The Inbox Zero Protocol

There is great happiness to be found in this world. Reading in my garden or watching the sunset have always been these ordinary moments that fill me in with gratitude and sense of meaning. Yet, I recognize that it takes presence and head-space to seize the moment and see the beauty that surrounds me.

The very act of reading or contemplating is not enough. My mind needs to be calm like water. If there is anything that captures its attention, my mind would turn its back to the beauty out there and would start its mental rumination, preventing me from peak experiences.

So certain practices have become super important to allow me to free some RAM space in my head. Inbox zero is one of those. Surprisingly, not that many people know how to go about it. They don't even believe it would be conceivable.

What if I told you there is nothing easier than that? And that it truly matters? Inbox zero follows a very simple protocol. All it takes is a systematic approach.

1. Block half a day in your calendar to go for inbox zero

2. Use Outlook options to highlight important emails in a different color (for instance: external from clients, internal from key stakeholders).

3. Whatever is sitting in your inbox for more than 2 months, press delete or archive it - except the ones highlighted that still require your attention (see step 2 above).

4. Sort your emails by subject so that all the emails that refer to the same conversation are grouped together. Take one email at a time and decide if you can answer it there and then. If you can, just do it. My rule of thumb; if it takes less than 10 minutes and I have all the information needed - I do it, otherwise I go to step 5. Press delete in your inbox once done or archive it in the appropriate folder.

5. If you cannot answer, then schedule time in your calendar. More often than not, I consider 2 entries in my diary: one for the preparatory work that needs to get done to be able to answer the email and a second one for the actual answer to the email. Press delete in your inbox once done or archive it in the appropriate folder. The secret is to turn an email in a calendar entry. Don't use your email as your "to do" list. Use your calendar instead!

6. Go to the next email or group of emails. Repeat the process until you're done.