Inbox Zero Method to Organize and Clean Email Inbox

Many of us wake up daily to an inbox like the image below.

When we can have something like this:

If you always look at your inbox and wonder how you can ever decrease those 11458 Unread Emails, you have come to the right place. By the end of this article, you will have achieved inbox zero and boosted your productivity levels by miles.

What Is inbox zero?

Inbox Zero refers to an approach to productivity where your email inbox is consistently kept empty or nearly empty. We don't always see it, but every 30 seconds or a few minutes we spend trying to sift through a pile of emails significantly reduces our productivity. Therefore, the essence of the inbox zero mentality is to clear off this digital clutter, allowing you to concentrate on the most critical aspects of your daily schedule.

Merlin Mann, the first man to ever use the term inbox zero, explained that “zero” in this context doesn't necessarily mean you won't have any email in your inbox. Instead, it refers to the amount of time an employee’s brain spends in his inbox. You've achieved inbox zero when you can stroll in and out of your inbox without getting your brain entangled in the mess.

The first step towards achieving the inbox-zero state of mind is unsubscribing from unnecessary newsletters. You can do this one at a time, but that can be really stressful. That's why Against Data created this really cool tool that you can use to unsubscribe from all unnecessary email lists in one click.

Steps to achieving inbox zero (getting clean)

1. Regularly schedule email time: Set specific times during the day to check and clear your inbox. Like anything worthwhile, achieving inbox zero requires time and consistency.

2. Archive or delete: Move non-essential emails to an archive or delete them to clear your inbox.

3. Unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters: Reduce the inflow of emails by unsubscribing from newsletters and notifications that are no longer useful. This is an operation in itself, and there are several ways to do it.

Check out this guide to unsubscribing like a PRO.

4. Create folders or labels: Use a folder or labeling system to organize emails that require action, follow-up, or can be archived.

You can check out our guide on how to create folders in Gmail and Yahoo.

5. Send deletion requests: You can send data deletion requests to o companies you no longer want to interact with directly or by using a service like AgainstData.

Benefits of inbox zero

There are several benefits to achieving inbox zero. Let's take a look at the most important ones.

Boosted productivity

Nothing is more important to any working individual than an email inbox that allows them faster access to important emails. A clutter-free inbox in the context of a busy working individual lets you make quicker decisions and minimizes distraction from unnecessary notifications.

Mind you, reading and responding to emails aren't the only things contending with your time. You also have calls to make or receive, WhatsApp notifications buzzing per second, and Slack messages. It can be honestly overwhelming for a lot of people. In 2007, when Merlin Mann first wrote about the idea of inbox zero, there weren't even this number of distractions around. Neither when he delivered this Google tech talk about inbox zero.

Trust me, making important decisions when you have to sift through many muddled-up emails in your inbox is not the prettiest sight. With inbox zero, your productivity levels can leap to impressive heights.

Reduced stress and anxiety

Putting it as frankly as possible, stress and anxiety do no one any good. Managing excessive emails can be so overwhelming that it can increase your stress levels and cause unnecessary anxiety. Inbox Zero minimizes mental clutter to the barest and allows you to control your sense of power and clarity.

Efficient use of storage

Most email client's free storage isn't infinite. Gmail, for example, only gives you 15GB of storage, which is shared across other services such as Google Photos and Google Drive. If you don't pay for additional space, you must make space for new essential emails. It is difficult to do this if you don't habitually clear out old and unnecessary emails.

Achieving and maintaining inbox zero not only saves your device and cloud storage, it also goes a long way to reduce how much you spend on storage and minimize your digital carbon footprint.

Break free from the shackles of digital hoarding

Admit it, we all know one person who does not like throwing things away, even after serving their purpose. Or perhaps we are that one person. Cartons of electronic devices are still sitting somewhere in the basement. Old clothes lying around in some box. Dishes they stopped using years ago. This practice is usually referred to as hoarding.

Just as we can hoard physical items, we can also hoard digital stuff. Old photos. Old PDF documents. Old emails. Things we may never, ever get to open again for as long as we live.It's not that we don't know these things no longer add value to us, but like our physical hoarder friend, we're often reluctant to let them go mentally. Sometimes, we feel we might need them in the future. Other times, we have a strong emotional connection to the event or individual it came from.

While these are all valid, we fail to acknowledge that digital hoarding adds to the disorganized clutter we experience whenever we open our inboxes. In the same way, keeping all that old stuff around the house denies us space for more critical usage. Like a physical declutter exercise, Inbox zero will break that mental attachment to old emails no one will ever need.

Steps towards keeping an inbox zero (staying clean)

1. Don't subscribe unnecessarily: Stop subscribing to things you don't need, and be mindful of where you leave your email and contact details.

2. Maintain the same habits: It's easy to return to an inbox filled with tons of read and unread emails if you don't continue the habits that got your inbox zero. Continue dedicating 5-15 minutes daily to keep the inbox zero mentality going.

3. Use the two-minute rule: If an email can be responded to or dealt with in two minutes or less, handle it immediately.

4. Limit how many times you check your email per day: Checking your emails too often can become a net negative when you aggregate the total time used up per day. Check for a few minutes, once every hour.

5. No CC rule: This rule simply states that you should not respond to an email if it is not addressed to you primarily. This can help you avoid an unnecessary trail of emails.

Remember, inbox zero is not a shortcut. It is a practice that requires your full attention and commitment to work. If you start and maintain these practices, you can keep a zero inbox and enjoy the numerous benefits it brings to your personal and professional life.

Inbox zero success story

The feeling you get when you open your inbox and find it empty and free of clutter is a fantastic experience. For me, it elevated my personal and professional activities.

For one, I was able to see my priorities.

One of the things I found right away, and I can't stress this enough, is that I was clear on my priorities. An empty inbox means you can focus on current tasks without distractions from a cluttered email list. This way, spotting and handling emails that need action is easy, helping you manage tasks more effectively.

I had a mental clarity I haven't felt since I was a teenager.

A zero inbox reduces mental clutter, making you feel more organized and in control. I joyfully remember going on summer break and realizing I have much free time to fill in the next months. Once my Inbox was free, this was as close as I got to that feeling.

I had to deal with less procrastination.

Handling emails as they come in forces you to make quick decisions about each one, saving time in the long run. Regularly clearing your inbox helps avoid procrastination and ensures essential emails aren't overlooked. An empty inbox also minimizes the temptation to constantly check and read emails, letting you focus on more critical tasks.

I had more time on my hands

A transparent system for filing or deleting emails makes it easier to find important messages when needed. This, again, is a very measurable benefit. We don't always notice the little things, like losing 5 minutes here and there, but they add up. If you waste just a couple of minutes each day searching for essential emails in all the clutter, just imagine how many days per year that amounts to.

A service like Against Data can help you achieve inbox zero, whether sending data deletion requests or unsubscribing from a long list of email newsletters simultaneously.