Email makeover
Originally i called this entry 'The empty inbox holy grail', but an empty inbox is not the real point. Trying to unclutter my life and trying to get things done is what this email makeover is about.
When i receive mail and i feel it is important, i add whatever it is to my to-do list. The rest, well, it just sits there, all 680 mails (clutter) dating back to 1 january 2007, and i'll probably never look at it again (not getting things done).
Writing this, i took a peek at my 2006/2005 archives: almost 1000 mails sitting in the inbox. And i still have 206 mails flagged to be followed up, all dating from 2004. Ouch.
The goal: an empty inbox
The empty inbox is a means to an end. If there is no mail in my inbox, i have processed every email, thus both preventing clutter and actually getting things done.
The process
The key is taking action immediately. For each new email there are four possible actions:
- Delete
- Act now
- Act later
- Store
Delete
If the mail is spam, an uninteresting mailing, or anything else you consider unimportant, just delete it. Get it out of your system, unclutter before it becomes clutter.
Act now
If whatever is asked can be done within two minutes, do it immediately. In most cases this means hitting reply, typing a short response and send the response.
Act later
If handling the email takes more than two minutes, put it as a task on my ToDo list and store the message.
Store
Storing can be either putting the email in a temporarily place or archiving it.
Some mails, especially related to family & friend or work, i want to keep, so i archive those. Other email, like an order confirmation, i only need to keep until the order is delivered, thus temporarily storage.
Start now
I'll make a promise to myself sticking to this system for a month and then evaluate how it's working: Monday 12 may my inbox should be empty and i should not spent more than 15 minutes a day on dealing with my email.
Backlog
I also need to deal with my current backlog. But i guess the trick here is simply going through it, starting with a 'delete' run and then handling whatever is left.