My Inbox Zero challenge

12 July 2021

I love the feeling of an empty inbox. The goal of Inbox Zero can feel elusive. For some people it may feel impossible. I know some people who think it’s a laughable goal. Not me. To me, Inbox Zero is not only achievable, it’s highly worthwhile. I’ll admit, it’s a wagon I fall off frequently. But once I get back to Inbox Zero, it feels so good.

It’s worth the effort to take a little time at the end of each work day and empty my email inbox. Here are just a few of the benefits I see:

I have only one day’s worth of email to deal with
I respond to messages more quickly
I take action more readily
My inbox is much more welcoming and less overwhelming

So why is it so hard for me to maintain Inbox Zero? I think like so many things, it’s a habit that’s relatively easy to maintain on a daily basis. But if you let a backlog build up, it quickly becomes overwhelming. I don’t tend to let my janine@peaceofmindorganizing.com email inbox get really full. It rarely tops 100 for any length of time. But unless I’m focused on achieving Inbox Zero, I usually stop at about Inbox Twenty. Those last 20 messages are typically reminders to do something or they’re emails whose responses require thought.

One morning last week I woke up and told myself I was going to achieve Inbox Zero that day. I did it before noon. All it took was actually doing a few of those tasks, adding a couple to my task list then archiving the messages, and writing a few responses. (A couple of the emails had even aged out.)

Since then, I’ve emptied my inbox every day. It feels great starting the day with just those emails that came in since the close of business the day before. (If you’re interested in some tips about whittling down your inbox, check out this post, Slaying the email dragon that I wrote at the end of 2019.)

Today is July 12. I know the value of public accountability to keep me focused on something. (Witness the 30 × 30 challenges I do on my genealogy blog about six times a year.) So I am making the following pledge to you (but really to myself, because you probably don’t care):

I will empty my inbox every day for the rest of July.

At month’s end, I’ll write a post and let you know how it goes. And if you care to join in any commitment toward making email easier for you, please do!

Tagged with: email, habits, productivity

Comments

I’ve never known whether inbox zero means no unopened emails or no emails period. What are your thoughts.

Most of the time, I keep my unread emails down. I read through them in the morning and several times during the day. Recently I did, however, get way behind. And once emails started going unread it added up exponentially. It became a beast and stressed me out. I tried to tackle it and almost got there…and it slipped out of control again! Finally I got it back in control and I am back on top of it daily.

Dee July 16, 2021 07:08 AM

For me, Inbox Zero means no emails in my inbox. I either archive, delete or file into specific folders all the emails, leaving the inbox empty at the end of the day. It’s definitely easier if I do it every day and don’t let a backlog build up.

Dee, if your unread emails are things like shopping promotions that you don’t want to read, I’d suggest sorting them by sender and doing a block delete, then unsubbing from them. I’m glad to hear you’re on top of it now!

Janine Adams July 16, 2021 11:16 AM

My biggest stumbling block to in-box zero is a message that I don’t know how to respond to. Someone asks, what should we do about this? And I need to think about it. Ideally, I can put a task on my to-do list, “Decide about X and respond to Y” and then file the email so it’s not lurking in the in-box, but sometimes that feels like too much. The other stumbling block is when a thread gets overwhelming with back-and-forth from half a dozen participants. My brain just freezes!

Margaret Lukens July 16, 2021 01:42 PM

I hear you, Margaret! I have the same problem, and it’s those messages (in my life) that start the slippery slope of a crowded inbox. I usually find it’s worth the effort to add the task to the task list but my reluctance to do that is why my efforts often flag. Glad to be back on the straight and narrow for the moment :) Thanks for commenting!

Janine Adams July 16, 2021 02:59 PM

Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.

I love order, harmony + beauty, but I believe that the way that you feel about yourself and your home is what truly matters.

If you’re ready to declutter with a purpose and add more ease to your life, you’ve found the right blog — and you’ve found the right company.

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