Evernote and my plan for achieving “Inbox Zero”
I have tens of thousands of emails in my Gmail inbox. At last count, 16, 503 are unread. I have over 50 marks set up. I don't use any of them. It's a mess
When I first learned about Inbox Zero I swooned. The thought is intoxicating. When your inbox is empty, you are no longer overwhelmed by email. You are in control. You delight in a Zen-like feeling of tranquility. You process your email inbox once or twice a day, keeping it at zero. You have a "mind like water".
I loved the thought, but the thought of going through tens of thousands of emails was about as appealing as a state bar complaint.
Email has long been the final frontier in my productivity makeover. I've resisted varying for a long time. But now, I have a plot.
My plot involves my favorite productivity tool, Evernote, which I use for collecting information and administration my projects and tasks. I use it all day long, in every part of my work flow, as my tool for Getting Things Done. Read my previous posts on how I use Evernote for getting things done.
Right now, when I get an email that requires action of any kind (a answer, a call, review, read, etc.) or that is related to a project I'm working on, or is something I want to keep for reference purposes (receipts, newsletter thoughts, research, documents, etc.), or something I am waiting for, I forward that email to Evernote. I then tag it and incorporate it into my gtd system.
If an email requires a answer that will take no more than two minutes, I do it. I may also send a bcc to Evernote.
Sometimes, I get emails requiring action that I don't send to Evernote. An example is an email I got recently from someone I hadn't oral to in a long time. I didn't want to dash off a quick answer, I wanted to give it some thought. In this case, I added a @Answer mark and archived the email in Gmail. When I'm ready to answer, the mark will help me find it.
Yes, I could also send these to Evernote, but I like having the orignial email connected to my answer. And, if I do send it to Evernote, I want to do so after I've answered, so I have both the first email and my answer in one Evernote note.
So, here's my plot for achieving email bliss by Evernote and Gmail:
First, when I have some silent time, (this will probably require several sessions), I will go through my Gmail inbox, scanning (not reading) and quickly doing the following:
- Unsubscribing from newsletters I don't read.
- Adding @Answer mark to whatever business I need to answer to that will take more than two minutes but does not need to be tracked.
- Sending Action and Reference items to Evernote.
- Trashing or archiving everything else.
Once my email inbox is empty, as new emails come in, I will review and process them, as follows.
- If it requires a response or action that will take two minutes or less, I will do it, then Archive it; if I want to, I can also send a bcc to my Evernote tab.
- If it will take more than two minutes but I don't need to keep notes, add it to a project, or track it, I will mark it @Answer and do it as soon as doable.
- If I'm waiting for a answer or for something to occur, I will send it to Evernote (and add a @Waiting tag).
- If it's something I want to keep for reference, an vital email, an exemple of a excellent sales letter, a receipt, or something I want to read later, I will send it to Evernote.
- All other emails will go into Archive or get trashed. At day's end, I will again have an empty Inbox and an empty mind.
The premise behind all of this is to identify emails that need action. That's key. Everything else is reference and can be found through search.
Note, I will use just one mark in Gmail, @Answer. I am open to adding others down the road, but only if they truly give me. For example, I may find it simpler to mark emails @Read/Review in Gmail, rather than sending them to Evernote for that purpose. I may also add marks for specific projects, or use them temporarily (e.g., for promotions). But for now, one mark will do.
Wish me luck. I'll let you know how it goes.
Have you achieved "Inbox Zero"? What do you reckon of my plot?