The Pros of a Zeroed Inbox

When I go through my email inbox and I find something that requires action, my impulse is to take care of it right then. I want to because I know taking action will give me immediate gratification in the form of dopamine. I also want to relieve any anxiety about not having done it yet. And what I want to do is often easier than the harder work that might also be in my inbox, because my brain doesn’t like to do hard things.

But by doing things as they catch my eye, I’m not weighing the relative importance of the entire contents of the inbox. Like, is clicking on the link to see photos from my friend’s vacation more or less urgent than coordinating a time for my super to come look at the leaky sink? Or is reading the My Climate Journey newsletter more important than the email from my boss?  

By acting on the easy, we lose an opportunity to be more intentional with our time and energy, to prioritize what matters to us, and to work toward the life and achievements we dream of. 

That’s why I practice “zero inbox”, which means going through emails and either deleting, filing, or tagging each one until you get to zero. And I don’t mean zero unread emails. I mean an empty inbox.

By tagging emails that require action, I can put them on my to-do list then calendar  those actions based on priority and intentional preference. With this practice, I am able to take action more efficiently and effectively on what matters to me. I also stopped hating my inbox.

I can’t sing the praises of this practice enough. That’s why I recorded a zero inbox how-to video for you. If you'd like to receive this, please contact me.