Page 2 | About inbox zero

Jumbojem · 21/07/2021 15:15

I read all mine, delete no action ones, file some. BUT important ones I need to come back to I mark as unread. Otherwise chances are I'll have seen the action on first skim read but then forget to come back and action. I find this quicker with a high volume than adding to a to do list.
My system isn't ideal but works for me.
I think the important thing is to find a way that works for you so you don't get overloaded but it isn't a one size fits all.

Lovecatsanddogs · 21/07/2021 15:15

Yes I am like this with work and personal emails and also my phone messages.

I have no stored phone messages only pinned ones for appointments and also delete all vms and missed calls etc.

I have a couple of times been over zealous and used recovery software for my phone to recover deleted messages!

DrSbaitso · 21/07/2021 15:16

I do this for work but I'm shit at personal emails.

KateTheEighth · 21/07/2021 15:18

I currently have 987 unread emails

If I have less than a thousand in there then I'm winning

#livelaughlove

tillytoodles1 · 21/07/2021 15:18

I have to sort my emails out every day, I never leave any unread.

HeyDemonsItsYaGirl · 21/07/2021 15:18

Was IBU to give a homeless man £1,000? My friend said I was stupid.

Was IBU to rescue a drowning child from a well? My friend said I should have left it.

AIBU to like a clean house? My friend said I am.

There's always a friend...

iklboo · 21/07/2021 15:19

@beigebrownblue - @VladmirsPoutine was taking the piss.

Roominmyhouse · 21/07/2021 15:21

I always read all my emails. I don’t like to keep too much in my main inbox so file them into folders and flag if I need to follow them up. I can’t cope with too much in my inbox!

Pedalpushers · 21/07/2021 15:23

I work with 'unread' filter on. I either immediately deal with an email or mark it as unread so that my emails are my to do list. For anything I don't have a specific email for, I put in a calendar appointment. I used to work in a role where I would have five to six hundred emails a day and most needing action within a day or two, plus a memory like a sieve, and this was what worked for me.

TheOrigRights · 21/07/2021 15:32

538 unread in my personal email (over 10,000 in the inbox)
3 unread in my work email inbox (I have good filters set up so there are lots of unread ones filed away).
9 in a work email that is monitored by 3 people, including me.
11 in a different work email that I monitor for specific messages.

Anonymous48 · 21/07/2021 15:35

I never have any unread emails. If it's a junk email I'll delete without reading. If it's something else I'll open it and either deal with it then or save it for later. What if you miss something urgent and time sensitive?

PineappleSun · 21/07/2021 15:36

I currently have 1 email in my work inbox, my husband has 1124, we are both competent professionals at similar levels of seniority. Different strokes for different folks.

MedusasBadHairDay · 21/07/2021 15:37

I hate having unread emails, and it's almost always under control at work. It slips a bit on my personal account, but once it hits a couple of hundred I'll have a big purge.

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 21/07/2021 15:43

I get a notification when emails arrive - if I can see immediately that it's a mailing list type thing, or something else that I really don't need to read, I just mark it as read and/or delete it.

Everything else gets flagged as 'tomorrow' unless a) it's deathly urgent or b) it's only going to need a quick response. Then the following morning everything flagged from yesterday gets tagged and filed according to its project. The flag remains so it stays on my to do list, although sometimes I alter the time scale (so it's under 'Next Week' rather than 'Today')

I don't ever have unread emails because it bothers me when I know there's stuff sitting there but I don't know what it is, and I get twitchy!

FuriousCheekyFucker · 21/07/2021 15:46

Those of you with thousands of unread emails - they can't be that important or you would be getting chased on them? Why not just set a rule that if it isn't read within x weeks it gets deleted/moved?

I'm betting a lot of the emails are cc's or info only - in that case, why not set a rule to get them out of your inbox? Then anything actually in there is something worthwhile rather than just effectively spam.

I love having an empty inbox - anything that requires action is flagged and tagged, anything that isn't is moved out and the action (or inaction) of moving it tells my brain that I've not forgotten anything.

There are many ways to electronically organise yourself though, no "rights" or "wrongs" - everyone develops their own methods as to what their job/role/industry is and how it makes them effective (or not!)

rishisboater · 21/07/2021 15:47

0 in work email

35,672 in personal

mynameiscalypso · 21/07/2021 15:48

@MariesCondo

Everyday I end the day with no unread emails. I either deal with an email immediately so it requires no further action or I put what needs to be done on my to do list for the day I will deal with it. I have worked full time in a demanding job for 15 years and this is how I have always worked. I have the same approach to my personal emails.

A friend has told me this is odd. Is it? I don’t understand what other way there is to function! 😆

I do too. My boss has about 14,000 unread emails. Sometimes he likes to show me his inbox just to watch me panic!

JingsMahBucket · 21/07/2021 15:50

@chunderwunder

'Hi there! I'm absolutely fabulous at task management and would like to disingenuously point out that I can't understand why everyone else isn't. I'll even add a fun emoji to show that I'm not bragging! Tra la la!'

Have you seen a doctor about that giant chip on your shoulder?

TheDevils · 21/07/2021 15:50

Surely it depends on the type of job you do though?

Not everyone is on their emails all day. I'm a university academic and on my teaching days I just about get chance to check for anything urgent. If I spent time clearing my inbox I'd end up working even more extra hours than I already do!

Lazypuppy · 21/07/2021 15:51

Its nice you receive enough emails to be able to do that

JassyRadlett · 21/07/2021 15:51

Nope. I work in a global organisation and so emails come in at a steady rate throughout the night as well as during the day, and the volumes are usually pretty high. I'm excellent at triaging from subject lines/threads but I don't see much virtue in making sure all of a thread is marked as read/filed when I could be moving on to something else.

meyi · 21/07/2021 15:52

I've got thousands of unread emails, dh is a inbox zero type and he hates seeing how many u reads I have

MasterBeth · 21/07/2021 15:52

@FuriousCheekyFucker

Those of you with thousands of unread emails - they can't be that important or you would be getting chased on them? Why not just set a rule that if it isn't read within x weeks it gets deleted/moved?

I'm betting a lot of the emails are cc's or info only - in that case, why not set a rule to get them out of your inbox? Then anything actually in there is something worthwhile rather than just effectively spam.

I love having an empty inbox - anything that requires action is flagged and tagged, anything that isn't is moved out and the action (or inaction) of moving it tells my brain that I've not forgotten anything.

There are many ways to electronically organise yourself though, no "rights" or "wrongs" - everyone develops their own methods as to what their job/role/industry is and how it makes them effective (or not!)

Why? Because I can’t be arsed to.

MasterBeth · 21/07/2021 15:54

@Anonymous48

I never have any unread emails. If it's a junk email I'll delete without reading. If it's something else I'll open it and either deal with it then or save it for later. What if you miss something urgent and time sensitive?

What if you delete something by mistake?

YeokensYegg · 21/07/2021 15:56

At work I'm always caught up on emails.
At home, there's probably 9,000 unread in there.