Inbox Zero is a productivity system that was developed by Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. In a nutshell, Inbox Zero is exactly what it says on the label. It’s a system which is used to keep your email inbox as empty as possible, as a means of staying productive. Implementing Inbox Zero should help you stay on top of your emails, and deal with them efficiently.

It consists of five labels you should keep in mind when processing your messages: delete, delegate, respond, defer and do. Assign yourself certain times of the day to process your emails, and approach each incoming message with that list in mind.

It’s important to remember Inbox Zero is a process not a one-time event. It’s not about getting your Inbox down to zero because obviously it’s not going to stay there.

Inbox Zero Tools

Aside from the games we’ve looked at before at The Next Web like 0Boxer and The Email Game, which attempt to make getting to Inbox Zero a little bit more fun, there are other tools that you can use to keep your inbox under control.

Gmail’s filters are a huge help for managing your incoming messages before you go anywhere near them. It takes some of the effort needed in processing out of the way. You can create filters to label specific message, based on who they’re from or based on certain keywords in the subject or the email body.

A productivity system that ties straight into your inbox is a great way to manage your email overload. For Gmail users, Taskforce is a great little extension which plugs into your inbox. If you need a more elaborate system, Mac users can benefit from a direct link between the desktop app Things and Mac Mail. Mailplane users can download a plugin to connect their email to Omnifocus. Whatever your system is, the chances are there’s an easy way to plug a task list into your email account, so you can get messages out of your inbox and onto your to-do list.

You can also put together a system that works well with your pace and work load, like Tim Mile’s 7 step list to reaching Inbox Zero.

The Argument for Inbox Zero

Inbox Zero is a great way to stay stress-free. It’s exactly the same as keeping up with your task list. If you’re keeping up with the flood of messages that are making their way into your inbox, you won’t be haunted by messages waiting to be processed, answered and archived. Just like having a task list that just keeps growing, an inbox that keeps getting bigger isn’t going to do your stress levels any favors.

Inbox Zero can make you more productive because you are painfully aware of just how much you might have on your plate. An inbox full of unread messages is daunting. If you go through that inbox, find that many of your unread messages are useless newsletters, that’s bound to make you feel better. And as you reach the important emails and delegate, defer or reply, you’ll have a much better grasp of how much work you need to do.

After using the method for a while, it can also make you more aware of how much time you need to complete a certain task. And there’s no denying the importance of time management when attempting to stay organized. So in other words, Inbox Zero can help you with your time management.

By setting certain times for checking your email, it can potentially be a more distraction-free way of getting through your work day. If you’re working on something, and a notification comes in for a new email, that can be the biggest distraction that stops you from completing the task in hand. Constantly letting yourself be distracted by new incoming messages can be incredibly detrimental to your productivity. With Inbox Zero’s scheduled email checks, you can easily stay focused on each task and finish it, before moving on to the next item on your list.

Inbox Zero is not set in stone. It’s a system which you can tweak to suit your personal needs. Merlin Mann gives you the foundation and you can build on it as you see fit. Since you don’t have to use a specific application to set the system in motion, you can easily drop and add bits and pieces of the system as you see fit, making it more suitable to your working style.

If you do it right, you’ll feel relieved. Or as Merlin Mann so eloquently puts it, it’ll feel great to suck less.

The Argument Against Inbox Zero

You could end up wasting far more time putting a system in place than actually using it. This is, of course, entirely subjective. Some people can spend time working on a system, and will eventually put it to good use. With many others, the entire productivity world is far more interesting and enamoring when coming up with a system rather than actually using it.

Inbox Zero can potentially make you spend more time focusing on your email at the expense of other parts of your working day. Email isn’t the only tool we use for communication at work and you simply can’t be preoccupied with keeping your inbox under control all the time. Depending on your email load, you could end up spending more time processing than you should.

Inbox Zero can lull you into a false sense of security. Processing your inbox is only half the task. Even after you’ve emptied your inbox, you’ve still got quite a few messages that have been delegated and deferred. The delegated messages can often require followup on your part to ensure the task is completed.

The deferred messages are the real problem because they require noone but you to deal with them. Inbox Zero may give you the sense that things are under control, but unless you actually deal with those deferred messages, they really aren’t.

