Here’s the system I use to go through my email every day. I like it because it keeps me organized, and it helps me respond to tasks that are a) urgent, b) important, and c) easy tasks. This helps reduce stress.
- If you have a large amount of emails already in your inbox, you may want to start by clearing them all out before you start this system.
- Use something to keep track of all of your tasks. This could be a notebook or an online tool. I use Todoist.
- Use something to keep track of your calendar. I use Google Calendar. I used to use Slingshot (here’s the 2014 calendar).
- Unsubscribe from most or all mass emails. For the organizations you want to keep track of, use an RSS reader. I use Feedly.
- For the mass emails you are still subscribed to, filter them so they never enter your inbox. Setup a script so they are marked ‘read’ if they are older than a week.
- Clear out your inbox every day. Do your very best to clear it out entirely.
- Here’s how you clear it out:
- If it takes less than two minutes, deal with it. Respond to it, put that nooch(1) on your grocery list, or put the event on your calendar
- if it takes more than two minutes, put it on your to-do list
- Use these same principles for your voice mail, text messages, Facebook messages, etc.
I came up with these principles after reading Bit Literacy and watching Google Inbox Zero. Then I experimented and found a system that works best for me.