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Chris Bongers
Chris Bongers

Posted on • Originally published at daily-dev-tips.com

A clear mind starts with a clear inbox

Inbox zero, that's what we will be talking about today.
There's nothing worse than getting behind your laptop and seeing an inbox that's unmaintainable.

The best habit I've ever started is inbox zero.

It not only makes your life easier, but actually gives you more peace and a clearer mind!

Today I'll guide you through this, and we are using this flowchart I made for you!

Inbox Zero | Daily Dev Tips

Don't overdo yourself

When starting to commit to inbox zero, don't overdo yourself.
When I began my inbox zero, I know I had thousands of emails, and I just moved ALL emails to "archive".

That was a relieve, and we can always search if we need one.

So let's start with that today

Move all your mails to archive

Inbox zero policies

The policy for inbox zero is different for everyone. This is my one:

  • Mail comes in
  • Is it a mailing list -> read/move to archive
  • Is it spam -> delete
  • Is it important and needs follow up 👇
  • Can I reply right away? -> Reply -> else 👇
  • Make a task for it and move to archive

With these simple steps, you'll always have a zero inbox and a clear mind.

Even when I come back from a holiday, I only need an hour max to go through my mailbox and perhaps make some tasks I can assign overtime.

Pro-tip for newsletters

If your the person like me that's subscribed to many newsletters, evaluate every time you open one:

  • Do I actually ever read these?
  • Do I still resonate with this newsletter?

If the answer is No -> Unsubscribe

Don't stress it

One important thing is not to stress about having a zero inbox all the time. It's about balance and enjoying life.
If you want to keep your focus, close your mail application and focus on other things.
There's always tomorrow to get to zero again.

What is your best tip for inbox zero?

Thank you for reading, and let's connect!

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Illustration by Maria Shukshina from Icons8

Top comments (2)

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shaijut profile image
Shaiju T

Nice 😄, Wise tips for keeping clean inbox. I never thought that archive can be used this way. I am going to try it. :) , When you said create a task, do you mean a reminder to follow up in specific day ?

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dailydevtips1 profile image
Chris Bongers

It depends, either a Notion task or I put it in my Agenda,
really depends on what works for you.

But make it time-related yes!