How to use inbox space wisely

People often celebrate the cult of “inbox zero” but don’t explain why it actually matters or how to do it. After many years of working at it - here is where I have ended up. WHY EVEN TRY? The speed of the flow of (quality) information around an organisation is incredibly important. Founders are often the worst bottleneck for this flow – with our various inboxes (across email, Slack, Notion, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc) being the places where this information can pile up. Therefore, the faster that a decision maker can clear out their inboxes, the better the information health of their team / organisation. (You could make a crude analogy for a heart pumping blood around the body) MY APPROACH You cannot be everywhere at once! It is important to tell folks to use certain inboxes and focus mostly on clearing these out. For external people, I direct them to my email and, internally, I mostly use Slack. These are my primary inboxes. I make it clear to the most important folks (my team, investors, customers, etc) to get in touch via these channels. I then dedicate time throughout the week (Monday morning, Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon) to clear things out. On top of this, it’s important to try and have a sensible system around instant replies, archiving, forwarding, snoozing, etc. to help manage your clear out sessions. When I open email during the day I'll try to resolve important things instantly, forward emails to the right person / team (even if I have to reply properly later), and snooze things that can wait 24hrs to my next deep session. For my secondary inboxes (LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Twitter, Notion, etc) I try to look at these at least once a week and direct anything/anyone important to my preferred inbox for all future communications. Over time, this compounds and it all becomes more straightforward. Remember, fellow founders, it’s totally allowed to have clear internal policies around communication with you and, if you want it, norms for communication at your entire organisation. At its core, maintaining healthy inbox habits isn’t just about personal productivity. When information moves swiftly and efficiently, so do decisions and outcomes. OVERDOING IT Some people turn Inbox Zero into their full time job. This is stupid and harms them and the org. You cannot let others dictate your life or your work - you need to be in control and give yourself time for deep work. This is why the boundaries I've set up around clearing things out multiple times a week helps - I know that I'll deal with it soon so I can safely ignore it for now. Fellow inbox zero folks, I’d be interested in hearing any other top tips that you may have on staying on top of things!

As someone who has received over 100 emails a day for over 20 years, I thought I would share some top tips on how to manage a very full inbox while also getting on with all your meetings and the day job. 📧🗂️ Tip 1: Not all emails are equal - compartmentalize based on who is sending it and what they are asking. 📥🔍 Tip 2: You don't need to read the full email - especially if you are in a chain of emails. 📨📑 Tip 3: Often, you don't need to respond. People just want to show you an activity is going on so you can monitor progress. 📊👀 Tip 4: Build a file library system for storing emails. I use one for marketing, internal, finance, ops, and clients, with subfolders in each category. 🗄️📁 Tip 5: Use the filing system as soon as the action is taken. Move it out of your inbox and use your main inbox for items that need your action. ✅📤 Tip 6: The best time to tackle email management and reduce your inbox is first thing in the morning or later at night. That's because your email won't get topped up. To prevent being antisocial, you can mark items in your outbox to be sent at a more reasonable time for the receiver. ⏰📬 Tip 7: Don't live in your inbox. Get your head into the important things, especially projects that need to be delivered, so turn your email off when doing this. 🚫📵 Managing your inbox effectively can transform your productivity. What tips do you have for managing email overload? 💡📈