How different is your inbox to your task list? Are your emails better off on a to-do list that still needs doing? I often find that keeping the email message in my inbox is an important reminder of what I need to do. While others might find that it’s stressful and unnecessary if you’ve already got it on your task list, I find it a handy reminder, provided that there aren’t too many of these reminders in my inbox.

What happens if you continue to receive emails as you are processing your inbox? Do you leave those messages out of the processing system until your next scheduled email session? What if you receive an urgent email as you’re processing? What if your job requires you to keep an eye on your inbox all day so you don’t miss any urgent messages? All of these questions are problematic for the Inbox Zero system, which requires you to process only at certain times of the day.

While you can keep your inbox under control, you don’t have the ultimate control. You can’t stop emails from pouring in, short of switching off your Internet connection. Trying to have complete control over something which you simply cannot have complete control over may seem futile to some, and in fact, could be the complete opposite of stress-free.

Conclusion

There is no single cure for email overload and Inbox Zero doesn’t claim to perform miracles. At the end of the day it’s a system, and it’s nothing without your own personal input. It might work for you and it might not. It’s important to remember that productivity systems are subjective beasts and that can be their ultimate downfall or the reason for their success.

What works for you won’t necessarily work for me. And for that reason you can’t say wholeheartedly that Inbox Zero works or it doesn’t. That’s just like saying that having cornflakes for breakfast doesn’t work. It’s simply a matter of personal preference or taste. Now if you’ll excuse me, as I have a few unread messages in my inbox that need dealing with…

We live in a busy world. Whether you’re looking around online or off, there’s “stuff” going on all around us. Some of us are trying to keep up and some of us aren’t. Either way, both parties are inevitably going to miss out on some of this “stuff” I’m alluding to. And that’s because we all need to look at not only why we’re missing out, but how we can avoid missing out on as much as we do. This is when levels of personal productivity come into play.

So, how do you “level up” your personal productivity? Well, here are 10 things that you need to do to be supremely productive.

1. Map out the really important stuff.

No one can tell you what is important to you — that’s a choice only you can make. But unless you do make that choice on regular basis, you’ll find that the important stuff gets buried behind a mass of stuff that you have to do rather than want to do. That stuff has become “urgent”, and urgent always manages to outweigh importance unless you keep urgency at bay.

You need to map out the stuff that is really important to you, not just in “work life” but in other aspects of you life, and be clear about that map once it’s been made. Keep it on hand and visible, whether digitally or on a piece of paper taped to your workspace so that you don’t lose sight of it (both literally and figuratively). Before you start using any tools to make sure you get there, you need to figure out where “there” is. And the best way to find it is with a map…a very important map.

2. Pick a system and stick with it for at least 90 days.

If you’ve ever Googled “personal productivity system”, you’ll find that you can spend more time looking for ways to help you be more productive than you can actually being more productive. Spend very little time searching for one, and more time working with one. You’ve likely got an idea of what you’re best suited for (whether you’re a digital or analog person, whether you want to have a software solution that is web-based or a mobile app, etc.), so figure out what is going to work for you and give that system a try.

Look for no more than a week before settling on one, and then stick with it for at least 90 days. You’ll need that length of time to get really familiar with the system you’ve chosen, but also you’ll need that length of time to get into the habit of working inside any system at all. If, after 90 days, you’ve found that you’ve made the system work for you then you’re in great shape. If it doesn’t, then you’ll be able to move on to another and the learning curve won’t be as steep. Remember, the goal is to “be” supremely productive, not to “do” supremely productive.

3. Don’t use a calendar for to do items.

No matter what system you come up with, don’t put to do items on a calendar. Calendars are meant to handle scheduled items and appointments only. If you’re blocking out time for rejects, writing, lunch, then that’s fine. Same with any scheduled appointments or meetings. But anything that does not have a set time shouldn’t even touch the pages of your calendar.

This goes for deadlines as well, because essentially these things are often tasks that need to be done by a certain date. If you’re having to put deadline dates in your calendar, then you’ve got a much bigger problem on your hand than knowing when the deadlines are…and that problem is that you’re leaving things to the point where the deadline actually matters.

