If you follow the ‘zero inbox’ philosophy for email, I have some bad news for you.
Zero inbox is great in theory but in practice, it fails. Here is why.
When you go zero inbox, by replying to emails, you throw the ball back in someone else’s court. So when you reply faster, they get back faster. And very soon, you are no longer zero inbox.
Then you repeat the game all over again. Compulsive zero inbox is like hitting a tennis ball at a wall so hard that it doesn’t bounce back. But email begets more email.
I am not suggesting that you keep emails pending unnecessarily. But compulsively doing zero inbox puts you in an infinite loop.
So what is the solution? My suggestion is to check emails during natural breaks from work or maybe, every few hours. I prefer to do it between focused work sprints, when I need some time to decompress anyway.
Also, when you are doing ‘real work,’ don’t worry about emails accumulating (unless you genuinely expect some urgent email).
With age and experience, you don’t necessarily become smarter or wiser.
But you do realize one thing — 99% of urgency is man-made.
– Rajan