Inbox zero isn't about having no email. It's about every email having a decision. Here's the routine our assistants use to keep a busy founder's inbox clear, without anything important slipping through.
Touch each email once
Every email gets one of four outcomes on first read: reply, delegate, defer or delete. If a reply takes under two minutes, it's sent straight away. Anything longer gets a label and a place in the queue.
Use a handful of labels, not dozens
- Action: needs the founder's input or decision.
- Waiting: we've replied and are waiting on someone else.
- Read later: newsletters and reports worth reading, but not today.
- Reference: receipts and confirmations to keep, but not act on.
Templates for the replies you write every week
Scheduling requests, polite declines, invoice questions and introductions follow the same pattern every time. Saved replies, adapted in your tone, turn ten minutes of writing into thirty seconds of editing.
Sweep at set times
Instead of reacting all day, the inbox is processed in two or three focused sweeps, typically morning, midday and late afternoon. Truly urgent messages from key people are flagged by a filter so they're never missed in between.
Unsubscribe ruthlessly
Once a month, go through the Read later label. Anything nobody has opened in weeks gets unsubscribed. Less noise in means less time spent sorting it.
