Crazy thought right? Inbox zero is the idea that all of your inboxes are empty. Every email is either deleted or archived in a folder. If it isn’t taken care of, it lives in an archive folder or an @action folder. All of those post-it notes on your desks? They are processed and in a system, in my case OmniFocus.

While some of you may be thinking that it is impossible… let me first explain why inbox zero is important:

Picture your dresser. When things are where they belong, you are able to pack a suitcase or dress for the day faster since the socks are in the sock drawer, and your skinny jeans are in the jeans drawer. How does that feel? Now imagine that all of your clothes are in one laundry basket (and not folded, of course!). How does that feel? Having inboxes sit in an inbox is like leaving your clothes in the basket.
How many times are you going to skim that email’s subject line? When you are browsing your inbox for a missing email, or something urgent, you are wasting time reading and rereading the same emails. Take the time to process every email. Touch it once… then you’ll never have to touch it again.
Should you be receiving these emails? Consider unsubscribing from newsletters and advertisements that are either no longer relevant, or you don’t need right now (you can resubscribe again in the future). If it’s from a person, consider creating a filter or rule that automatically puts the email in a folder. This is especially helpful if you get updates from a department, but only need to check it once in a while because it’s usually not urgent or important.

How do you see living with inbox zero improving your productivity?