Let’s face it, it’s incredibly satisfying to have zero notifications waiting for you at the end of the day. It may seem impossible but, it is easier to achieve than you may initially think.
Inbox Zero is a time management method meant to help participants reach zero emails in their inboxes. Productivity expert, Merlin Mann, coined the term in his blog titled “Inbox Zero: Articles of Faith”. Mann claims that emails are not created equally. Rather it’s about determining what emails are wasting your time, what emails are you putting off, and what emails require your full attention. Although there are many methods to achieve inbox zero here are our best tips.
How to get to Inbox zero for personal inboxes
Block out time
Probably the most effective tip for attaining inbox zero is to start blocking off time in your day to focus on addressing emails. Although some people find it easier to just open the notification as soon as they see it, you may not always have the time to respond right away. By carving off a little bit of time every day to focus on answering emails it will allow you to catch any messages that slipped through the cracks. A good rule of thumb is to respond to incoming emails right away if it will take under two minutes to respond to (or is urgent of course). This allows you to manage the rest during your scheduled time slot.
Use folders and flags
Another fan favourite of organizational experts is the inbox folder. With Microsoft Outlook, you can make folders to organize or flag your important emails. This allows you to organize your inbox so you can better determine which emails are more important.
How to get to inbox zero with a shared inbox
Getting to inbox zero with a team inbox can be daunting. However, with Emailgistics you can take the steps to get to inbox zero. Emailgistics has many tools that can help your team reach inbox zero.
Auto-distribution, snoozing, and archiving (oh my!)
Automating your email distribution for your team members saves them the hassle of tracking who needs to work on which email. With Emailgistics you can set a maximum number of emails sent to team members. This can prevent emails from slipping through the cracks or sitting idle for too long.
If an agent is still working on an email but must put it on hold, they can simply snooze the email. By snoozing the email, it will temporarily remove the email from the inbox and put it into a snoozed folder. Once the desired snooze time is up, the email will return to the agent’s inbox.
Instead of permanently deleting emails, users can also archive emails. By archiving emails, users free up their inboxes without deleting emails.
Learn more about how Emailgistics can help your team inbox reach inbox zero with a variety of tools here.
