The Inbox Zero Method
Last week I posted about my work email management strategy, which is not to give time to the 80% of emails that are not aligned to your business goals; your inbox is not your ‘to-do’ list. This evoked a passionate response from my friend Karen Gaster, who holds the exact opposite view. She consistently maintains inbox zero to an astonishing degree. All emails are acted on. Even her sent mailbox is empty, those emails are all filed by category.
I’m all about being open-minded and learning from other people. After all, there is no one right answer for how to live your best life. Karen took the time to share with me how she manages email and I’m thrilled to pass on her wisdom to you. Find below the alternative strategy to consider; the Inbox Zero Method.
The Inbox Zero Method, by Karen Gaster
If you are a follower of Marie Kondo, you know her mission is to help people live a life that sparks joy. For me, I find sheer joy when I get to this screen:
Now, I know my dear friend Kristy and I have diabolically different views on this, but I am a firm believer that cluttered email inboxes result in missed communications, over communication, and a lack of responsiveness. For this reason, I rarely have a single email in my inbox. I also do not have any unfiled emails in my sent box. Crazy, right? In fact, I am not sure if I have even met another person who has achieved the same level of success at maintaining inbox zero quite like me.
How do I achieve inbox zero?
In the last 24 hours, I received 100 emails and sent approximately 75 emails (a relatively quiet email day for me). You are probably wondering, how can you possibly keep this up? Here are my hacks for limiting, reducing, and organizing emails to help you achieve inbox zero, just like me.
First, unsubscribe and block all marketing (spam) emails that you do not want to receive. Oftentimes, these emails clog up one’s inbox. Second, create an organization system. For work, we use the G suite (gmail), but it can work the same in Outlook. I have a folder system that is color coded by category. Every email that is not deleted, gets filed into my folder system. In gmail, I can label/file every email that is sent before it is even sent. So, before I send an email, I label it and hit send and my sent box remains clutter free.
Third, take action. I take action on every email as it is received. If I can respond to that email, I do, and then file appropriately so I know no further action is needed. If the email needs action that cannot be completed upon receipt, I create a calendar entry, a to-do list, or a task when to complete. I then file the email in the folder and when I am ready to respond, I can easily find it. All email systems create flags, color coding, task assignments to help you organize and prioritize. Learn them and use them.
The post-vacation strategy.
Last week, I was on vacation. Depending on the vacation, I will usually spend an hour or two during my vacation organizing my emails to avoid returning to thousands of emails to manage. Sometimes, when I know I will not be able to review any emails during my vacation, I create a folder and move those emails into the folder that need action/organizing when I return. The thought of deleting every email in my inbox while on vacation (Kristy refers to this as email bankruptcy), causes me heart palpitations. I am sensitive to my business partners who want to make sure an issue is not missed by sending me an email while I am out for response when I return. If I can’t get to my emails before I return, I block an hour or two on my calendar the day I return to go through my emails, organize them, and prioritize my tasks.
Is my inbox zero method truly better?
Why do I believe the inbox zero way is better? It may not be, and it is likely not for everyone. But, I have seen problems creep up when people maintain thousands of emails in their inbox. How many times has someone emailed a response and another colleague already responded or the issue was already resolved? Or, when you lost an email that needed a response?
Reduce and eliminate unnecessary emails.
It brings me to another email hack, using appropriate email etiquette to reduce email traffic to begin with.
● Do not reply all.
● Do not email unless you have value to add. That means, avoid emails that just say “thanks.”
● Do not unnecessarily add to your distribution lists - add only those individuals who need to know the information you are conveying and within whom you need a response/action item. Remove those from the distribution list who are not necessary.
● Be thoughtful about your communications. Did you include everything you wanted to convey? Avoid the serial emails and threads. Oftentimes, people do not respond to the email or respond to only part of the email thread.
Inbox zero improves my business goals.
I am a firm believer that my inbox zero improves my business goals. I am responsive and proactive. Because of my email filing system, I can see when issues have already been addressed or if there are common themes relating to an issue. I agree with Kristy that I do not allow the number of emails to become my business goal and I do not allow others to dictate the timing of when my goals need to be accomplished. Instead, by decluttering and organizing my emails, I can prioritize my tasks.
So, thanks to my dear friend Kristy, with whom I have the utmost respect for, to allow me to post this response to her insightful blog. I just won’t be looking at her full inbox anytime soon.
So….. which are you? Inbox Zero Method, Team Email Bankruptcy, somewhere in between?
Do you have more email management hacks? A different approach from these polar opposites? Email me at kristy@kristyolinger.com and let me know if you have other tips and tricks to add to this list.