Want to free up 10-60 minutes per day? Try this e-mail productivity tip (the 4 D's) Every e-mail should be actioned by one of these 4 D's: Do it. Delete. Delegate. Delay. Many waste so much time re-reading e-mails, or lose productivity switching between getting work done and being distracted by e-mail alerts popping up. DO IT Quickly take action on emails that you can handle in 2 minutes or less. I live by the 2-minute rule and get through most e-mails during my 2-3 calendared e-mail dedicated times per day, usually leaving work with nothing in my inbox...and I get 100’s of e-mails a day. Bonus Tips: 1. See your e-mail when you decide to see it by setting aside specific time in your calendar each day to review and action your inbox. 2. Turn off e-mail notifications. Stop getting distracted every time a new e-mail message comes in; e-mail is not the forum for emergencies. See comments for how to do this in Outlook. DELETE Delete e-mails that are non-actionable and do not need to be kept for future reference. Get it out of your inbox. If you hate deleting, at least archive them away so they are not in your inbox. DELEGATE. Delegate e-mails containing actions that others can complete. Include what you would like the receiver to do and by when. DEFER/DELAY. Send emails to your task list that can wait, will take more than 2 minutes to complete, or will require your full focus. If you need time to complete an action from the e-mail, drag it directly to a calendar invite and book the time to do it. Or, if you use tasks, you can drag the e-mail to the task icon and then update the subject with a clear description so you know what you will do with that e-mail and can save time from having to read it all again. What other e-mail productivity tips work for you?

For as long as I can remember, staying organized has been key to my productivity. Yet recently, I found myself drowning in emails. Inspired by productivity expert Merlin Mann and organizational genius Marie Kondo, I decided to make a change. The result? A zero inbox that reduces my stress and sharpens my focus, ensuring I don’t miss crucial emails. I now have more time for strategic decisions that create an impact that matters. Here's what I did: 1. Purposeful Triage: I categorized my emails into five actions: delete, delegate, defer, do, or reply. This system brought immediate clarity and reduced overwhelm. 2. Trust in Teamwork: By delegating tasks to my capable team, I focused on what truly matters. 3. Unsubscribe with abandon: I cut through the noise by unsubscribing from unnecessary emails, allowing me to concentrate on important messages. If you’re overwhelmed by your inbox, try these strategies. Remember, productivity isn’t just about doing more—it’s about making space for what's important. What are your top tips for staying productive? Let’s share and learn together!

The average corporate employee spends 15 hours every week on JUST EMAILS. As a founder at Mentoresult, a consultant at McKinsey and a B-School student at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, I have received hundreds of emails every week, and have written some pretty damn important emails. I've realised that emails can kill productivity - But also become your superpower if you can work them right. Here are my top 5 email hacks: 📬 1/ Automate your entire inbox with email rules I never have over 5 unread emails in my inbox - Because I use aggressive email rules to filter out every email. Your inbox will be full of automated emails, FYIs, non-urgent CCs, or spam. ✅ Setup email rules to mark all there emails on arrival, keep them out of your inbox and in a separate folder. It takes only 15 mins to clear them at the end of your workday vs hours of wasted time. ⏰📝 2/ Your reply should be either prompt or detailed People don't mind short emails as long as they are fast. People don't mind waiting for your reply if you're sharing specifics. But don't keep re-reading an email and delaying if you can finish it in <5 mins. ✅ Clear out emails fast vs carrying them for days - This will massively cut down on your time and be more respectful to those waiting for a response. 👆🏻 3/ Write with a clear call-to-action When you send an email, before typing the first word, think about your need - Are you sharing an update, asking for help, providing feedback? A clear goal helps you keep your email focused. ✅ Write a clear call-to-action line at the end of your email so that the reader responds. 🎭 4/ Use templates Templates are SO useful, yet I rarely see people using them effectively. 50% of your emails will be repetitive, and you will be spending time typing the same sentences again and again. ✅ If you've sent similar emails 5+ times, them make a template for it and don't repeat work. 📩 5/ Courtesy goes a long way! Your politeness in an email can be a huge-gamechanger. Whether its a colleague, a senior leader, a potential recruiter or a lead - Writing courteously, being polite in your requests, being empathetic of the other person and being complimentary are small things that make a big difference. ✅ Ensure your email is polite and courteous - You might be able to gain more opportunities through your words! Use these email tips to half your time and double your impact! Share your thoughts in the comments on your favourite email tip, or your personal method to be productive 👇🏻🔽 Mentoresult #linkedin #emails #mentorship #careercoaching