Clear your Inbox (The Easy Way)
In was early in the year 2002. Sometime after New year’s resolutions and all that.
I sat in my office surrounded by stacks of books and papers and sermons and mail. I felt like a hoarder. But I didn’t want to be a hoarder. I had an email inbox that looked pretty much like my office, except inside the matrix.
It was a terrible day of overwhelm and feeling like a failure for not having the ability to keep up with stuff.
If I had a do-over for that day, I would be much more gracious to myself. We were entering into new territory regarding information. The digital age was fully upon us. We didn’t have the tools to deal with the deluge. We didn’t have the systems to harness the pixels.
I just sat there feeling bad about myself and about my lack of ability to deal with the aftermath of the World Wide Web.
Thankfully my good friend, Joel, was dealing with the same issues as me in those days. He was an entrepreneurial knowledge worker, before said jobs were quite as ubiquitous. I can’t remember which of us heard about David Allan first, but we read Getting Things Done together. It was one of the most game-changing books I ever read. (I’m pretty sure Joel found it as helpful as I did.)
What David Allan Taught Me
I sat in my office, cracked open the GTD book and implemented as I read. It took me about a week. But when that week was over, I had (more or less) wrangled everything. My inbox was clear. My office was clean. I had to-dos and projects organized in lists. It was the first time I felt in control in years. It was fantastic.
Don’t be deceived. This isn’t a “happily ever after” story. I’ve most definitely fallen off the productivity wagon lots of times since then. But here the things that stick with me 21 years after reading David Allan for the first time:
1. You gotta have a system:
Without a system for “stuff” — “stuff” takes over everything. Especially when your “stuff” is digital.
2. The system must be one that your brain trusts:
If your brain doesn’t really believe it will find the important stuff, the stuff that really matters, you will go back to keeping everything on the best or in your inbox, so you don’t lose it.
3. Think in terms of action:
The key questions is always “What do I do with this?” This eliminates your options. (More on the practicalities below.)
This is why a lot of people keep thousands of emails in their inbox, and that it would be inconceivable to clear that stuff out. The ever elusive “Inbox 0” is a pipe dream.
I get my inbox to zero at least three times per week, most of the time every day.
I don’t lose emails, and if you email me, it will get answered and will not get lost.
Here’s my system that I trust:
First a few general email principles:
Use Email for What It’s Good At.
Don’t Use Email for What It’s Bad At.
Email is great at:
● Non-urgent communication across time zones
● Non-urgent communication to teams
● Document sharing
Email is a bad at (I would say VERY bad at):
● To do lists
● Scheduling
● Hard conversations
Process Email During Specified Blocks of Time
For me, it’s mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and before quitting time. There’s no “right time” however. Depending on your context, you may need to process more frequently — or even less frequently.
Have Separate Email Addresses for Work Roles/Personal
This has to do with the cost of context shifting. Most people just have personal and work email. I have an email address for two different work roles, personal, and my website. The key is to separate, so when you process email, you can focus on one area at a time. Context shifting between various roles at work and your personal life takes a toll. It will make you tired.
Get to Inbox Zero Regularly (At Least Once Per Week)
This will assure your brain that there are no snakes in the grass, lying in wait to bite you.
Finally, the good stuff. Here is my system for inbox zero.
Open a single inbox.
Open a single email (I usually start at the top. But you can start at the bottom.)
Ask this question:
Is there any action I need to take with this?
The answer to this question for most email is, “No”.
Then your next action is quite simple.
Delete it.
Or you can archive it if you’re not comfortable with deleting things. The point is to get it out of your inbox.
Great, there’s a sale at Best Buy. But I’m not buying crap at Best Buy this week. Eliminate that bad boy from your life.
Is there an action I need to take that will take two minutes or less?
Do it.
Now.
The two-minute rule is a principle I learned from David Allen that I still employ today. Can I get this done in two minutes or less? A quick reply. A quick read. Two minutes. It’s done. You’re done. The email is gone.
Is there an action that will take longer than two minutes?
Get that on a list.
I use Asana for my task lists. I break down my tasks into these categories:
Brainstorms (Ideas that need clarity/projects that need to be broken down into steps and tasks)
Bullies and Bulldozers (tasks that need prolonged focus or Deep Work)
Busywork (generally administrative tasks)
Some people also have a “waiting for” list when you need a reply from someone. I tend to snooze the emails I want to follow up with. If I need a conversation with someone, I don’t send an email, except to maybe schedule an appointment using Calendly. This eliminates 752 back and forth emails.
Almost every email that needs a more than 2-minute action will go on this list.
Get it on your list and archive the email.
Is there an action I want to take on this at a specific time?
Simple solution here. Pick a day and put it on a calendar.
Archive
Is this something I don’t want to decide on right now?
If so, I snooze it. My email app is called Airmail for Mac. It has a beautiful snooze feature. Gmail has a snooze feature as well. Use this. It will make your life so much better.
Is this information I would like to read later?
I use a tool called SaneBox, and create a folder called Saturday morning. This puts the email (usually a newsletter I’m interested in) into a folder, and it magically reappears on Saturday, when I have the luxury of reading such things.
I will also forward such things to my Instapaper account to read later as well.
This is the basic plan I follow, and the tools I use. My inbox is cleared out most days. If there’s an ongoing, current project, I will occasionally leave a couple of emails in my inbox for a few days. But part of my Friday ritual is to decide on everything and get to the pretty little Inbox Zero icon.
You can do this.
You need a system that your brain trusts. My brain trusts my system. And I rarely miss anything.
If this topic interests you, there are a couple of things you might be interested in.
1. I am doing a webinar for Global Trellis on Tuesday, at 9:00 AM EST this week. This webinar is designed for cross cultural workers. But I will be going through the information above and showing you exactly how I use these tools to keep my email cleared out with relative ease. Sign up here, if you’re interested in joining.
2. Growability® Coaching includes robust tools and training for time management, if that’s something you feel like you need help with. Set up a quick call with me if you want to up your leadership (and time-management!) game with some coaching.
3. Also – SaneBox is an email tool I can’t function without. If you want an extra $5 bucks off, use my promo code here and check it out.