What Inbox Zero is all about and how to approach it

What is inbox zero?

Coined and methodized by Merlin Mann in the early 2000's, Inbox Zero is a method of productivity and prioritization for email management. Inbox zero is not so much about the reduction of emails but the reduction of time spent on emails.

The end goal? Reducing unnecessary brainpower on email.

Not having zero emails.

Why even attempt inbox zero?

Beyond removing one more red dot from our screens vying for our attention as one more notification in a sea of notifications, inbox zero is a way of making your inbox work for you, instead of the other way around.

There’s a reason email marketing is the single biggest return on investment: everyone lives in their email. Many of my clients and community members are hesitant to embrace email marketing for fear of “taking up space” in someone’s inbox and I quickly have to counter - that’s on the person receiving the email, not you.

Provide value, yes. Don’t be a dick, true. But, ultimately, your feelings about your inbox are your own. Let’s take responsibility for ourselves and correct our poor boundaries around our inboxes. Why do you feel like you’re taking up space in someone else’s inbox? Because you’re drowning in your own. But projecting your issues onto someone else is, quite simply, unfair to them and holds you back.

Instead, establish and hold your boundaries. This is a core tenet of Inbox Zero.

Stop checking your email every thirty seconds. Stop replying to emails immediately. Close the program. Close the tab in your browser window. Turn off notifications. And instead, enter your inboxes on your own terms. Get in, take care of what’s inside it, and get the fuck out.

That is the essence of inbox zero that I wish was touted, rather than the obsession over the number, or reduction of emails alone.

Gain control of your time, your brain, and ultimately, your inbox and the number of emails begins to matter less and less.