BUSINESS

The Ultimate Guide

to Inbox Zero Mastery
Inbox Zero is an action-based email management system.
Learn these powerful techniques to take control of your email
inbox and stay on top of your most important messages.

by Laura Spencer
Contents

Introduction 1

How to Achieve Inbox Zero With Your Own Email Inbox 4

Section 1. Take Preventative Measures 5

Section 2. Set Up for Inbox Zero 8

Section 3. Regular Inbox Zero Habits 11

Section 4. Periodic Reviews 15

Section 5. More Time-Saving Measures 17

Conclusion 20
Introduction

You’re busy. Because of that, every

minute counts. You don’t have a lot
of time to spend on email. You need
to be able to go to your inbox, get
what you need, deal with it, and leave
as quickly as possible. Yet, for many
of us, our email inbox is a mess.

A messy inbox is hard to deal with.

From a business perspective, email
clutter can slow you down. If you don’t
answer an important message because
you overlooked it, email clutter could
even cost you a sale or make you look many messages. Yet, the longer you wait
unprofessional. to deal with your messages, the more
messages there are.
Plus, having a lot of email messages
that you haven’t dealt with is stressful. If you dread the thought of dealing with
In the back of your mind, you know that your email, you know exactly what I mean.
eventually you’re going to have to do It’s time to solve the problem of email
something with all the messages. You’re overload. It can be done—you just need to
afraid that when you do, it won’t be know what to do.
pleasant.

A cluttered email inbox is a problem that

tends to build on itself. You put off dealing
with your email because there are too

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 1

What Is Inbox Zero?

That’s where Inbox Zero comes in. Many people think Inbox Zero is just about
Inbox Zero is a productivity concept reducing the number of inbox emails to
nothing. In reality, that’s only part of the
that helps reduces the amount of
concept—although it’s an important part.
time you spend in your inbox and The main concept is to spend less time
maximizes your efficiency. on email so that you can spend more time
doing other things. The actual number of
The Inbox Zero concept was introduced messages in your inbox doesn’t always
in 2006 by Merlin Mann on the 43 Folders have to be literally zero.
website. Mann was looking for an easy
system for managing a high volume of Inbox Zero is about using your email
email effectively. Inbox Zero has a lot in platform more effectively. As such, it’s an
common with David Allen’s Getting Things action-based email management system.
Done® (GTD®) productivity system. As someone using Inbox Zero, you won’t
allow email messages to accumulate in
The information in this ebook is inspired your inbox. Instead, you’ll deal with them
by Mann’s original Inbox Zero concept. The quickly because you have a plan.
techniques described here may vary from
Mann’s original suggestions.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 2

Why Is Inbox Zero Important?
Maybe you’re sitting here thinking You might be thinking, “That’s not me.”
that the Inbox Zero concept won’t But isn’t it? How many times in an hour do
you stop what you’re doing to check your
help you. If so, you may not realize
email? And when you find a new message,
how much time you spend on email. don’t you usually look at it right away?

According to figures from Reuters, the Most of us interrupt our daily work to deal
average worker spends a lot of time on with email without even thinking about it.
email, and many workers spend up to 6.3 That’s why it’s so easy to lose track of how
hours a day on email. That’s a lot of time. much time you actually spend on email.

If you use email like the workers in the Interruptions affect your productivity. They
study, that means you spend more than cause you to lose track of what you’re
75% of your time each day on email. This doing. They can lower the quality of your
leaves you less than two hours to get work. And they can make your work more
everything else done if you work an eight- stressful.
hour day. Unless answering email is your
main job, you either have to work overtime
to get everything done or you wind up not
processing your email.

