How to Improve Email Project Management When You Have Multiple Inboxes

It’s standard today for people to have multiple email accounts. Most accounts are free to create, and can be used to control your online identity, filter spam, or—most importantly–separate the personal from the professional. For many entrepreneurs, you might even be managing multiple email addresses for various companies, ventures, or projects.

But when you’re juggling multiple inboxes, it can be easy for individual emails to be overlooked, or go unanswered for longer than you want. Smart email project management prevents this: it helps you seamlessly integrate email communications and project tracking, regardless of how many inboxes you need to track.

Following these tips can help you get a better organize your inbox(es) and improve your project management, no matter where it’s taking place!

Mastering Inbox Management

Baby steps are the way to go here. If you’re inundated with emails in multiple accounts, start by cleaning house in each individual inbox.

Choose the one you use more often and then do the following:

1. Unsubscribe from useless newsletters

Everyone has signed up for a newsletter at some point. Whether you made a purchase, subscribed to a service, or downloaded an ebook or whitepaper, someone out there has your email and is most likely sending you regular updates.

Email Project Management

Rather than deleting as they come in, save time and hit the unsubscribe button! It’s worth it. Also, don’t be afraid to send spam to the spam folder, or forget to clean out your spam folder every so often. There is no point in letting those emails occupy storage space.

2. Use emails for what they are meant to be

Many people have long conversations through email. They send messages back and forth, minutes apart. While it made sense years ago, tracking email chains aren’t the most efficient way to communicate. There are tools designed to chat with your co-workers and clients while still leaving a record of your conversations. Leave emails to reach people new to your contact list.

3. Schedule when to check your emails

If you do communicate largely through email, keeping an eye on your inbox is important. However, constantly checking your inbox isn’t great either—in fact, checking your email too much is a common form of procrastination! If you’re in the middle of a project, shifting your focus for even a few seconds can break your concentration, and it can take up to 15 minutes to regain the same level of productivity.

Make sure your email project management isn’t hindering actually getting projects done! When scheduling your day, include dedicated time to check your emails. Stick to it as closely as possible, and don’t let an inbox notification interrupt you when you’re really engaged with a project.

4. Use labels and folders

Most inboxes give you the ability to add labels and folders to your messages. Use them. You can separate your emails per client. You can categorize them per action, such as “To Read”, “To Pay” or “To Follow-Up”. Create folders for Accounting, Social Media, Administrative, etc. Then you can deal with each folder at a specific time.

Email Project Management

Email Project Management for Multiple Inboxes

Once that first inbox is looking better, it’s time to improve the way you deal with more than one.

1. Set a Schedule (again!)

This one’s easy. Like with a single inbox, if you’re running multiple inboxes, schedule time to check each one. For better time management, align each inbox check-in with the time you set aside to deal with that inbox’s related work. This will keep your day (and your brain) on track!

2. Forward other accounts

Gmail allows you to forward emails from other services. Do it. Get your Outlook, AOL, Yahoo, or any POP or IMAP account together in one inbox. You will be checking only one service, which is faster and more efficient.

Email Project Management

The best way to manage multiple inboxes, however, is to use Gryffin’s email project management.

Do it like a Pro with Gryffin

Take your email project management to the next level. Gryffin comes with an email integration feature far superior to its competitors.

Email Project Management

1. Have your inbox within your project management software

You don’t need to leave Gryffin to check your email. You can add multiple Gmail inboxes directly into Gryffin and switch between them with a simple drop-down menu. You will see what has been sent to whom and when right there. Any changes will be reflected in both Gryffin and Gmail. No need for double work.

Email Project Management

2. Connect your emails to your projects

Turn discussion into action—you can easily create new projects or tasks directly from your inbox. Simple click on the Attach button and you’ll be able to create a new project and/or task, or find an existing project to attach and create a task.

Email Project Management

You can do this via your integrated Inbox or use Gryffin’s chrome extension, so you can work directly in Gmail:

Email Project Management

Once you attach, you’ll be able to see the email within your new or existing project. No more hunting through your inbox to find conversations related to a project—they’re all right there in the Project Hub under Messages!

Email Project Management

3. Send emails through your projects

It works the other way around, too. If you need to send an email to a colleague or client while working on a project, you can do it right from your Project Hub! Go into the Messages tab and hit Compose to create a new email, or open an attached email and hit Reply.

It comes with an inline editor so that you can customize your text. You can also attach files, add your signature, and create templates for recurrent emails.

Email Project Management

Having to deal with multiple emails during your project management tasks adds an extra challenge to your already busy day. But you can overcome it by following the easy tips above and counting on Gryffin, a tool that comes with outstanding email integration.