InBox Zero

When I discovered there are these independent (although now more commercially focused) audio shows distributed over the internet directly to iTunes, yes I'm writing about podcasts, one of the first tech related podcasts I listened to was This Week in Tech (TWiT). One of the contributors to TWiT is Merlin Mann. And for this guy I found out about the most powerful tool for being an "information worker" - InBox Zero. I was in a new job for about 6 months when the google video on InBox Zero appeared on the web, so I only had several thousands emails in my inbox. Implementing InBox Zero was needed to reinstate some sanity when it came to email.

 These days emails are so under control they represent only 30 minutes per day of work; yet in that 30 minutes I deal with the 30 or so emails that made it through my various filters. The email filters remove the less important non-work related email from my attention. The stuff from friends is auto forwarded to my personal account. The stuff I'm CC'ed on or I get because I'm on some corporate mailing list (basically the "For Your Information" emails) go to a folder that I quickly scan on a Friday afternoon and then flush. I have an important rule with email; if you want me to take action include me in the "To" field, don't "CC" me on an email requiring action and expect something to be done. This rule has burnt me twice in two years, which is less painful than the hours of scouring hundreds of emails per week.

 So back to Merlin Mann. He disappeared from the podcasts I listened to. Apparently hiding away working on a project and only surfacing on the net to do the You Look Nice Today podcast (which I subscribe to, but rarely listen to). The project turns out to be a book on InBox Zero. It is incredible about what you can an advance for. I kid, the concepts he discusses in the video about the book are sound, but I'm not going to be able to succinctly describe it here (as I regularly fail at being succinct in my posts). So if you want a corner name for the process of getting something done with the masses of information you need to process and then potentially act on check out the videos embedded in this post.

 

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