About inbox zero

[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! 😆

@HouseyHouse21

I operate an inbox zero policy, it helps me feel on top of things and takes no extra time once it becomes a habit.

Yes me too. I have been doing the job for a while now which helps, as I know what can be deleted straight away, if I'm just cc'd into something I have auto redirect to a different folder and I check when I have time, can usually tell what's a priority and can usually prioritise pretty quickly- having unread ones I would worry I'd miss something important.

I have an Inbox zero policy for one of my clients because the work I do is very time sensitive.

For most of my others I go through my emails daily and see what needs doing, based on who they're from and the subject line, but I certainly don't read/delete/file every email every day. It's perfectly easy to just view unread emails, glance through them to see if there's anything urgent, then leave them for a while.

For personal emails I probably check them every couple of days but again I'm happy to have a lot of unread emails there.

The Other folder in Outlook is my best friend.

I don't use my inbox as a To Do list.

I empty mine each day but work from a todo list so file everything and address different projects in chunks. On a teams call I had clocked on my inbox and everyone was shocked that it was empty. My personal email is a different story though

I work with an almost empty inbox on personal and work email. Nothing relevant stays in the i box. Once actioned they are filed

I don’t think I’ve ever had no unread emails at work. I’m very organised but I’ve just got too much on. If something’s important someone will give me a nudge on teams.

At home, I’m not so organised, my personal email literally has hundreds of unread emails, mostly crap...I pick up the stuff to do with school/college/house admin, no major disasters yet. Although I sometimes get an email from Tesco to say ‘you’re order is on its way’ and realise I forgot to edit and now I’m too late. That moment when you pretend to the delivery driver that of course I only wanted 2 bottles of gin and some crisps this week. 😅

Wow I'd be sacked if I had unread emails as I'd definitely miss the important ones! And I'd say at least 75% require action on my part.

I do keep a lot in my inbox though - most of my colleagues have no emails at all in their inbox. Not just no unread emails but no actual emails. All filed away or put in a folder. I can't be doing with that.

Depends what your job is. My incoming emails vary between 3 a day and 180 a day. some says they get cleared. Other days they don’t.

I used to be zero inbox. Then the amount of work expected increased to the point that it would be literally impossible unless you worked overtime every day and weekends. Management know that and decided they would no longer measure timeliness, because they wouldn't like the results.

It's shit because we never feel the achievement of having 'finished', but I think pretty normal nowadays. Businesses don't employ enough people to do the work.

another one who's inbox is their to do list. It's the way forward!!

It's far easier for me to just scroll through and look and not click and delete or move and I do my job fine including answering emails that need to be

How is it easier to scroll from non-irrelevant email A to non-irrelevant email B by going past the 50 irrelevant emails between them, than to have A and B right next to each other in your inbox, and nothing else claiming your attention?

Every time you scroll over, or even just look past an irrelevant mail, you in effect processing it an extra time, when a single click the first time you saw could have ensured it only ever impacted you once. (The click can be delete or archive, emails that only turn out later to be important don't have to be in your inbox to be found.)

Honestly I would love to be like this, but I went on holiday for two weeks and came back to just under 2,500 new emails in my inbox 🤦‍♀️ I spend vast swathes of working time in meetings, and get copied in on a lot of stuff, so this is not an unusual amount for me. It is just impossible to catch up and keep on top of it (unless I take no time off ever) - my inbox usually has around 1,000 in it

I’m the same as you OP, as soon as one comes in I read it and either flag to action later or delete/file it.

@RandomLondoner

It's far easier for me to just scroll through and look and not click and delete or move and I do my job fine including answering emails that need to be

How is it easier to scroll from non-irrelevant email A to non-irrelevant email B by going past the 50 irrelevant emails between them, than to have A and B right next to each other in your inbox, and nothing else claiming your attention?

Every time you scroll over, or even just look past an irrelevant mail, you in effect processing it an extra time, when a single click the first time you saw could have ensured it only ever impacted you once. (The click can be delete or archive, emails that only turn out later to be important don't have to be in your inbox to be found.)

Well it is just far easier for me to have a quick scroll on my phone! Other people might find it easier to click through and delete things, but I have tried both ways and I much prefer a quick scroll on my phone and not bothering with moving, deleting etc I don't need a and b to be next to each other, I'd either answer it straight away or just search for it on my computer later, no need to rescroll later, I Star the most recent thing I have seen so I know where to stop scrolling later.

