002: Inbox Zero

In this episode we talk about the importance of achieving "inbox zero". We share why we find it to be a regular part of our productivity and what tools, tips, and techniques we use to achieve this goal.

Overview

2:20 - Why achieve inbox zero
3:28 - What is an inbox zero
9:45 - How to cut back on the number of emails received
13:37 - How to manage emails you do receive
27:17 - Email Bankruptcy
39:18 - Closing Thoughts

Links:

• Merlin Man & 43 Folders
• David Allen & Getting Things Done
• Feedly
• Pocket
• Unroll.me
• IFTTT
• Evernote
• Mailbox
• Todoist
• Trello
• John’s Post on Email Bankruptcy
• Josh’s Post on Weekly Review

What NOT to do:

• Leaving todo’s in your inbox
• Leaving read emails in your inbox
• Use your inbox as storage while waiting for it to be actionable

What TO do:

• Unsubscribe
• Mark emails you don’t want to get regularly as spam if you can’t unsubscribe
• Use services (i.e. RSS, Read It Later) to cut back on emails
• Use services (i.e. unroll.me) to manage emails you do receive
• Either forward all emails to one account OR use an application to keep all emails in one place
• Take information from your email and move it to a to do list if its actionable
• Do something with every email we get
• Check email less often
• Don’t use email as an immediate response technology
• Use technology to better your life, don’t let it become your life.
• If all else fails declare email bankruptcy
• With the idea of inbox zero give yourself grace