Inbox Zero Techniques Can Help

If you’re spending more time dealing with You can achieve Inbox Zero using your
email than you should be, it’s time to take a email platform by adopting a few simple
closer look at how you can use Inbox Zero. email management practices. In this ebook,
You need a simple system that you can use I’ll explain how to do that. Let’s get started.
to process your email messages quickly.
Once your email is dealt with, you’re free to
perform the rest of your daily tasks.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 3

How to Achieve Inbox Zero

To make your own email inbox

management approach more
effective, use the following process:

1. Take preventative measures. The

tactics provided here get your inbox
ready for Inbox Zero and help you
reduce the number of email messages
you receive.

2. Set your inbox up. Organize your inbox,

so it’s set up properly for efficient use.
Good inbox organization helps you
achieve Inbox Zero.
good ones that work well for you and
3. Follow good email habits. Learn how ignore the bad.
to use your email efficiently with these
Inbox Zero inspired email management Let’s take a closer look at some tactics you
strategies. can use to get to Inbox Zero.

4. Perform regular reviews. Regular I’ll use Gmail as a specific example of a

reviews of how you process email help professional email platform. Although I’m
keep your email inbox usage on track using Gmail as an example, these tactics
long term. work with most popular email platforms.
To learn more about using Gmail, review
5. Learn more time-saving strategies. the Envato Tuts+ series, How to Use Gmail
Evaluate email productivity strategies (Ultimate Beginner Guide).
as you run across them. Adopt the

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 4

Section 1: Take Preventative Measures
Get a good head start on achieving Newsletter Subscriptions
Inbox Zero by controlling how and Email newsletters can be a helpful source
when you share your email address. of information. Yet, if you receive too many,
they can make your email inbox cluttered.
Get a good head start on achieving Inbox
Zero by controlling how and when you You probably don’t read every single email
share your email address. Many of us newsletter that you receive. Some of them
receive dozens of messages each day that may have seemed like a good idea when
we have no real interest in reading. If you you subscribed to them, but the reality is
reduce the number of unwanted messages, that they didn’t live up to their promise.
you’ve taken your first step towards a You may truly be interested in other email
cleaner, more manageable inbox. newsletters, but you never get around to
reading them. If you’re honest with yourself,
The fewer messages you receive, the fewer you probably never will.
decisions you have to make about what
to do with those messages. Preventative Follow these steps to keep email
measures deal with the sources of your newsletters out of your inbox:
unwanted email.
• Ask yourself before you sign up whether
If you’re setting up a new email inbox, pay you need this newsletter.
close attention to this section. It’s always • Automatically filter email newsletters to
easier when you start off right. These a folder.
measures can also help clean up your • Unsubscribe from email newsletters you
incoming email clutter for an established don’t read or need.
email inbox.
Remember, you can always resubscribe
Here are some causes of unwanted email later if you find that you really miss a
and what to do about each of them: newsletter.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 5

Email Promotional Signups you change your mind about a promotion,
You use your email to sign up for offers delete the associated email without
such as contests and other promotional worrying about losing important contacts
deals. or messages.

The entry form for nearly every offer Another tactic to keep your email inbox
requires you to provide an email address. uncluttered is to use your email’s filtering
That’s because those offers aren’t really tools to send promotional messages to
about giving something away. They’re a folder. Read them later when you have
about building a mailing list for the time. To learn how labels work in Gmail,
sponsoring company. If you read the fine study the tutorials How to Organize Your
print, most forms include an email opt-in Gmail Inbox to Be More Effective and How
statement. By submitting the form, you’re to Filter & Block Unwanted Emails (Spam)
agreeing to receive email. in Gmail.

