The Secret to an Organized Inbox

My Tried & True Methods to Set Up and Maintain Your Inbox - Stress Free!

As a Virtual Assistant, I get a literal ton of emails every day. And as someone who swears by "Inbox Zero," you can bet my inbox is organized and stress-free.

My secret? A clear setup paired with a simple system that ensures I never miss anything important. In this blog, I’ll walk you through exactly how I organize my inbox (and my clients' inboxes) step-by-step. By the end, you’ll have a system that saves you time and keeps your email chaos under control!

Disclaimer: This is how I set up my Gmail inbox. If you're using a different email provider, some of the details and language may be different, but the structure & strategy still applies!

Step 1: Setting Up Labels in your Inbox

Labels are one of Gmail’s most powerful tools for organizing your inbox. They act like folders to keep your emails organized. Before you get started creating folders without a plan, I'd like to challenge you to do this with intention.

Start by skimming over emails you've received in the last 6 months and see what types of things are regularly coming into your inbox that you'd like to keep. This information is going to help you decide what to name your labels.

Create label names using categories that make sense to you. Remember that there is no limit to the amount of labels and sub-labels you can have in Gmail, so don't be afraid to get as specific as you need!

Personally, I get a LOT of client emails, so I have a label called "Clients". I have sub-labels under this main label for each individual client that I work with. Every time a specific client emails me, that email eventually gets filed under their specific label.

To set up labels in Gmail, start by making sure your main hamburger menu (in the top left) is open and you can see "Compose" under the Gmail logo.

You'll see a list including "Inbox", "Starred", "Snooze" and "Sent". Your layout might look slightly different depending on your setup. Underneath all of that you will see "Labels" with a "+" Next to it. Click the "+" to create a label. Easy-Peasy.

Select the 3 dots next to the label to edit the name, make it a sub label, or even change the color for extra organization if you're a visual person like me.

Once created, you can assign emails to labels by selecting the email from your inbox and clicking "Label" to add the label to the email and keep it in your inbox, or "Move" to add the label and file the email away in that folder. This can also be done from inside the email itself. This system keeps your inbox organized and makes finding emails later much easier.

You can also assign more than one label to an email, if necessary. This means if an email fits into more than one category (like "Contracts" and "Client A"), you don’t have to choose just one! But beware, this can get confusing and hard to keep up - so try to keep things in only one place for easier organization and maintenance.

Step 2: Setting Up a Starred Section to Create your Organized Inbox

The starred section in Gmail is my go-to for keeping track of high-priority emails. This keeps starred emails pinned to the top of your inbox so you always have what you need right up top when you login!

To set this up, select the gear icon ("Settings") in the top right of your inbox, and select "See All Settings". This will take you to your general settings tab. From here, select "Inbox" along the top, then select the "Inbox Type" dropdown and choose "Starred First". Make sure you save the changes at the bottom before leaving this page.

Gmail also allows you to use multiple colored stars, which can help categorize important emails further. For example, I use a green star for items I'm currently working on, a purple star for upcoming virtual meeting links, and a yellow star for items that need my attention in the next few days.

To set this up, from your inbox go back to the gear icon ("Settings"), select "See All Settings", scroll down from there to the "stars" section and select "Use All Stars". Then scroll down to the bottom and hit save changes.

Pro Tip: Drag the stars here around to change the order they will appear!

This will bring you back to your inbox. Once this is done, you’ll be able to click through the stars on an email to assign the color of your choosing.

Step 3: Learn How this Inbox System Functions Efficiently

Now you have your inbox set up for starred emails, with everything else being stored below. Let's go over how I use this system to stay organized and efficient.

When any email comes into my inbox, it immediately goes into the "Everything else" section by default. From there I personally decide whether it gets a star, waits in line for a star, or gets filed into a label immediately.

• If it is something that needs to be addressed today or tomorrow, I give it a star and it automatically moves into my starred section.

• If it's something that needs to be addressed later in the week or next week, I leave it where it is, usually marked as unread so I know I need to come back to it.

• If it's something that doesn't need to be addressed at all, it gets filed into a label for storage or deleted — depending on the content.

I use the "Everything Else" section of my inbox to keep track of emails that are waiting on a reply from someone, so I know if I haven't gotten a reply in a while, I may need to follow up. I also use this section for correspondence surrounding long-term projects.

I don't like to move an email out of my inbox until that project is finished so that I don't forget about it. If someone takes a long time to reply and the email isn't visible to me, I won't remember to prompt them for a follow up. But that's just me, and that might not work for everyone. Feel free to experiment and find a variation that works for you.

I would say at any given time I have 13 emails or fewer sitting in my inbox, which is incredibly easy to keep organized and gives my brain one less thing to worry about.

Step 4: What to Do If You Have 100,000+ Emails

If your inbox is overflowing with emails, don’t panic— there’s a way to tackle it.

The first step is deciding what to do with older emails. I recommend anything older than six months can either be deleted or archived. If you haven't needed it in the last 6 months, you probably don't need it in your inbox.

What’s the difference between archiving and deleting emails? 

Deleting removes the email permanently, while archiving keeps it out of your inbox but still searchable. If you’re unsure whether you’ll need an email in the future, archiving is the safer option.

Start with the oldest emails and work your way forward. Skim through and store important emails in appropriate labels. For example, receipts can go into a "Receipts 2025" label, while client or project emails can be filed under their respective labels.

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, set up your labels in advance. This will make it easier to sort emails as you go. By following these steps, you’ll have a clean, organized inbox that works for you—not against you. Whether you’re managing a handful of emails or thousands, the right system can make all the difference.

If this process feels too time-consuming or you just don't want to do it yourself, consider outsourcing this to a VA.

Contact us to learn how we can get your

inbox set up and back on track quickly.