real insight I learned from my friend Yotam Cohen. He explained that if your tasks are scattered—some in email, some in WhatsApp, some in random notes—you’ll always feel behind. - I use Notion. He used Trello. Others use Asana, Todoist—doesn’t matter. What matters is that everything lives in one place: Emails, WhatsApps, Calls, Random notes If it needs to be done, it goes in the system. From there, I prioritize: urgent vs. important. Step 3: Build small habits These little moves keep the system alive: - Delete verification code emails right after using them. - Unsubscribe from junk whenever possible (Gmail makes this super easy). - Never tell yourself, “I’ll deal with this later.” Later = never. The result? Inbox zero. Every morning. No clutter. No missed follow-ups. Nothing slipping through the cracks. It’s not about the tool—it’s about the discipline. Most people let email pile up until it’s overwhelming. This flips the script. And honestly—it’s so simple I don’t get why more people don’t do it.

How does the word… MONDAY… make you feel…? For one of my clients, the word practically required a trigger warning, it was that stressful for her. Why? Well, there was the: 📥 Overwhelming inbox, full of requests that piled up over the weekend 🗓️ Meeting overload, leaving little room to breathe or even get any work done 🚨Lack of prioritization, everything felt urgent ⚡️Weekend hangover, the transition from a relaxing weekend to a hectic workday was jarring Here’s how we collaborated to turn her Mondays around: ✅ Email Strategy We implemented a structured approach to email management, prioritizing responses and setting specific times for checking emails throughout the day. ✅ Meeting Audit We scrutinized the necessity and frequency of meetings. Some were shortened, combined, or replaced with brief updates, freeing up valuable time. ✅ Prioritization Framework We introduced a prioritization system to help her quickly assess and tackle tasks based on urgency and impact. ✅ Mindful Transition We created a Monday morning routine that included a brief planning session and some time for reflection, easing the transition from weekend to workweek. The result? ➡️ Mondays became something to look forward to— a launchpad for success rather than a hurdle to overcome. She not only regained control over her Mondays but also found renewed energy and focus for the rest of the week. The situation was a reminder that the key to conquering any challenge is to break it down into manageable pieces and approach each one with a clear plan. Whether it’s transforming your Mondays or tackling a new project— small, strategic changes can lead to significant results. What are some things you do to start your week on the right foot?

Mondays can feel like a battle. You start with enthusiastic optimism, only to get smacked by requests and piled-up emails. Here's an almost foolproof way to turn your day (and week) around. It starts with one rule: NO MULTITASKING. I don’t care if you can juggle with your feet while coding. Stop multitasking. I coach people for a living. I promise. It doesn’t make you perform better. Anyway, here are the rest of the steps: - STOP: Pause everything. Timer on 10 minutes. DND on your phone + Slack/Teams (non-negotiable) - Brain Dump: Write EVERYTHING down that's on your mind. No filter. All thoughts, tasks, and worries out of your head and onto paper. Clearing mental clutter is the goal here. - Identify 3-4 urgent tasks. Focus here first. Tackle one at a time. If you have an urge to jump on another task, work on each one for 15 minutes at a time. Good luck! I hope the rest of your Monday and week is full of productivity and devoid of overwhelm. PS: If there are any tips that work for you, share below! 👂