If you are wondering what Inbox Zero is, check out this link to Lifehacker introducing Inbox Zero by Merlin Mann.
The link contains slides (my recommendation would be to check them out..) and a video (1 hour!) if you have the patience.
Merlin’s concept revolves around the fact that we have limited attention span. Focus it on what’s most important. Merlin recommends 5 folders in your inbox so you can deal with your email better. Check out slide 11.
The core idea is as simple as the name – Inbox Zero. Keep your inbox down to zero emails. Now, I have heard from many that this is ‘impossible’. We are in the age of email after all. And I read about Inbox Zero when I was getting 50-60 emails a day myself back in university (I used to work with a dot com start-up and hence, received all emails – team emails, support emails etc). My inbox hence, ran to the 100s, if not 1000s. Anyway, all that changed when I decided to implement Inbox Zero. I spent a crazy weekend categorizing emails and acting on them and achieving Inbox Zero.
And I can confidently say that, to this day, I am grateful I did that because I have been on top of my email ever since. I maintain Inbox Zero, both at work and at home. My email habits differ from Merlin in that..
1. I have folders for all my email to file them, of course.
2. I just use a ‘WIP‘ folder i.e. Work in Progress for any email that is ‘on hold’
3. A Newsletters folder that I clear on weekends
4. Clear emails primarily in the morning (before work) and evenings (after work) but also clear the simple ones during breaks at work. And if I have way too many, then I have the commute which is a great time to clear email.
There was a time when I was addicted to my email, but I’m into a more disciplined approach these days. That’s the thing about anything that revolves around ‘GTD’ i.e. Getting Things Done principles – they don’t require disciple, but they do require a disciplined approach. And GTD in life is like a bath, you need to take one atleast once every day else you begin to stink.
I have personally found Inbox Zero brilliant for the fact that it helps me focus on one important email at a time. Every time I need something done, I transfer an email from ‘WIP’ to my empty inbox and just focus on what needs to be done to respond to that email. Of course, all email notifications are ‘off’!
Of course, I am an out and out Outlook fan and I have heard the whole Gmail logic of ‘don’t bother clearing email. Just label and search them.’ Yeah yeah. I don’t buy it.
Email can be very stressful. There is no worse feeling than having that niggling feeling that there is an important email sitting in your inbox waiting to be cleared.. and Inbox Zero just helps you sleep better at night. It requires effort though – every single day. If you believe in doing a bit of cleaning every day to ensure your room/home is clean, then you will know and understand what it takes.
But, just like coming back to a clean home after a day of work, it is well worth the effort.
If you decide to give it a shot, all the best! Keep me posted.. and do let me know if I can help in any way.
PS: I’ve also heard from skeptics that it would be tough to keep it up as I get lots more email. I’m still waiting for the day… and that only emphasizes you are better off doing this today rather than tomorrow.
And if you need inspiration, in life, there are reasons and results. And reasons simply don’t count. :)
A Learning a Day 