So, think before you complete that form. As part of your regular periodic review,
Ask yourself: re-evaluate the promotional emails you
receive. If you haven’t read an email from a
• Am I okay with getting email from this vendor in a month, unsubscribe.
company?
• Do I really want this prize or offer?
Automatic Alerts and Notifications
• How often am I likely to receive an email? Many apps and tools send regular email
alerts and notifications. These notifications
Remember, a bargain isn’t a bargain if it can add a lot of email clutter to your inbox.
means your inbox is cluttered with email
you don’t want or need. Here’s what happens. You use your email
address to sign up for an app or tool. The
Deal with promotional emails by creating default (which most people don’t change)
a separate email address for these and is that you are notified by email when
other less important messages. You could certain events occur. Do you really need all
also use a disposable email address. To those notifications? Probably not.
learn more, review Beginner’s Guide to
Disposable Email Addresses. Manage your Here are some examples of tools that
separate email address as you have time. If automatically send email updates:

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 6

• Social media accounts Section Checklist
• Online vendors
This checklist reviews the main points
• Software apps
made in this section. Use it to make sure
• Financial institutions
you’ve followed the recommended steps.

Some updates you probably want to

√√ Review newsletters and other email
receive. For example, you need to know
subscriptions regularly. Unsubscribe
if your bank account is overdrawn. You’ll
from any you don’t use.
want to keep that email notification turned
√√ Don’t give out your email address
on. Do you need to receive an email each
indiscriminately. Examples include
time an online vendor ships a product you
entering contests, signing up for
ordered or each time you gain a social
discounts, or giving out your business
media follower? Maybe not.
card at events.
√√ Remember when you give out your
Reduce the email you receive by turning
email that many companies sell email
off email notifications in the apps and
addresses.
tools you use. For most tools and apps,
√√ Turn off automatic alerts and other
turn email alerts and notifications off in
distracting notifications.
your Profile or Account Settings. Look for
an option called Notifications or Email and
Notifications.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 7

Section 2: Set Up for Inbox Zero
We’ve discussed preventative more details on how to combine email,
measures you can take that keep study the Envato Tuts+ tutorial, How to
Combine All Your Email Accounts Into One
your email inbox from getting too
Gmail Account.
cluttered. Now it’s time to talk about
ways that you can set up your email Even if your employer requires you to use a
inbox so that you spend less time on separate email account for work, you can
email. This section describes some still save time by combining your personal
accounts if your email platform allows you
steps that you can adopt to make
to do so.
your email process more efficient.
Organize Your Current Inbox
Combine Multiple Inboxes
If you’re lucky enough to start with an
How many email inboxes do you check inbox you just set up, you don’t have to
each day? Many people use more than one worry about decluttering your email inbox.
email address. While it’s understandable It’s already clean because it’s brand new.
that you may want your personal email You just need to keep it that way.
coming from a different email address than
your business email, it takes time to open Most of us already have a pretty cluttered
more than one account and process the email inbox, though. You may have dozens,
email in each. hundreds, or even thousands of emails you
need to remove from your inbox before you
There’s a better way, especially if you own can start using Inbox Zero principles.
and operate your own business. You can
maintain separate email addresses, but The first thing to do is set aside some time
funnel all your messages into one account. to handle your existing email inbox clutter.
Gmail, for example, lets you do this. You The more cluttered it is, the more time it
can even reply to messages from other will take to deal with. Unless you literally
accounts and choose which email address have thousands of emails in your inbox,
you want the response to come from. For you can probably process it in less than a

