Five ways to inbox zero
I look at my inbox and feel stress. It operates as a list of “to dos” staring me in the face. So every night before I leave work, I take a minute to delete as much as I can. It often means that I am at work for a few more minutes. Sometimes longer — tonight I stuck around until 7. But it keeps me on top of things. In the morning, when I wake up, I know that all of those emails lighting up my phone are new and needing my attention. When my inbox gets out of control, I feel life around me start to get chaotic, too.
That feeling when you get to zero emails in the inbox? It’s nirvana. It’s better than chocolate cake. Probably not quite as good as my mom’s sugar cookies with buttercream frosting. But almost.
My methods are:
- Delete, delete, delete. If it is done, get it out of the inbox. I rarely permanently delete emails because of this — when I do, I just don’t delete the past month.
- For emails that can’t be deleted, file away. I have a file for every project and subject I deal with. I’ve heard this actually reduces productivity, but with Outlook and Gmail I can easily search through them if I’ve ever forgotten where I put something. The dump-all ends up being “interoffice” — for those emails from HR or the notes about what is OK for the recycling bins. You know, the emails you know you are some point going to be glad you saved.
- Respond to almost everything, but keep it short and sweet. No need to write a novel.
- Unsubscribe to newsletters and eblasts from companies, instead of deleting them every day. Cuts down on clutter.
- Set up auto-filters. I love this. If I have an ongoing project, I just set up an auto-filter with Outlook. I have every email that Twitter or Pinterest sends me go to this. Things that I only need if I am going through a report go straight to a filter.
If you need more tips, I think the first thing that clued me into how satisfying email organization could be was Lifehacker. They cover email productivity like a beat — here’s a good article. And here are five more tips. Basically, when you get a message, make a decision on what needs to be done and do it — respond, delete, file. Then do it. If it requires a longer response, I will open up the email and just make sure I get to it before the end of the day — I can’t turn off my computer if I have an open email.
Most boring blog post ever? Certainly. And the husband is going to laugh at me because he has emails from 2009 in his inbox. So clearly having an empty inbox is not everyone’s idea of a perfect world. But I wanted to know what keeps you organized — because the rest of my life is just not as smooth (possibly because I stay at work until 7 p.m. organizing my inbox!). So tell me, how do you reach organization nirvana?
Photo: unsourced on Pinterest. It was better than any “inbox stress” photo that popped up on Creative Commons. Trust me.
Husband:
June 8th, 2012 at 10:16 am
I did find this kind of humorous. Mostly because I have tried several times to create folders and boxes to organize my emails. I just dont remember to review them later if I do that, or where I put them, etc. So, they just sit in my inbox until I can hit the archive button
Di:
June 8th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
I love having the controlled inbox. I usually go through once a week to clean up anything that didn’t get filed at the time.
I have many folders and maybe they don’t help everyone, but they help me. I would go crazy trying to find the things I need without folders.
I am also a mega-deleter especially of press releases. I get both my own work email and stuff sent to the entire editorial staff. So if I know my coworker who is the one who needs the release got it then it gets immediately deleted.
And not to sound too nerdy, but I also love emptying the trash in my email.
Casey:
June 8th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
LOVE this!!!!!! I have 2 things in my Inbox…..it’s like my “to do” list……everything else has a home and gets filed.
Crazy? Maybe. But, I feel better organized!
Reposting this on my Facebook business page. Tell your husband to stop giggling. I think you’re brilliant!
2009? I would have a heart attack.
-Casey from http://www.facebook.com/momslittlesecrets
Brooke:
June 8th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
I’m a big fan of the filters, too. And I love the idea about leaving e-mails that require a longer response open.
Libby:
June 10th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
I use the same techniques for getting through blogs on my Google reader. If I didn’t I would have no time to Tweet about Ann Curry.
Jessica @ Acting Adult:
June 11th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Oh how I adore an empty inbox. I can’t be productive when there are a ton of them staring at me. I actually move many emails into a task, and manage my work that way. It helps me make notes about what I’m waiting on for a particular event or project and how to follow up on things.
Avi Levine:
June 12th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
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Christopher Weir:
June 17th, 2012 at 9:07 am
I like your methods Natalie, the first thing is to realise there is a problem and far too many people either end up living in their inboxes or fail to keep it clean, making it a nightmare to find that all important message when you need it. What you have covered here is good advice for people, but if you’d be interested in reading some tips on how to keep your inbox clean then look here – http://blog.unifiedinbox.com/how-to-keep-a-clean-inbox