4. Empty your head regularly.

Your brain can only hold so much information. Homer Simpson famously said that every time he learned something new that something else he had learned before fell out of his brain. You need to drain your mind regularly, and that means writing stuff down or capturing it in some other fashion. Again, how you do so depends on what method works best for you. But if you don’t empty your head then it will be far too full to handle very much of anything.

5. Don’t be afraid to break familiar patterns.

Bogging yourself down with too many tools or the wrong tools at the wrong time will only slow down your productivity. If you’re working away on your laptop and an idea comes to mind, opening another app to capture that idea might be the best option for you because you’re already working on the device. But it may also get lost in the shuffle. Breaking a familiar pattern by writing the idea down on paper or recording it by voice into your mobile device can create a trigger that keeps that idea far more accessible than plunking it in your laptop. Mixing it up isn’t always a bad idea, and it can actually make the process of discovery part of your workflow. And allowing the mind to explore and wander can actually build on productive habits.

6. Disconnect often.

Human beings can’t be “tapped in” all the time. We need down time. You can schedule the down time or just let it happen, but you need to do it often. If you’re always on the go then you’ll never know how to properly stop and get the rest you need, so take the time to step back and remove yourself from the equation. You’ll prolong your passion for your pursuits, gain further insight and keep perspective by doing so.

7. Get up early.

Sleeping in is one of the worst things you can do to enhance your productivity. While you son’t have to be rising at a ridiculous hour, by getting up in the early part of the morning you may surprise yourself with how much more you can get done in a day. Staying up late may give you a jump on tomorrow, but if you don’t jump out of the gate in the morning than you’re going to be playing catch up all day. You may be ahead of the pack because you burned the midnight oil, but you certainly won’t feel like it.

8. Be proactive.

Living in the moment is fine when you’re already ahead of the game, but when you’ve got a lot on your plate it is very difficult to live at all, let alone in the moment. By setting realistic expectations and benchmarks for your tasks and goals, you’ll be proactive by default. Being reactive often results in sloppy and panicked results — and it shows. Being proactive allows you to actually craft what you’re doing with superior quality and effort. Time is on your side when you’re proactive, and time can be your worst enemy when you let it control you. So don’t let it.

9. Embrace curation.

Take a good hard look at what you’re spending your time on (and in). Be honest with yourself and examine what is stealing your attention away from what you need to be doing in order to be supremely productive. Then either manage that with a deliberate approach or, if you can’t afford the willpower, eliminate it altogether. Television is a big one here. I cut cable out of my life a couple of months ago and have been able to create a lot more since I did, because I’m not able to flip a switch and watch what someone else has created. I’ve started using Netflix to watch what I want and when I want, but there is some effort involved. It’s not just a press of the button and images magically appear on the screen. Absorbing what I want rather than wading through what is offered on television has greatly enhanced my productivity. I’m curating my television habit, and I’m far better for it.

10. Forget Inbox Zero.

You’re going to get email. Deal with it. Spending all of your time trying to clear it all out every day (or week) is more wasteful for many than watching television. Again, absorb what you want rather than wade through what is offered. Create a folder within your email client and call it “Keepers”. Drag what you feel you must keep into that folder, and then delete the rest periodically. Review the “Keepers” folder daily, and delete what’s been dealt with when you’re ready. Don’t get bogged down in email. It’s not worth it, and it’s one of the biggest factors as to why so many of us aren’t supremely productive.

Pushing through the urgent stuff and getting to the important stuff is a lot easier when you’ve set yourself up to succeed. The details will start to rise to the top the more you are able to pay attention to them. By mapping out the course, discovering what works best for you and clearing and curating the path along the way, you’ll find that being supremely productive isn’t all that difficult. Getting started may seem to be the hardest part, but it’s actually the waiting to get started that is the hardest part.

So what are you waiting for?

This morning I thought about some filters I secretly wish I could use, but don’t. They are either unpractical, very rude or plain impossible. Here they are:

Delete on CC or BCC
Most emails you get that have your address in the CC are mostly just FYI. 90% of those you can safely ignore. If it would have been really important they would have emailed you directly. I once knew a guy who filtered all email that had him in the CC to a separate folder which he simply ignored. I wish I could do the same but don’t feel comfortable doing it. I know I would miss out on that 10% that is actually important. Still, one can dream.

