Overview

Inbox Zero is a term coined by Merlin Mann to describe the strategy of handling email by always trying to keep your inbox empty. For many of us, Inbox Zero isn't just a goal, it is a mentality that helps us to stay focused on what needs to get done. Think about the way you handle physical mail. The first thing you do is empty your mailbox. Then you sort that mail into: junk which is thrown away, items which can be filed for safekeeping, and a more immediate pile which acts as your To-Do list. Email should be treated similarly and there are tools which make this easy to accomplish. You should never have an inbox with hundreds of unsorted items just sitting there. Inbox Zero is the best way to quickly be more productive and stay on task without losing anything you need.

Tips for Getting Started

Before attempting to go for an Inbox Zero system, it is really important to configure your mail client to keep yourself organized. The goal is for your inbox to only contain those To-Do list items, while filtering out spam and giving yourself folders in which to archive mail for long-term storage. I am a Gmail user so many of my suggestions will use their terminology, but the principles should be universal.
  • Labels: Start by creating labels (folders) for the different aspects of your life that all flow into your inbox. Separate personal from professional content and then make sub-folders to stay organized by topic. For example, a label for "Business" with sub-folders for each client, or a "Personal" category with sub-folders for "Family," "Friends," and "Finance."
  • Lots of Labels: Take advantage of the ability to have more than one label on a given item. An invoice from a client can be labelled "Business > Client XYZ" and also "Finance." Unlike physical mail, an email can sit in more than one folder at a time without being copied.
  • Color Code: Labels can be customized with colors to make it much easier to tell what an email is at a quick glance.
  • Embrace Search: Remember that the goal of labeling and archiving is to make it easy to find what you are looking for later. Whatever your system is, make sure you use terms and sorting methods that will make sense to you later.
  • Plan to Archive Everything: Junk is fine to delete, but if an email is a correspondence, receipt, or anything you might ever want to reference, go ahead and archive it. Gmail offers a huge amount of storage for free.
  • Send + Archive: In Gmail's settings, activate "Send and Archive." This adds a button to the composition screen allowing you to send your email while archiving the thread in one step. If the recipient replies, the thread with the unread message will appear in the inbox again.
  • Teach the Spam Filter: Gmail is really good at learning what you consider spam if you declare it as such using the "Report Spam" button. It is also a good idea to check the spam folder regularly to make sure nothing legitimate got flagged incorrectly.

Using Filters

Once your filing structure is ready, add some automation. Rather than dragging and dropping labels each time you see a new message, take advantage of Gmail's filter tool to do it for you. Filters can sort mail into labels based on:
  • Recipient: Especially useful for people with multiple accounts flowing into one Gmail inbox — for example, separating your @gmail.com mail from your professional account.
  • Sender: Automatically applying the "Business > Client XYZ" label anytime an incoming message is from "@clientxyz.com".
  • Keyword: Mark anything with words such as "Receipt" or "Shipping" to the "Finance" label to track anything related to money.
When creating a filter, there is a checkbox which offers to "Also apply filter to matching conversations." This will retroactively apply that filter to all existing mail which fits the criteria — letting you match thousands of existing emails to your new system instantly.

Daily Use

Once your system is running, incoming mail should be mostly labeled automatically and spam filtered out. As you read each email, you should conclude by taking some action:
  • Reply: Craft your response then press "Send + Archive."
  • Archive: No need to reply, but saving it for possible future reference.
  • Report Spam: Moves the message to the "Spam" folder while teaching Google that you consider that sender or content to be junk.
  • Delete: Permanently get rid of the email.
Any of those steps clear the email from your inbox. The only time you would take no action is if that item is a "To-Do" which you can't or won't be doing at that moment, and by keeping it in the inbox it remains on your to-do list. With this approach, you can stay organized and work much more efficiently.