30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
waxman.me
30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
1–10 of 54 posts
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#2I was just looking for a system like this. Thanks Waxman!
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#3I wonder if Inbox Zero is a worthwhile goal.
My inbox is effectively one of my to-do lists. Since I don't cross off everything on my to-do list each day, my inbox usually has a few dozen messages. I have found that when I move an email to a "check later" folder, I never do so.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#4cmd + a, delete?
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#5I'm at Inbox 3580.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#6I'm doing the exact opposite as Michael; but I can't say which of us has the better system. I probably get a lot fewer emails.
I've given up on inbox zero -- I now use inbox infinity. Everything stays my inbox unless auto-categorized (mailing lists, specific clients, etc). When I look through my emails, I flag any email I'm not dealing with right now. Otherwise I reply, leave it, or delete it. I archive anything old than 6 months every 6 months.
I suppose, in effect, my list of flagged emails is my inbox-zero but I feel more connected to whole stream of email with the box full. I occasionally need scroll to previous days and glance around.
I also have a Pebble so I'm effectively checking email instantly all the time. I find with the pebble that I dismiss things much more frequently now (emails, texts, and calls). Perhaps because the act of looking at the Pebble is so passive compared to checking my phone or computer.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#7I wonder if Inbox Zero is a worthwhile goal. My inbox is effectively one of my to-do lists. Since I don't cross off everything on my to-do list each day, my inbox usually has a few dozen messages. I have found that when I move an email to a "check later" folder, I never do so.
pg has described email as a to-do list of tasks assigned by other people.
The social dimension is my reason for pursuing inbox zero. Especially as a founder, it's important a) not to be a bottle neck and b) to respect others by responding promptly.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#8I wonder if Inbox Zero is a worthwhile goal. My inbox is effectively one of my to-do lists. Since I don't cross off everything on my to-do list each day, my inbox usually has a few dozen messages. I have found that when I move an email to a "check later" folder, I never do so.
I'm similar to you in the to-do list inbox, and I also never check "check later" folders. Instead, I use Mailbox app (Boomerang also works for this) to "bounce" emails back into my inbox when I don't need them today. This allows me to hit zero each day and conveniently reminds me of important things at the time that they need to be addressed.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#9i get probably 1000 messages a day. inbox zero was never a goal of mine, and never will be. i'm not really sure what the point of it would be. seems futile.
i have 3 things that help me keep my mail organized (my startup runs its own postfix+dovecot mail server)
* mail client on dedicated vertical 24" monitor
* procmail (mailing lists, alerts, tickets)
* spamd (spam)
everything else hits my inbox, and if i don't delete a message, it stays there, where it stacks indefinitely.
search bar + at-a-glance view of every important message i've received in the last N days is useful, i'm not really sure where this obsession for having an empty inbox comes from. that would actually hinder my productivity.
lots of ssd + ram = right now there's 29,453 messages (and attachments) in my inbox and it feels great. all of them are marked read.
Re: 30 Days of Inbox Zero: How I Did it
#10Another recommendation I would make (either to get to zero or get yourself to stay there) is to pre-commit to your goal using Beeminder (http://www.beeminder.com), which will make you pay money if you don't hit a target each day. (Don't worry, it only counts "read" emails so you don't have to worry about emails coming in and causing you to go off track)