Why Inbox Zero?

1. Know Everything That Is Going On

   Know everything that must be done and prevent unpleasant surprises, by regularly processing everything in your inbox without actually having to spend time replying until later (unless there is something important, such as an email from your boss or an upset customer). The key word here is "processing", which is "more than checking and less than responding".

2. Stop Avoiding Your Email

   Emptying the inbox makes email less scary, especially as it requires you to "cut the chaff" by deleting emails that you do not care about. Having fewer emails gives you a nice mental boost to start getting through your email.

3. Focus Your Mind

   It feels great to be on top of everything! It frees your mind of worry and clutter to focus on getting your work done.

Getting To Inbox Zero

For each email in your inbox, do one of the following:

• Act immediately?

  Reply if you can do so within 2 minutes (e.g. to answer any immediate questions), or if it's truly urgent

  Delegate it if you can, by forwarding to a co-worker and giving it the Waiting On Status

• Act later?

  If it will take longer, action and prioritize it (give it a Status) and come back when you can dedicate yourself to processing all emails

• Do nothing

  Delete, spam or archive the conversation if it's not actionable

Then archive each and every email until your inbox is empty.

Tips

Filter announcements out of your inbox

See how to Filter announcements to empty your inbox.