my inbox zero routine
19 Apr 2022preface: this is quick and dirty write up of my current email practices. thanks to donna moodie for asking the question that inspired this post.
4-5 years ago i archived all of my emails. i just selected them all and did it. it was something like 30,000 emails. it was hard, but necessary to feel like i was starting from a somewhat clean slate. i did it during the days between xmas and new years.
after doing that, i’ve spent the last 4-5 years building the practices/routine below:
in general, i check my personal email only after 11a. i use inbox when ready to lock me out until then. i check my work email after 11a but might dip in 2 or 3 times in the afternoon as i respond to things.
i keep my work inbox as separate as possible from my personal inbox. i forward and pass off emails that go into the wrong inbox regularly. sometimes i say nothing about this to a receipent. if i’ve noticed a pattern, i might name it and make a request to send work things to the work email and personal things to the personal email.
here is in my inbox zero cleanout practice. i engage in this once every 7-14 days:
- turn on the lofi hip hop beats playlist
- start this 1 minute interval timer or use a 1 minute internal timer on the insight timer phone app
- start a new “inbox zero [insert date]” section on my inbox zero page in my bullet journal
- reverse sort my inbox by date so the oldest emails are first
- for each email, take no more than 1 minute to:
- archive (after reading or skimming)
- respond (if i can do so within a minute)
- open it or the relevant resource in a new tab or add it to my pocket or diigo for browsing later
- if the 1 minute timer goes off, i write down the subject line on my inbox zero task list and then archive the email and move on to the next email
this clean out practice keeps my personal inbox at under 150 emails (and usually in the 75-90 range) in two weeks and my work inbox under 30.
three critical insights that help this work:
- all the tools and technologies i use are in service of my vision (which includes me, my communities, and the planet). if at any point, a tool feels like it’s using me, a change is needed
- i do not expect to “stay on top of my inbox.” i will miss things. those things might be new connections, money, or other valuable things. i will lean into the truth that i cannot have it all. missing things is the cost i pay for not being controlled by my inbox.
- just because i have added something to my task list, doesn’t mean i will absolutely do it. i honor the truth that my inbox (and task list) will almost definitely be full on the day i die.
words / writing / post-processing
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