I don't want to comment on how people manage their work in-boxes because there are so many different jobs.

But I'd like to point out that leaving emails in your in-box and copying multiple peole unnecessarily uses lots of energy (cooling data centers) and contributes to carbon emissions.

So please delete spam, unnecessary emails (up to each individual to determine what they need in their inbox!) and unsubscribe from newsletters etc that don't interest you.

@RandomLondoner

It's far easier for me to just scroll through and look and not click and delete or move and I do my job fine including answering emails that need to be

How is it easier to scroll from non-irrelevant email A to non-irrelevant email B by going past the 50 irrelevant emails between them, than to have A and B right next to each other in your inbox, and nothing else claiming your attention?

Every time you scroll over, or even just look past an irrelevant mail, you in effect processing it an extra time, when a single click the first time you saw could have ensured it only ever impacted you once. (The click can be delete or archive, emails that only turn out later to be important don't have to be in your inbox to be found.)

Emails I’ve not read are bolded. It’s simple to pick out the ones that I’ve read.

I’ve been using email for 25 years. This works for me. I’m happy that your way works for you.

Why are the filers/deleters/sorters so convinced that their way is best. You do it your way. My mind doesn’t work in the same way as yours.

That’s my dream. I get over 100 emails a day. Answer most. Delete ones not needed. But I don’t file for inbox zero. Wish I did. I need to spend a day doing this. I have done it previously but the emails always win

Oh OP you are wonderful 👏👏👏👏

Why are the filers/deleters/sorters so convinced that their way is best. You do it your way. My mind doesn’t work in the same way as yours.

Indeed - and what works in one job might not work in another, speaking as someone with several jobs who handles emails differently depending on which hat I'm wearing.

@MasterBeth

"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?"

I'm not sure what you mean. How would I delete something by mistake? The only emails I ever delete are junk emails. I keep everything else.

I’m an inbox zero person too, it takes all sorts though.

I’ve just seen dh has 2,500 unread emails and I’m stressed at the thought. I blitz them, forward them to others to deal with and answer the ones I can quickly. It’s so hard to stay on top of everything though as I never have zero. I think today it’s 17 but I’ve read and marked as unread as I’ve done nothing with them. My role deals with every team in the hospital so filing would just mean they get lost.

At work I have rules to send certain emails straight to other folders that never get read unless I come across a situation where I have to dig it out. If an email manages to make it to my actual inbox folder I read and action them and make sure there's zero. I work in tech. We have processes in place to deal with tech problems and if people try to email us directly and bypass our processes (which they do) their email goes straight in the bin.

My personal email everything goes to my Inbox and I have thousands of unread emails in it because of all the shite emails places like to send us. I just read the ones I need to and the others are left unread.

^How is it easier to scroll from non-irrelevant email A to non-irrelevant email B by going past the 50 irrelevant emails between them, than to have A and B right next to each other in your inbox, and nothing else claiming your attention?

Every time you scroll over, or even just look past an irrelevant mail, you in effect processing it an extra time, when a single click the first time you saw could have ensured it only ever impacted you once. (The click can be delete or archive, emails that only turn out later to be important don't have to be in your inbox to be found.)

I don’t scroll past them more than once. I use flags and search. Quick triage, deal with it quickly if it can be dealt with quickly, scan the for infos so it will trip a switch if it comes up in a few months’ time, flag if it needs further action, delete if clearly irrelevant after I’ve opened it, leave if clearly irrelevant to include in a mass cull during a boring meeting some time.

So I save the clicks and the drop downs and the drags. They’re just fine in my inbox. I don’t have to open or file all the stuff, I don’t get distracted by the stuff in my inbox I don’t need to deal with, and I don’t need an empty inbox to feel good about myself or my work.

Others do. That’s great. I find it doesn’t work for me, particularly with the volumes I receive. I’ve tried it.

I’m pretty senior now and known for my productivity and the speed, quality and accuracy of my work, up to the CEO. It’s rare for me to get a chaser because I’ve missed something, and that’s always been the case. I’m not saying this to brag - just to point out that for my brain, and my job and way of working, I’m clearly doing ok with my method of handling emails despite so many people on this thread being convinced that it can’t be ok. Others work entirely differently have success with different methods and would find my approach totally stressful, and that’s ok too.

Those who want to get to inbox zero should take a look at David Allen and his Getting Things Done blog/company/book.

I can't deal with unread emails so same here.