Inbox Zero.
Web Watch hears this phrase thrown about at the office by managers who feel overwhelmed by the constant influx of arriving email messages.
All they want to do is get their email inbox to read “0 messages”…. and hopefully keep it that way.
Web Watch understands the desire to have 0 waiting messages, but INBOX ZERO is a goal that not everyone can achieve — especially us, who receives upwards of 1000 emails a day across multiple email accounts. Granted, the vast majority of those messages are ones that can either be filed away or deleted without even being read or addressed — but that still is going to leave a few hundred emails each day that still need to be processed in some manner.
Yeah, achieving INBOX ZERO isn’t always possible for everybody… but if you think that you qualify, here are SEVEN WAYS TO ACHIEVE INBOX ZERO that you can try yourself:
Bit Literacy:
Productivity in the Age of Information and E-mail Overload
- If it takes less than 2 minutes, deal with it immediately
- In terms of email management – delete, filter, file it NOW rather than wait to do it later
- If someone sends you a link, bookmark it in your favorite “read it later” app or Favorites list.
- Delete as much as you can. If you’re not deleting messages, maybe you’re overthinking why you’re keeping them around.
- Write shorter replies. Longer replies tend to generate more emails than necessary
There are two other tips that the above link has, so be sure to click that link and see the full list of INBOX ZERO tips.