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 8

day. So set aside a morning or an afternoon Keeping those messages is how your
for decluttering. email inbox got cluttered in the first
place. Delete or archive them now.
Here are five steps to make your inbox 4. Repeat. Once you’ve searched on
cleaner: the sender of the first message in
your inbox and deleted or archived all
1. Use the search function. Don’t try to messages from that sender, move on
look at every single email individually. to the next message. Search for all
Chances are that you receive emails messages from that sender and delete
from the same sources over and over. or archive those messages. Continue
Start with the first email in your inbox until your inbox is nearly empty or you
and search on the sender’s email run of time.
address or a keyword to pull up all 5. Use a TEMP email folder. If you run
emails from that source. Most email out of time clearing your inbox or if
systems let you batch delete messages. you have an unmanageable number
Gmail, for example, has a checkbox on of emails in your inbox, select all the
the upper left of the menu bar (next to emails left in your inbox. Move the old
the icons). messages into a temporary folder you
2. Delete or archive ruthlessly. Save only create just for these messages. Mann
emails you’re required to keep. Delete calls this the email DMZ folder or you
or archive anything you haven’t needed can name it TEMP. Regardless of what
recently. You’ve already unsubscribed you name this folder, its purpose is to
from newsletters you don’t want, but old give you a fresh start. Of course, you’ll
issues from past subscriptions may still need to make time to deal with those
be in your inbox. Keep only the most emails later (probably by deleting them).
current issue if you must. (Remember, if
you decide to keep it now, you’ll need to Your email inbox should be nearly empty
delete it later on, after you’ve read it.) at this point. Our goal with Inbox Zero is to
3. Don’t overthink your deletions. It can keep your inbox as uncluttered as possible.
be easy to justify why you might want Now that you have a nearly empty inbox,
to look at that email later. If you don’t the next section will help you develop
process an email within a day or two habits that enable you to spend less time
of receiving it, you probably never will. on processing email.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 9

Don’t Do This To find a message later, use your email’s
search tool rather than relying on finding
How many folders (or labels if you’re using
the right folder.
Gmail) do you have in your email? A dozen?
Two dozen? More?
Of course, your email folder structure may
be different depending on your needs. Also,
However many folders have you set up, it’s
your job may dictate how you store emails,
probably too many. Using a high number
particularly if you work in customer service.
of email folders means you have to spend
Develop a simple folder structure that
time figuring out which folder to use. You
works for you.
might even wind up creating yet another
new folder. Section Checklist

According to Mann’s original Inbox Zero This checklist reviews the main points
concept, you don’t need lots and lots of made in this section. Use it to make sure
folders. In fact, using lots of folders can you’ve followed the recommended steps.
mean that you spend more time figuring
out which email goes in which folder. When √√ Combine multiple inboxes into one
it comes to folders, less really is more. to simplify your email management
system.
How many email folders do you need? √√ Set time aside to deal with your current
Probably not as many as you have. inbox clutter.
Consider simplifying the number of folders √√ Don’t set up lots and lots of folders.
you use to fewer than six if you can. Here is
a simple four-folder structure:

1. Inbox. Where new unread messages

live. Keep this as close to empty as
possible by processing email regularly.
2. Archive. Where most messages will go
after you act on them.
3. A to Z folder. Where you keep emails
you need to refer to in the near future.
4. Waiting. Messages that you need more
information on before you can respond.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 10

Section 3: Regular Inbox Zero Habits
Those looking to reduce the amount For more detail on how to perform these
of time spent on email should put five options, study our Envato Tuts+
productivity tutorial, How to Use the
some or all of these habits into daily
Getting Things Done (GTD) Productivity
practice. Here’s a look at the Inbox System. The tutorial outlines a decision-
Zero habits you should adopt: making process for emptying a physical
inbox, but the principles also apply to an
2 Minute Rule email inbox.
Process email quickly. According to David
Batch Processing
Allen’s Getting Things Done® productivity
system, if something takes less than two Unless your job demands it, don’t leave
minutes, do it right away. In most cases, your email open and respond instantly to
processing a message takes a lot less time each message as soon as it comes in. And
than two minutes. turn email notifications off on your phone
and on your desktop. Those constant
You can process messages quickly interruptions are seriously hurting your
because you know in advance what to do productivity. They hinder you from focusing
with them. Depending on the message, on deep work.
Mann identifies five options for dealing
with a new email message: Instead, schedule designated times during
the day when you will process email. Only
1. Delete or archive the message. check and process email during those
2. Delegate the message to someone else. times.
3. Respond to the message.
4. Defer acting on the message. How often you schedule time to process
5. Do something about the message. email depends on the volume of messages
you receive. If you receive a high volume of
The key is not to let messages sit in your messages, you may need to schedule a few
inbox while you decide what to do. minutes each hour. For a lower volume of

