How many of you have ever seen this screen?
Although it is not a strategy that works for everyone, treating your inbox as, well, an inbox—rather than a holding pen for every email you have ever received—can be an effective means of dealing with the onslaught of daily email. For my personal email, I’ve set up a simple folder system that I have found to be effective: Action, Hold, To Read. (I’ll admit: my work email inbox is still a work in progress—at last check, I still had 192 unread emails, plus many more in my inbox.)
The point of the “Inbox Zero” concept, however, is not about how many emails you have in your inbox—it’s about how much of your mental energy you spend on email. Knowing quickly which emails I need to respond to (by scanning the Action folder) or where my ticket confirmation is (in the Hold folder) means that I can spend less time searching, sorting, and worrying that I have missed or forgotten something important.
Many of us spend a lot of time dealing with—as distinct from and in addition to writing—email. If you find this to be stressful (or just a drag on your productivity), consider rethinking the way you organize your email—and how often you check you mail during the day.
Already achieved Inbox Zero? Perhaps you can set your sights on Desktop Zero.
Read more about Inbox Zero here: http://www.43folders.com/izero
And, for the history and an ambiguous review of Inbox Zero, try: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/zero-dark-inbox
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