Fwd: Re: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: Re: Re: Re: HILARIOUS!!!
As soon as the subject of an email looks anything like the title here you know what to expect: an email a mile long, probably from a family member you don’t even like, with some kind of funny image from 1998. The email will contain the emailaddresses and names of everybody who forwarded it before you. I guess this would be a fairly easy filter to set-up. If subject contains more than 3 exclamation marks, filter to trash.

Bounce all From = hotmail.com
Hotmail is a great service and used to be the coolest email to have. Okay, for the the first 6 months of 1996 when they launched (yeah, 14 years ago!). If you are still using Hotmail you are either 65+, a schoolgirl or just not someone I want to do business with. Well, that is my first instinct when I see a hotmail address. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I would just auto reply to every hotmail.com address with the following illustration:

See the complete illustration at The Oatmeal, it is hilarious.

If text > 3 sentences
When you email me a simple question in a max of 3 lines you can expect an answer within minutes. Got a simple yes/no question? Be prepared for lightspeed replies. Longer than 3 lines? Those are the emails I open and close 6 times and will take days, sometimes weeks, to answer. I would love to have a filter hat automatically replies with the following message:

“Thank you for contacting me. Unfortunately your email was too long and/or contained too many questions. Please only ask me 1 question at a time and preferably in less than 140 characters.”

It won’t ever happen and I wouldn’t want to be that rude, but how cool would it be! One option is to use the ’3 sentences’ signature which might educate some of the people you regularly email with.

All questions that can be answered with a Google search
Some people think it is easier to email me with a question than to browse through 10 google search requests. And it is. But it also means I’m doing your work. Before you email me ask yourself if there isn’t a way to ask that question on Google. Or, if you aren’t sure about it why not ask me on Twitter? I can either ignore you there, or retweet your question so one of my followers can answer you. Pretty tough to setup a filter for this one though.

よ脚美 недр お知ら
I admit that this is actually more a SPAM filter issue, but I have no idea what those characters mean and the only characters I understand are basically the roman alphabet. Anything not written with that is unreadable so might as well go straight to the trash bin. The same goes for Spanish, German, French and pretty much any other language besides Dutch and English. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could set-up a simple auto-reply to all those languages you don’t speak:

“I’m sorry but all I speak is English and Dutch. Please resend your message in one of those languages, or if you were spamming me, please die. Have a great day!”

All newsletters
I would be very happy to filter any email that contains the word ‘Newsletter’ to a separate folder. No need to delete them right away but just stow away out of sight. Should be easy to do and save me a lot of work. And I know, you could simply unsubscribe to all those newsletter, but you know how that works; a small percentage has a ‘one-click-unsubscribe’ link, but the others force you to come up with your login details (which you forgot) or at least your email address, which you then have to go find in the headers of the newsletter because you have no idea which one you used to sign up with. Just deleting them is easier.

All notifications
I admit that I got this one done already. I switched off all notifications from Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Quora and all the other cool services that insist on notifying you whenever someone farts in close proximity to your online profile.

If I’m in the mood for that I will just head over to their websites (or fire up their iPhone apps) and check out what is happening. No need to flood my inbox with all that shit.

All “want to get together for some coffee?” requests
This is a tough one. Some of those you actually like getting (if from = ‘Jennifer Lopez’ action = ‘accept all invitations’) but a lot of those are time wasters. All you want to do is get to work, right? Unfortunately it is really difficult to just say no to those requests. It seems so impolite. An auto-reply like this might help:

“Coffee invitation auto-reply: Hi, I receive a lot of ‘coffee drinking invitations’ and unfortunately don’t have time for all of them. Please reply with the answers to the following questions: what do you hope to get out of our coffee meeting and how could I benefit from investing an hour of my time into this meeting?”

If reply = ‘thanks!’
I know it is very polite to say thanks when I answer your question offline and face to face. But in email, when you ask me a question, I answer it and you are happy with it, there really is no need to send an email with nothing but “Thanks!” in it. Want to thank me? Keep my inbox clean. Really NEED to thank me? Send me a bottle of champagne or some flowers.