Peace of mind, how chill is that? Life in the Netherlands goes so fast that we sometimes forget to take a rest. I am guilty. A year ago I got wind of inbox zero and since then I am a fan. I'm going to explain what it is and how you can achieve it + why you want it.
What is inbox zero?
If we parse the 2 words we get inbox = mailbox and zero = zero or empty. Mail empty. Empty mail. The point is that your inbox contains no messages.
Now you may be thinking: it's too late, my inbox already contains 27,187 messages and I don't have time to go through all this. Just read on quickly.
What good is inbox zero?
It's a wonderful feeling when your inbox is empty. Unconsciously you get quite overexcited by all those emails, even if you delete uninteresting newsletters immediately and have folders for certain clients/parts of your life. It really makes a difference whether your mailbox is full (whether the emails are read or unread) or whether you see an oasis of white space and peace before you. So what's in it for you? Peace of mind, less stress, higher productivity and you're better organized.
Omg, how do I reach inbox zero?
Have I got you excited about inbox zero? Good, then let's get started! Chances are you've been using your mail account for a while and don't feel like sorting your mail until 2014. Fortunately, there is a very easy alternative: you create one mailbox with "Before [date]" and drag all your emails there. Your entire inbox. May take a while, but then your mailbox will be empty.
Three main mailboxes
From there we can really start. You create three mailboxes: "today", "this week" or "later". All unimportant mails you just delete immediately, so they don't need a mailbox. When a mail arrives, drag it to the appropriate mailbox. The "today" mailbox you obviously work on the same day". In the middle and at the end of the week you then check if you have finished "this week". When you do "later" is up to you. Find a rhythm in it.
Mailboxes by category
If you want it all even more organized, you can create even more mailboxes. I myself work with 3 main categories, namely "Private", "Work" and "Uni". I have a separate folder "Passive" where I drag and drop folders of completed projects, for example. Under "Private" I again have categories like "Food" (restaurant reservations, invitations to food events, etc.), "Home" (moving notices, contracts, car rentals for moving) and "Travel" (booking confirmations, boarding passes, offers for travel). That's where I drag the emails to when they don't require a response from me (anymore).
Did I warm you up a bit to the trick of the century! Takes a little energy to get into but it is SO worth it.
