Are you overwhelmed by the number of emails you wake up to each morning? Do you feel anxiety when you return to your computer after lunch? With these four simple steps, you can take control of your inbox, reduce your email anxiety and increase your productivity.

1. Clear it out: Start by deleting any emails you will never need access to again—like the email from Spirit Air with this week’s sale on flights to Cancun. Sadly, it’s not happening this year. Be careful not to delete anything you may need access to down the road—like that Bluefly receipt for the purchase you’re not sure you like yet. Then file the remaining emails in relevant folders.
2. Unsubscribe: The number one offender of mailbox clogging is the stuff you receive on a recurring basis. Next time you delete multiple emails without looking at them, take note of what you’re deleting. If you throw out three emails from the same source without opening them, it’s time to unsubscribe.
3. Consolidate: Most of us have multiple email addresses: a work address, a professional firstname.lastname@gmail.com, a .edu from the college days and maybe even an old Hotmail or AOL account. If you have more than two, it’s time to consolidate. Deactivate the ones you don’t use, or have your mail forwarded to the addresses you use daily.
4. Make your inbox do the work: Gmail users must check out auto-filter, which helps train your inbox to file and label emails as they come in. Anything from Dad goes into ‘Family,’ and your auto-pay student loan bill is automatically labeled ‘Financial.’ You may never look at it, but if you need it you’ll know where to find it.