5 Hacks For Achieving Inbox Zero

If you’ve ever sent me an email, you probably think I’m some sort of fiend because I typically respond very quickly. The truth is, I have over 15 email boxes that I manage just on my phone.

On any given morning, I get anywhere from 150 to 500 new emails. This morning was kind to me since I only woke up with 183 unread emails.

However, as the day goes along, the number of emails I get only seems to increase. On any typical 24 hour period, I can get anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 new emails. That’s a lot of emails to read and reply to.

A few months ago, I was having nightmares because I would go to sleep with hundreds of emails. I’m the type of person who would go insane if I had emails unread and somehow it would result in me stressing out.

After a few stressful nights, I figured out 5 hacks for achieving inbox zero:

1. Remove Yourself From Unnecessary Mailing Lists

When I broke down my email box, I realized 10% of the emails that were coming into my inbox were really spam. I was either on mailing lists I didn’t care about or my spam filter wasn’t doing such a great job.

I took the time out to remove myself from the mailing lists I really didn’t want to be apart of. I found out that many of those mailing lists actually emailed me every single day. This instantly cut down the number of emails I had to check by over 10%.

2. Create Reply Templates

I found out that I get many emails from people asking the same things. Instead of typing out my responses individually for every email, I started creating templates of email replies. I still read the emails I get and make small adjustments to my template, but I save a ton of time by creating these templates.

Create pre-written templates for emails and save them on a Word Document. As the need arises, use each one by simply copying & pasting the message in your email client. This has saved me a LOT of time.

3. Don’t Reply Unless You Must 

I’ve always been the type of person that has to end the conversation. I realized I was spending unnecessary time replying to emails that really didn’t need a reply.

Even though the conversation had essentially ended, I still wanted to close it out with a “Thank you, talk soon” or an “Awesome, sounds good”. However, those replies are really pointless. They waste my time as well as the person who has to spend those 30-60 seconds reading it.

4. Check Your Emails Throughout The Day

This probably goes against conventional wisdom, but it’s worked well for me. I used to check my emails 2 or 3 times throughout the day. However, I started checking my emails almost every 30-60 minutes and found that it was helping me stay sane.

When I checked my emails 2 or 3 times a day, I was dealing with hundreds of emails at a time. Instead, by checking my emails every 30-60 minutes, I only have to deal with 20-30 emails each time I check my inbox. It might be easier to achieve inbox zero by checking your emails more often.

5. The 2-Minute Rule

I also developed a 2-minute rule I started using vigorously with my emails. I had to read and take action on every email within 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, regardless of what was done, I had to stop and move on to the next email.

In the beginning, it was very hard. I gave people really shitty replies or ended up not being able to sum up my thoughts. As time went along, I refused to take more than 2 minutes to reply to emails. I started noticing the difference right away. I was adapting to my time crunch while I was getting through way more emails.

Conclusion

Achieving inbox zero is a struggle many entrepreneurs face. It’s something I’ve dealt with for years, but the solutions mentioned above have helped me sleep better at night by going to bed with an empty inbox.