Why I Don't Care If My Inbox is (Proudly) a Cluttered Mess

A couple of weeks ago a well-intentioned, but horribly misguided, team member at Chequed.com (my company) circulated an article from Eric Schmidt at Google on why keeping a clean inbox is important to job success.

I’m normally a fairly calm guy (well … that could be debated), and I usually don’t have vehement reactions to simple articles, but this one sent my blood pressure soaring. (I know … no one who is “fairly calm” would have escalating blood pressure over something this trivial. But still …)

For years, my email inbox has grown out of control and I have felt guilty about it. After all, each email represents a person looking for something and I am blithely ignoring them. Over and over I have tried making it a priority to clean it out daily only to have my new (forced) habit fizzle. I’ve read books on time management that told me to set time aside each day and deal with email, thereby reducing the clutter and being super efficient. I tried but my inbox grew again.

Then came the realization. Worrying about a cluttered inbox is profoundly stupid. It is perhaps the most time-sucking, least productive habit you can form. That’s really saying something because I have formed many highly unproductive, time sucking habits through the years and this one ranks right up there.

Here is what caused my realization. Email metastasizes. The more time I spent trying valiantly to clear my inbox, the larger it grew. Respond to one question and inevitably, I got another question, or even three more questions, relating to the initial question that I didn’t care about in the first place. Respond to a dozen emails at a clip and you end up with hundreds in response. Now what? Start clearing it again.

So here is my foolproof plan on clearing your inbox the right way …

• Know your priorities and answer those emails that can help you achieve your goals.
• Scan your emails for new opportunities that you want to explore or are just interested in.
• If you haven’t acted on an email in your box in a month or so, just delete them all. If it’s really important you will find it in your Deleted box anyway or someone will forward it to you.
• Save the time and focus on your goals and the priorities to achieve those goals.

See … easy. There are really just two rules you need to remember: (1.) Ignore, and (2.) Delete. Profound, right?

Of course, this is somewhat tongue in cheek. But how much time are you spending reacting to the requests of those around you versus spending time thinking (yes, actually dedicating time to thinking) and working toward your goals?

And as for the team member that circulated the article that set me off? I tried to straighten him out and explain the error of his ways. He sent me an email telling me I’m an idiot. I ignored it and ultimately deleted it. See … foolproof.

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I am Greg Moran, Founder and President of Chequed.com. If I've learned one thing in my nearly 2 decades in recruitment and talent selection it's that the way most companies hire makes no sense and hurts both candidates and business performance. I've authored two books, Building the Talent Edge (AuthorHouse, 2002) and Hire, Fire & The Walking Dead (W Business Books, 2006), been featured in just about every major business publication and spoken to thousands of people at too many conferences around the world to mention on how to rationalize the recruitment process and get HR aligned with candidates and business results. If you like what I have to say, please hit the Follow and Like buttons and we can stay in touch. You can also follow me on twitter @CEOofChequed.

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