Happiness Is an Empty Inbox
March 18th, 2009 by Jeb Foster
Email is a great tool that can boost productivity and make life easier, but without regular diligence, it can also rule your days and haunt your dreams.
Which brings us to ‘Inbox Zero,’ an approach to managing email developed by quasi-web-celebrity Merlin Mann, who catalogues various productivity tips on his site, 43folders.com.
The point of Inbox Zero is twofold: reduce clutter and get s**t done. If you’re like most, inbox clutter is something you’re familiar with—go ahead a do a count: how many messages are currently in your inbox? How many of those are dated or unimportant? How many are mission critical?
My guess is that a truly important message is sandwiched between the back-and-fourth you had with the guys about the NCAA tourney.
In many cases, action starts with email. That means that if you don’t have a good system of email organization, less stuff gets done.
As the name implies, Inbox Zero holds an empty inbox as its goal. This does not mean deleting important messages or coming up with elaborate yet useless filing systems. It means doing one of five things each time you get an email.
- Delete
- Delegate
- Respond
- Defer
- Do
(Not to be confused with the 5 Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.)
All too often—and I’m as guilty as anyone—email languishes unattended, and the longer it goes without action, the greater the chance that an important message will get ignored or accidentally deleted.
What do you think? Want more information on this Inbox Zero business? Get it from the source.
Lastly, I can’t resist putting in a plug for our Agent Connection lead organization tool. Get all of your leads in one place (far, far away from your dangerously cluttered inbox) and flag them for follow-up, archive and write notes. Learn more about the Agent Connection.
Tags: Inbox Zero
