Recently in our office there has been much discussion and competition about reaching that ever-elusive Inbox Zero.
In fact, our CEO even recently blogged about the eight easy steps to clearing your inbox and is proud to have reached ‘Inbox Zero’ and maintaining it.
However, the question I want to ask is: Is inbox Zero a necessity or more of a state of mind? Do we feel better once we reach Inbox Zero because we are no longer overwhelmed, or is it a necessity because it forces us to go through all our emails?
If you’re like me and have an inbox that normally overflows with thousands of emails (yes, it is cringe-inducing), reaching Inbox Zero can be quite intimidating. However, I am quite happy to say that I have reduced my Inbox to a few hundred by following some of the steps outlined above. I’m not sure if I can make it to zero just yet, because it seems that there is always a steady flow of incoming mail.
Personally, one of the challenges is responding to and acting on the items that enter my inbox because each one usually comes with an action item that cannot be readily responded to.
Is Inbox Zero one of your goals? Or do you have an alternate approach to managing your messages? Let me know in the comments below!
