Inbox Zero — What And How
Learn what is Inbox Zero, how to get started, and how it will improve your productivity
Learn what is Inbox Zero, how to get started, and how it will improve your productivity
Key Takeaways
Inbox Zero refers to how you should reduce time spent on your inbox, focusing more on the tasks that matter to you
The system is simple and has just four actions available to choose from for each email
Controlling the source of our distractions can improve our productivity
What Is Inbox Zero
Inbox Zero is a term coined by Merlin Mann more than 15 years ago. As opposed to common belief, the term refers to the time you should spend on your inbox (close to none), and not the actual number of emails you have in your inbox.
As technology advanced, contacting each other became more straightforward, causing an overload of requests (whether it is e-mails, notifications, or instant messages). A 2021 survey found that 30% of workers find emails/Slack their biggest distraction and that a day without emails would be the best day of work.
To deal with it, we need to shift our mindset, create new habits, and work with a system in mind. That’s what Inbox Zero is about.
*While the method refers to emails, I strongly believe it can be applied to Slack, Teams, or any other incoming requests during your workday.
The System
The Inbox Zero methodology is very similar to David Allen’s GTD, yet simpler and more focused. It starts with three principles and four actions –
Decide when to process emails — turn OFF your notifications, and pick times to process emails. It could be 10 minutes once an hour, half an hour at the beginning of the day, etc.
One view per email — ideally you should view an email, decide what to do with it, and move on. Checking the same email more than once is time-consuming and not efficient.
Decision time — for each message, you have four actions to choose from (and an extra one from me).
With these principles in mind, let’s quickly go over the possible actions (the 4 D’s).
Do
Just do what you need to do. I will take some guidelines from David Allen and add the following –
If it will take you less than 2 minutes, do it! If it takes more, move it to your To-Do list
Remember the principles above, you shouldn’t return to this email again! Once you’re over with it, archive it.
Delegate
Is it something you can delegate to someone else? Or need to share it with the team? Do it. Another idea that could help here is to keep such emails in a special folder/tag like “awaiting respond” and review them once a week.
Defer
You found an important email, but maybe it is not relevant to you at this time. You can archive it, knowing you will be able to search for it later. Another option is putting a reminder or scheduled email for the specific time you expect it to come in handy.
Delete
Yes, it’s OK to delete emails you don’t need! (or at least archive them). However, a minute before you do so, consider if you can eliminate future steams of such emails, for example unsubscribing from the sender’s list or changing your software notifications preferences.
Tip — Automate
While not in the official system, today’s email system comes with great automation (Gmails has Filters while Outlook has Rules). After each time I act on an email, I ask myself if I can “automate myself” the next time. Here are some examples –
Unnecessary notifications — some email notifications from software (such as Jira) can be exhausting. Decide which one to keep, and delete the rest with automation rules.
Automated replies — maybe you are focusing on a big task this week and want to advise others you’re on low availability.
Change platforms — I prefer important notifications to reach my Slack channels. Email rules can do exactly that.
Where To Start
It all starts with habits. Decide on the habits you are willing to commit to — when you are going to process your emails, what are the options for each email, when are you going to spend time improving your system, etc.
Remember, once you can create habits that stick — you are on the road to success. I strongly believe Inbox Zero can help us focus more on what matters to us and put our attention where it belongs.