You’ve probably heard of inbox zero, but did you know that the principle is not actually about keeping your inbox completely empty. Instead this method, created by Merlin Mann, pushes for us to re-evaluate “the amount of time an employee’s brain is in his inbox” with the goal of “finding the time and attention to do your best creative work”.
First presented by Mann on his website, 43 Folders, Inbox Zero gained momentum in 2007 after Mann presented Inbox Zero during a Google Tech Talk. The concept rested on five key pillars:
- Not all emails are equally important: Don’t treat every email like it’s urgent. Instead, focus on the few messages that matter the most.
- Your time is valuable and limited. Don’t try to respond to every email. Accept that you have more work than time and use time management strategies accordingly.
- Shorter email responses are often better than longer ones. Avoid sending lengthy emails that waste time and don’t add value.
- Don’t feel guilty about having a lot of emails in your inbox. It’s common to have a full inbox, so focus on cleaning it up instead of feeling bad about it.
- Be honest with yourself about your priorities and how much time you have. Don’t pretend that you’ll respond to every email when you know you won’t. Instead, be realistic and focus on what matters most.
This method is perfect for organisational enthusiasts like myself, as we love nothing more than relaying tasks from different sources into priority order and colour co-ordinated lists, which we can therapeutically strike through once the task is complete.
Steps you can take to tame your inbox…
STEP 1 – First things first, find yourself some time.
STEP 2 – Next, folders:
- If you haven’t already structured your inbox with folders or labels I would highly recommend doing this, or at the very least have an archive folder within which you can store all the correspondence that you have actioned.
- DO NOT DELETE (unless it’s spam). There may be a time in the future when you need to reference your email thread.
STEP 3 – Set up filters:
- For non-urgent emails that you want to read; i.e. newsletters, adverts for your favourite sandwich shop, filter them straight into a folder ready to read when you have time.
- Newsletter and adverts you usually ignore…or save and never get around to reading – UNSUBSCRIBE!
STEP 4 – Delete, delegate, defer, do or respond – the primary concepts of inbox zero. Similar to the 5 D’s of dodgeball make sure to take action once you’ve reviewed your inbox, although I recommend never deleting any email containing company or project information.
- Mark to address later, delegate to a colleague, assign an action to address in your task list. Whatever you decide, don’t leave it sitting ‘unread’ in your inbox. It won’t help to address the email or prioritise it against your other obligations, and it certainly won’t reduce your anxiety.
Now if steps 1 – 4 are already causing you to raise the white flag of defeat remember, there is help out there.
For more information about our services please visit our website. We offer a specific one-off package for an inbox clean – https://cogva.co.uk/inbox-clean/
How to stay on top of your inbox
Schedule time to check your email:
- A study from the University of British Columbia reported that the optimal number of times to check emails daily is 3 times a day.
- During this time manage your inbox in the most optimum way for your company and working style but however you do it, restrict the time you look at emails.
Close your inbox…or turn off notifications, either way remove yourself from your email.
Make sure to communicate with your team the times you will be available via email. Find a format of communication that they can utilise to contact you for urgent matters, but be firm, if it isn’t urgent you need space to focus on your core work.
Finally, a frequent tip from experts is to get an app. There are so many apps available to choose from, so find the one that works best for you and your company.
- Sortd integrating team collaboration and task management into your inbox
- Superhuman for an email inbox with AI, promises to save 3 hours a week
- Massive stand alone inbox program which is designed for a workflow between email management and team collaboration
- Endless options for task management apps, to name but a few; Monday.com, Todoist, and Trello.
I hope you have found this article interesting and that the hints and tips included have helped you to take control of your inbox. If you would like to discuss further how COG can help to manage your inbox, calendar or if you want to discuss one of the many other services we offer, get in touch.