Inbox Zero

Spending time in your inbox is a lot like a rocking chair—it gives you something to do, but you don’t really get anywhere. The goal of Inbox Zero is not to have zero emails in your inbox but to spend zero time in your inbox (or as close as possible to zero).

Step 1: Schedule It

The first step is to schedule the time you spend in your inbox. My calendar has 30 minutes blocked at the beginning and end of each day to run through a Starting/Ending checklist. One item on that checklist is to Sort Emails. The key is the word Sort; you aren't replying or executing, you're simply sorting the emails into buckets.

Step 2: Sort It

Every email you get requires some sort of task. Before you launch into doing those things it’s recommended that you organize the tasks into buckets. The buckets I use are delete, delegate, do, and document (for informational purposes).

Create folders in your inbox, and when you sort your inbox focus on putting the emails in the correct folder. Promotional offers and marketing emails get deleted. Work for other people gets delegated (could be Braden, CDK, etc.). Tasks that I need to work on go in the Do folder. And emails that need a response go into the reply folder. After the emails are sorted you can start working through them.

Step 3: Do It

Now that your emails are sorted it’s a matter of working through them. You should already have one outcome completed: delete it. I recommend Delegate as the second folder to give the other party as much notice as possible. Replies in the Do folder are next, and then I get to work on the tasks that need completed before follow up.