I WILL TEACH YOU INBOX ZERO
I WILL TEACH YOU
INBOX ZERO
Agenda
The Research The 3 Commandments Inbox Zero Advanced Email Hacks
Research
28% of time spent in our inbox
The McKinsey Global Institute found that an average employee spends 13 hours/week reading and responding to email.
• 28% • 650 hours/year • Completely reactive, low
value work
38% of emails are important
An average inbox contains only 38% important, relevant emails • Down from 42% 2 years ago • Terrible signal to noise ratio for the most important real estate in our life
Attention switching cost are a silent killer
A study by the Danwood Group found that it takes an average of 64 seconds to recover from an email interruption
Critical to batch-process unimportant emails
Email overload increases stress levels
A team of researchers at UC Irvine and U.S. Army studied effects of limiting email access on participants’ heart rate and ability to focus.
Email = increased heart rate
Email is here to stay
A study by the Grossman Group suggests that limiting or eliminating internal email to employees isn’t an effective solution to email overload.
The 3 Commandments
Commandment #1 Email = Tetris.
Problem: No matter how good you are, more keep on coming. Faster. Solution: Can’t beat the game. Have to change it: System Process Tools
Commandment #1 Email ≠ default top priority
Problem: Email is a to-do list other people write on. Solution: Scan: for important/urgent emails, then close your Inbox Block: 30-60 min slots for “Email Time” Ask: yourself if clearing your inbox is the best use of time
Commandment #1 Not all emails are created equal
Problem: Each email commands the same real estate in your inbox. Solution: Unimportant Delete/Archive in Bulk Important / Urgent Now Important / Not urgent Later
Inbox Zero
Triage
Triage noun, trē-’äzh Developed during the Napoleonic Wars by Dominique Jean Larrey. The process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition: • Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive • Those who are likely to die, regardless of what care they receive • Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome
Inbox Zero = Triage
Delete/Archive Defer Delegate Respond Do
Inbox Zero = Triage
Delete/Archive 1. Noise (should die) Defer Delegate 2. Quick fix (2 min) Respond Do 3. Needs work (later)
Inbox Zero with SaneBox
Delete/Archive SaneLater, SaneBlackHole, Custom Defer SaneSnooze Delegate SaneReminders Respond SaneReminders Do Star/Flag/Inbox
At the end of the day SaneSnooze whatever is left = Inbox Zero
Advanced Email Hacks
Bold key phrases
If your email is on the longer side, highlight key words or sentences in bold. This will make your reader’s job easier and you’ll be a more efficient communicator. Don’t do all caps (THAT’S YELLING!) Don’t bold too much
Don’t get hacked
Real techies use 1Password or LastPass bjinmlsjagwctIat1- nearly impossible to crack + easy to remember
Avoid accidental send
Don’t fill out recepient’s address right away Undo Send - Gmail Labs
Don’t use your Inbox as an archive
#1 Productivity Faux Pas It’s like stuffing your snail mail back into your mailbox after reading it.
Use the subject wisely
Put a call to action into it. “5 things I need you to do tomorrow” > “Things” Use tags: • [Time Sensitive] • [Action Item] • NNTR, NRN, or FYI • EOM • Not Urgent (removes stress)
Don’t unsubscribe from suspicious emails
Danger: Unsubscribing from suspicious emails = more junk mail
Safety: Use SaneBlackHole
Don’t be the CC backseat driver
Specify why people are CC’ed Avoid random people chiming in Let the people in the “to” line handle it Try SaneBox’s SaneCC
Check if you’re BCC’ed (not CC’ed) before “Reply All”
Don’t embarrass the sender: only you and the sender know that you got this email
Avoid open-ended questions
Email is a great medium for closed-ended questions - not open ended. Don’t end emails with “Thoughts?” Try “Do you think we should do X, Y or Z?”
Busiest people are very responsive
CEOs, VCs and busiest people get to Inbox Zero everyday even though they get 10x the volume How: system, tools, process Thinking about email the right way
happy emailing!