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 11

messages, schedule your email checks for Use Search Over Labeling
just a few times a day at regular times. Nearly all email platforms give you the
ability to create folders (labels in Gmail).
If your contacts are accustomed to While folders can be helpful, most of us
receiving instant responses from you, then create far too many of them. Deciding
you need to manage expectations. A good which folder(s) to put an email in can be
way to manage expectations is to include a time-consuming.
phrase in your email signature. Something
like the following could work: Try to limit the number of email folders you
create and use. For a simple folder strategy,
“I check email twice a day. If your message refer to the ebook section on a possible
requires a response, I will answer within 24 four folder scheme.
hours.”
“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking.
By managing expectations, you let “Without folders, how am I going to find the
contacts know that you are not ignoring emails I need?”
them.
The answer is to use your email’s search
Of course, if you work in a customer utility. Most email platforms have a tool
support field, you’re not going to be able that allows you to search within messages.
to batch process your email. However, Gmail, for example, has a sophistical email
you can still apply the principle of batch search tool that allows you to set specific
processing email to your personal email search parameters. To take a closer look
account. You can also adopt many of the at the Gmail search utility, read through the
other Inbox Zero principles described in Envato Tuts+ tutorial: How to Search Your
this ebook. Emails in Gmail Like a Pro.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 12

Convert Your Emails to Tasks Most emails can be dealt with quickly, in
Inbox Zero is an action-based system. As just a few sentences. Yet, it’s not unusual
you process emails, it’s important that you for the average person to agonize over
act on them. Don’t use your email inbox as writing an email. Some people even spend
a to-do list. hours crafting a simple response.

If an email requires you to perform a task While it’s normal to worry that your
and you can’t get to the task right away, response seems too curt, most people
add the task to a task tracking tool. Archive won’t be upset by a short reply. Mention
or delete the email when you complete the that you are being concise in your email.
task. Something like the sample response below
could work:
There are many good task tracking tools
available. The best ones integrate with your “Thanks for bringing that to my attention. The
calendar and send reminders close to the quick answer is, we won’t be implementing
time when the task is due. that process any time soon due to the cost.
If you have further questions, feel free to call
Some email platforms include task list me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
capabilities. For example, many people
don’t realize that Gmail includes a task Notice that the response was only three
utility that integrates with Google Calendar. short sentences. Sending an answer like
You can open the task list from within the response above is quick and effective.
Gmail and even cause it to pop out onto It probably took less than a minute to type
your desktop. To learn how to use the and send. The sender notes that they are
Gmail task list tool, study the helpful being concise by using the phrase “The
tutorial: How to Work With Tasks in Gmail quick answer is.”
to Be More Productive.
Use Response Templates
Write Short Responses Do you find yourself answering the same
One part of processing emails that often email questions repeatedly? If so, you’re
takes a lot of time is crafting a response. In not the only one.
many instances, you may be overthinking
your email replies. Instead of crafting a new response each

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 13

time you receive the same old questions, 6. Copy the text from the file into your
create answer templates that you reuse email response.
over and over. Answer templates can be a 7. Customize the response for your
huge timesaver, especially if you deal with recipient, if needed.
customers by email. 8. Send the email.

Gmail Labs has a feature called Canned Or you can work with a dedicated app
Responses that is perfect for this. Enable like TextExpander. As you can see, the
the feature from the Settings menu. Learn process isn’t hard. Having prewritten email
more about how to work with this feature in responses for certain questions can save
the tutorial: How to Create Email Templates you quite a bit of time.
in Gmail: With Canned Responses.
Section Checklist
MS Outlook also has the Quick Parts This checklist reviews the main points
feature that allows you to store and reuse made in this section. Use it to make sure
email text blocks. you’ve followed the recommended steps.

