Jun 12
25

Open Thread: Do You Care About #inboxzero?

8 Comments

By Brenda Bethman

For this week’s open thread, I want to talk about email — specifically the phenomenon known as “#inboxzero.” As I’m sure you know, this is a very recommended technique for managing one’s email. The folks who preach #inboxzero tend to be fairly zealous about it. In fact, as far as I can tell, I should be a hot mess of unproductivity thanks to the horror show (currently holding steady at #inbox307 in my work account) that is my inbox. Also, it appears that leaving my email up and running most of the time is stressing me out big time.

Here’s the thing, though — I don’t care about my inbox. I realized a long time ago that I could either spend time managing my email or I could do the rest of my job. I can’t do both, so I just let the email go — and it works for me just fine. I also leave it running and check in and out most of the day. If I’m trying to write something, I might close it — but otherwise, if I’m on the computer, the email is going. And that works for me, too.

Finally, one other thing — like Leah McClellan (see link below), I also have multiple accounts used for different purposes. Currently I manage eleven addresses (work, main personal, this blog, etc., etc.). Kind of a lot, I admit — but again, it works for me.

To me, that’s the key — do what works for you. What about you? Are you a zealous #inboxzero type? Or a let-it-all-go type? Do you check your email constantly? Or just now and then? What works for you? How accounts do you have? Let us know in the comments!

And here are some links for further reading on both sides of the email debate:

“Manage Your Email by Not Managing It” by Leah McClellan

“Achieving Inbox Zero” by Ed Cabellon

“Email Is Like Stress in a Bottle” from Lifehacker

“Does Inbox Zero Help You Manage Your Emails?” from The Next Web

“Are You Leaving the Door Open?” by Natalie Houston

[Photo Credit: Flickr user Ramberg Media Images, Creative Commons license]

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Posted in Open Thread by brendabethman 8 Comments

  • http://twitter.com/JeannetteMarie JeannetteMarie

    I love #inboxzero, and yes I can be a zealot. Thanks for reminding me that different things work for different people. I also have several accounts, but work mostly from a single Gmail sign-in or my work account so I don’t have nearly as much to manage.  Perhaps if I managed my email less and wrote more I could be awesome like you? ;)

    • http://brendabethman.com Brenda Bethman

      Jeannette, you are already awesome :-) Periodically, I do think “ack! I should do something about my email accounts.” And then it passes and I just carry on. I have a pretty high tolerance for chaos — and I think that’s the key. It seems to me that a lot of the “how to manage” your email advice is really about reducing chaos. I just choose to embrace it (in some areas, anyway) and so it works for me. I do, however, refuse to combine the accounts — the idea of a unified inbox terrifies me for some reason. Go figure.

  • Lysa Salsbury

    I like to let things mature in my inbox for a while, and then every now and again, I go through and delete any messages that are over a month old. Even if I haven’t read them. I figure if they’ve been there that long without my opening them, chances are, I’m probably not going to read them. So far, it’s worked, and I haven’t deleted anything vital. I usually have about 75 messages that just sit there comfortably, waiting to be filed or trashed.

    • http://brendabethman.com Brenda Bethman

      I can’t quite bring myself to do that — which is why the inbox gets so full, waiting for me to go back and figure out what I want to do with those messages. I threaten it periodically, but can’t bring myself to do it. Maybe someday……

  • http://kristendomblogs.com/ Kristen Abell

    I have been at #inboxzero perhaps three times in my five times in my life – and four of those were when I opened a new email account for a new job at a new university. So the one time I got down to #inboxzero on my own, did I feel a sense of accomplishment? Heck, yes. Was it so great that I am just dying to have that feeling again? Obviously not. Frankly, I would rather get my desk to “documentzero” more than I want to get my inbox there. I’ve always worked well in chaos, and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so. Could I be more productive? Maybe. Then again, I feel pretty good about my productivity level as it is. I’ll stick with #inbox200 any day as long as I’m still getting work done.

    • http://brendabethman.com Brenda Bethman

      I think my only time at #inboxzero was WAY back in the day when I opened my AOL account (told you it was WAY back) and nobody else had email yet. Since then, it’s always run over, even when starting new jobs because I backed up my previous inbox and brought it with me. Yes, yes, I did that — I suppose I really might be a little nuts…..

  • http://ericstoller.com/blog/ Eric Stoller

    I don’t really care about achieving inbox zero…it seems like it’s one of those false dichotomies that people like to perpetuate. Email does not manage me. Period. I generally have around 20 to 40 messages in my inbox and that feels perfectly acceptable to me. Zero messages just wouldn’t be practical.

    • http://brendabethman.com Brenda Bethman

      “Email does not manage me” is the key point, no? As long as that’s the case, I think it doesn’t matter how many messages are in your inbox. Some of the stuff I read on #inboxzero, though, makes it sound as if it’s some kind of mystical state that *must* be achieved or else.