Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by David

Inbox Zero is a fairly recent movement that is intended to help businesses increase productivity, and become less burdened by an ever-growing inbox. While some people believe Inbox Zero refers to getting your inbox down to zero emails, this idea is actually referring to the ability to be productive and allow you to redirect your focus to other areas such as creativity, customer service, or production.

Since the majority of business communications are done virtually via email, social media, or chat having the ability to achieve Inbox Zero can become vital to smooth daily business operations.

What is Inbox Zero Exactly?

As we mentioned earlier, Inbox Zero doesn’t refer to achieving the literal number zero in your inbox, but rather a decluttered, functional, and relevant inbox. It’s important that Inbox Zero doesn’t become a burden to your business, but rather an aid to help you run your business more smoothly. This requires turning it into a mindset, so it becomes a natural part of your business processes. Here are some top tips for achieving Inbox Zero:

1. Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Emails

This is probably the easiest step you and takes, and also an important one. Nothing clutters up an inbox and makes it easy to miss important emails more than junk mail. Take the time to go through and either unsubscribe or filter unwanted emails to your spam inbox. This step alone will save you a ton of time daily that you would normally spend filtering through the plethora of emails you surely receive. Get rid of anything that is distracting and doesn’t aid in productivity.

2. Declutter Your Inbox

Once you’ve gotten rid of the junk and spam mail, it’s time to organize the mail you do want coming to your inbox daily. Creating filters and folders is a great way to do this. If there are newsletters you want to hang onto, for example, create a folder for them and move them there. This way you’ll still have access to them when you want to go back and read them, but they won’t take up real estate in your inbox.

Move emails that don’t require your immediate attention to a folder labeled “Tasks”, or use priority labels and delete the emails as you complete them. You don’t need to go crazy with creating folders, again the idea is to simplify using your emails, not create more work.

You can also set reminders for emails you need to attend later, but don’t require your attention right now. This is a great way to ensure no email gets forgotten but allows you to focus your attention elsewhere as needed.

3. Implement the 2-Minute Rule

The concept of the two-minute rule comes from David Allen’s GTD method. The rule is simple — if it will take you less than two minutes to reply or complete do it now. Anything that can be done quickly, should be. This will not only help you declutter your inbox, but it will also ensure you tick items off your to-do list, which is a win-win when it comes to productivity.

4. Prioritize Emails

Prioritizing your emails means once you open an email you immediately do one of 5 things:

1. Delete — Delete the email immediately because it is junk or not something you need to attend to.
2. Delegate — If the email contains a task or message that can or should be assigned to another member of your team, forward it to them, or create a task for them and attach the email.
3. Respond — If you can send off a quick response in less than two minutes, respond to the email now.
4. Defer — Emails that can or should be put off until later, do so. Just be sure to flag them appropriately, set a reminder, or move them to the right folder.
5. Do — If it requires your immediate attention, prioritize that email(s).

The point of this step is to avoid spending too much time lingering over emails. Instead, by choosing one of these options you’ll need to take decisive action and handle each email quickly. Letting an email sit there without choosing one of these options will require more work later on and will slow down your productivity.

5. Don’t Succumb to Zero-Obsession

The last step in achieving Inbox Zero may seem a bit counter-intuitive, but it’s a valid step to be mindful of. It’s easy to become hyper-focused on getting your inbox to zero emails, but with that, it’s easy to become so focused on your emails that you actually lose more productivity.

Instead try to open your email at key points in your day, for example, at the beginning of your workday, before and after lunch, before a meeting, and before you leave for the day. This will ensure that you can spend a few minutes each time cleaning up your inbox without spending more time than you need sorting through emails. You might not achieve Inbox Zero daily, but that’s okay! Again, the goal is for Inbox Zero to help you become more productive, not to lose productivity trying to achieve Inbox Zero.

Re:amaze Inbox can also help you achieve Inbox Zero as it helps businesses organize and prioritize emails while allowing the user to delegate them as necessary. To learn more or to schedule a demo contact us today.