You don’t need an email platform with √√ Don’t spend more than two minutes
special features to store common email deciding what to do with an email.
answers, though. All you need is a simple √√ Set aside specific times of the day to
word processor. Notepad could even work. process your email.
Here’s what to do: √√ Don’t overuse email folders or labels.
Use the email search utility instead.
1. Create an email answer folder on your √√ Convert emails requiring actions into
computer for common email answers. tasks and use a task manager.
2. Each time you find yourself answering √√ Write short email responses whenever
a common email question, copy and possible.
paste the text into a word processor file. √√ When a short response won’t do, use an
3. Give the file a descriptive name and email response template for common
save the file to your email answer folder. email questions.
4. To use an email response template,
open your email answer folder.
5. Find the appropriate response.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 14

Section 4: Periodic Reviews
Once you’ve set up your Inbox Zero 3. Did I unsubscribe from a list I needed to
system, you’re not really done. be included on? That’s easy enough to
fix. Simply resubscribe.
Clutter tends to creep back into
4. Am I still receiving emails I don’t need?
your inbox if you’re not careful. You may need to unsubscribe from even
Plus, old bad habits tend to reassert more email lists.
themselves. 5. Is my system for converting email to
tasks working? Do I need a better task
The answer is to schedule a periodic review list tool? Is there one that will integrate
of your system. How often you perform better with my email system?
your review depends on how heavily you 6. Do I need to create more email response
rely on email. Many email users will be fine templates?
with a monthly review, but for some a short
weekly review is a better option.

During your review, look at what is working

in the system and what is not working. You
can also tackle your temporary email folder
at this time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself

during your review:

1. Have I been able to mostly eliminate

inbox clutter? If not, what is cluttering
my inbox and how can I deal with that
clutter?
2. Am I checking my email too often or not
often enough? You may find you need
to change how often you check your
messages.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 15

Some signs that your Inbox Zero system advice isn’t working for you, adjust it until it
isn’t working as well as it could be: does work. Create the email management
process that works best for you.
• You’re spending more time processing
Section Checklist
email than you should.
• Your customers, colleagues, or boss are This checklist reviews the main points
upset with the way you handle email. made in this section. Use it to make sure
• You feel more stressed with your email you’ve followed the recommended steps.
process than ever.
√√ Review your temporary (TEMP/DMZ)
Don’t be discouraged if it takes several email folder and process it down.
rounds of adjustments to get your Inbox √√ Make sure that your Inbox Zero system
Zero system to maximum efficiency. is working.
√√ Make adjustments to your approach as
The good thing about achieving Inbox Zero needed.
is that it’s up to you how you do it. That
means it’s flexible. If some part of this

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 16

Section 5. More Time-Saving Measures
Inbox Zero is just one system for • When entering a contest
dealing with your email inbox. There • When creating an account to buy
something online
are many other email management
• When subscribing to services
techniques as well, which you can • For newsletter subscriptions
use to further improve your approach. • When you provide your email address to
get something for free
In this section I address three common
email strategies. I’ll look at: You can probably think of your own
examples of when a junk email address
1. Using a junk email address. might prove useful. And having a “junk”
2. Using a vacation responder. email address can help reduce inbox
3. Using email plugins and apps. clutter.

Let’s review each of these concepts There are some definite disadvantages to
separately. creating a “junk” email address, though.
Here are some things to be aware of:
Should You Use a Junk Email Address?
Many email users create what is called a • Clutter. Since most people who create
“junk” email address. They give this email a “junk” email address rarely check
address out when they need to provide an that email, the inbox fills up quickly. It
email address, but don’t intend to read any may only take a few weeks before you
emails they receive from the entity they are have hundreds of messages in your
providing the email address to. inbox. Not only can this be irritating if
you decide to read a message, but your
The purpose of a “junk” address is to keep email storage can start to fill up quickly.
email messages out of the email address • Missing out. Inevitably, something
you use on a regular basis. important will be sent to your junk
email address. It may be a product
Some examples of when someone might recall. It may be a special offer. It may
use a junk email address:

