Inbox Zero: The Quest for Email Zen
Inbox Zero represents the ideal state of having nothing in your inbox occupying your mind—zero unread emails. While I previously promoted my email management approach as universal, I now acknowledge this was misguided. My own email and task management have deteriorated, prompting me to restore my system.
Getting Things Done
I was influenced by David Allan’s book Getting Things Done (GTD) several years ago. The methodology helped me establish an organized process for managing tasks and work. I implemented Remember the Milk for task management and created detailed diagrams of my ideal workflow.
However, my complicated system didn’t sustain itself. Initial enthusiasm faded, and habits didn’t form. Over time, my GTD-inspired approach deteriorated despite my attempts to maintain core principles. I kept task lists in notebooks tied to email, but my unread count ballooned while I focused on goal-oriented lists.
Inbox Management for the Rest of Us
I discovered an article by Hannah Gay addressing inbox management that resonated deeply. Her approach emphasizes five email labels:
- Action Needed
- Reply Needed
- Waiting For Response
- Delete when done
- Look at this
Gay notes: “With all of this, I feel very zen with my inbox.” She suggests additional tactics like BCCing yourself and converting email chains to calendar invites.
Boomerang
To enhance Hannah’s system, I plan on using Boomerang—a Gmail plugin that temporarily removes emails and resurfaces them as unread at specified times. This supports the “Waiting For Response” label by automatically reminding me about pending replies.
I believe this simplified process, combined with GTD principles, offers genuine sustainability. I aim to regain control of my work and email management through disciplined execution.