I run on Zero Inbox. By the end of the week, or every two weeks at most, I get my three inboxes (one personal and two work) down to Zero emails.
Writing a newsletter, raising a family, crafting great professional resumes for free, and working a job generate a ton of inbound emails for me. I’ve found the only way to stay on top of the workload and stay sane is to get to Zero every week or so.
The alternative to Zero Inbox is 10,000+ Inbox - that slow, menacing accumulation of emails, piling ever higher like a snowdrift, until it towers over your day. I can’t stand having that much unfinished work hanging over my head, so I adapted to Zero Inbox a long time ago and have stuck with it.
Zero Inbox is a trick that literally makes billionaires envious, your colleagues awestruck, and your family and old buddies feel like you’re their most attentive friend.
It’s actually very simple to do. Here’s how.
First, you need to decide that you deserve Zero Inbox, and develop a slightly ruthless attitude towards your non-empty inbox. As with any mess, having an aggressive disdain for sloppiness, or an inner need for tidiness, helps. Get yourself psyched up by imagining how great you’re going to feel without your inbox hanging over your head, and take to the task like you’re riding with that super-aggressive Peloton instructor.
It’s also beneficial to dangle a self-reward in front of your eyes. For me, it’s Friday night pizza. As I’ve tweeted many times, “Zero Inbox = sausage pizza” for me. I can tell you it’s effective. (Lombardi’s, Spumoni Gardens, and DiFara’s, are very motivating.)
With your fighting spirit engaged, dig into your inbox with a determination to do, delete or delegate. This power trio are all you need to conquer that inbox. If you can stick to it and not get distracted, the minutes fly by, the unread counter shrinks, and your sense of dread slowly clears away like the morning fog.
Do.
Do it. The most important and, in many ways, the hardest action on this list. If an email response is required, and it’s your work to do, there is no substitute for simply getting the work done.
Dogged determination is your best friend. Whether it’s answering your boss’ question, responding to a client, sharing materials with a coworker, or providing clarification to a contractor, if the work is yours to be done, you’ve got to do it.
Procrastination, rationalization, and laziness are your biggest enemies here. And let’s face it, sometimes we feel like procrastinating and being lazy. You might be wiped out, beat, tired, or just can’t be bothered.
Rather than forcing your second wind, which won’t work, put your inbox aside and come back when your energy level is replenished, your battery’s recharged and you’ve got the pep to power through the task.
Delete.
You’re not solely responsible for the world’s problems, so don’t take them all on.
Sometimes others try to foist their unanswered emails onto you. Don’t do it.
You don’t need to complete every survey your vendor sends you. You don’t need to respond to every random comment from a colleague. Not every group email needs your say-so.
If it’s not required, it’s retired. Delete it. Get it out of your inbox and out of your life.
And look, if the alternative is to allow the email to sit in your inbox and fester for the next few weeks, years, or decades, isn’t it better to just move it along now?
Delegate.
If you can’t delete it, assign it to the right person to get it done. You can't possibly do everyone’s work, so be defensive of your inbox and your time.
There are plenty of people in the world who are happy to waste your time by pushing their obligations onto you. Don’t allow them to. Push back. Don’t be a hero.
For example, doing your direct report’s work because it’ll take you less time does a disservice to both of you. Your underling doesn’t learn and grow, and you don’t get the leverage you’re paying for.
Combining do, delete, and delegate make for a productive work week, an empty inbox, and a great pizza to start the weekend. Achieving the blank screen and “no email” message feels like conquering your favorite video game – it’s a small thrill, a sense of accomplishment, and a moral victory over never-ending labors.
Good luck with your labors this week!
I’m rooting for you!
Marc