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 17

 be something else. You won’t see it in helpful tutorial: How to Set Up a Gmail (Out
your “junk” email box because you’re of Office) Vacation Responder Email.
ignoring this email inbox.
• Security. Even though you may not wish Beware of overusing the vacation
to receive promotional emails from the responder message, though. Clients and
online vendors you do business with, colleagues can find them to be annoying if
they will probably also send account you use them too often. For short breaks,
information and receipts to the email it’s a good idea to check and process
address you provide. That account your email remotely if you can. For longer
information and those receipts could breaks, a vacation responder message
contain sensitive information. can make sense. Be sure your message
provides your email contacts with a way to
While you may be tempted to create a handle urgent situations.
“junk” email address to keep promotional
email from your main email, it’s a better If you do decide to use a vacation
idea to just use a single email address and responder message, remember that it may
control who you provide it to. take longer to process your email when you
return. After a break of a week or more, you
If you must provide an email address to may find that your email box has hundreds
open an account with an online vendor, opt of new messages. Be sure to allow yourself
out of receiving promotional email. There the extra time to process these extra
are usually checkboxes on the form you messages when you return to maintain
fill out to create your account. Typically, Inbox Zero.
they are checked by default. That means
making a conscious decision to look for Should I Use Email Apps and Plugins?
those checkboxes and uncheck them. There are many email plugins and other
tools designed to expand the capabilities
Does a Vacation Responder
of your email system.
Help or Hurt?
It’s normal to want to unplug when you go For an overview of just a few that are
on vacation. When you do so, a vacation available for Gmail, check out our Email
responder message can help. Learn more Plugins article: 20+ Helpful Gmail Plugins
about vacation responder messages in this for Better Email Management.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 18

Some email tools can be quite helpful when learning to use it is too time-consuming,
organizing your email inbox. For example, skip it. Keep in mind that choosing an email
you’ll probably need a task list application. app is a somewhat personal decision. A
Other tools may not be practical for your tool that works for you may not work for
situation. someone else. For example, a salesperson
would likely benefit by using a CRM plugin.
Before committing to an email app or But for a research assistant, a CRM plugin
plugin, it’s important to ask yourself the might not be as helpful.
following questions:
Section Checklist
1. What problem am I trying to solve with This checklist reviews the main points
this email tool? made in this section. Use it to make sure
2. How long will it take me to learn to use you’ve followed the recommended steps.
this tool?
3. How costly is this tool? √√ Re-evaluate the use of a junk email
4. How well does this tool integrate with account.
my email platform? √√ Use a vacation responder message
5. Do I already have another way of when appropriate.
handling this problem? √√ Consider email plugins and tools
carefully.
If acquiring the email tool is too costly or

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 19

Conclusion

You need your email messages,

but you don’t need to spend most
of your day dealing with them. You
can process email more efficiently.
It may seem difficult, but once you
understand what to do, you can
reach Inbox Zero.

In this ebook, you’ve learned why Inbox

Zero is important. As we’ve discussed,
Inbox Zero was designed to help you
reduce the time you spend processing
email.

We’ve explored some strategies to help you If you’d like to learn more about using email
get your email inbox ready for Inbox Zero. effectively and about productivity, Envato
We’ve also discussed some basic Inbox Tuts+ offers some tutorials on the subject:
Zero strategies that you should adopt, as
well as some that you should not. • How to Master Proper Business Email
Format - and Avoid Professional Disaster
Inbox Zero is also a flexible strategy. Adapt
it to meet your own needs. Your Inbox Zero • How to Prioritize the Emails You
methods may differ from someone else’s. Respond To

If you adopt the email management • How to Do One Thing at a Time and Stop
principles in this ebook consistently, you’ll Multi-tasking
save time and get more done.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 20

Find more courses,
tutorials, and eBooks at
tutsplus.com