A Clean Inbox

http://www.43folders.com/2005/02/18/quick-tips-on-processing-your-email-inbox

I’ve recently begun keeping my gmail inbox virtually empty, under 10 emails.  A few technological features of gmail enable this; fast searching for finding emails later, archiving, and labels.  Along with the functionality just described (which is common to many email programs, not just Gmail) I apply a checklist to each email to determine what happens to it. 

After reading an email I find that it falls into one of three categories; needs a response, requires and action, or is purely informational.  For purely informational emails, I determine if needs a label (or in some cases an automatic filter) and then immediately archive it.  If it requires a response I respond to it and then archive it; it will reappear in my inbox if my response does not close the issue.  If I am unable to respond right away I leave it in my inbox.  The article above suggests using labels like “requires response”, but you go with what works here.  If it requires action I star it and leave in the inbox.  If I ever get to the point of checking my starred items folder more frequently it’s possible that I won’t even leave those in the inbox.  By doing that I’ve greatly reduced the number of emails in my inbox.

I’ve found that a vast majority of the emails I receive don’t require any response or action.  Because of this I’m able to keep my inbox tidy.  This practice made me realize I should probably do the same with all the “stuff” in my house.  There is no point in keeping stuff for the sake of keeping it.  I hope to apply a checklist of sorts to all my stuff with the goal of reducing clutter.