Comments on: The Case Against the Zero Inbox http://www.2time-sys.com/2008/06/09/the-case-against-the-zero-inbox/ The World's Best Resource for Time Management 2.0 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:44:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: Summy http://www.2time-sys.com/2008/06/09/the-case-against-the-zero-inbox/#comment-546 Summy Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:56 +0000 http://www.2time-sys.com/2008/06/09/the-case-against-the-zero-inbox/#comment-546 The email inbox with 16,000 messages isn't the problem as long as 1) the tasks that are in them are tracked elsewhere 2) the information in the email is easy to reference. Then the person is just using their inbox as a storage devise. New email represents an item to be addressed- easy to see that. Old emails are just stored there. The key is to not mark read messages as unread then you'll get a logistical mess. IOn the ideal world i agree the inbox should be empty- <a href="http://www.successmakingmachine.com/2008/05/09/keep-your-inbox-empty/" rel="nofollow">Let’s Fight: Why Don’t You Keep Your Inbox Empty?</a> The email inbox with 16,000 messages isn’t the problem as long as
1) the tasks that are in them are tracked elsewhere
2) the information in the email is easy to reference.

Then the person is just using their inbox as a storage devise. New email represents an item to be addressed- easy to see that. Old emails are just stored there. The key is to not mark read messages as unread then you’ll get a logistical mess.

IOn the ideal world i agree the inbox should be empty- Let’s Fight: Why Don’t You Keep Your Inbox Empty?

]]> By: Stephen Barnes http://www.2time-sys.com/2008/06/09/the-case-against-the-zero-inbox/#comment-437 Stephen Barnes Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:07:34 +0000 http://www.2time-sys.com/2008/06/09/the-case-against-the-zero-inbox/#comment-437 QUOTE: Instead, emails with the following attributes are the ones that cause me the most trouble: 1) they require some further thought before I decide what to do 2) they have important information that must be stored 3) they must be scheduled into my calendar for a convenient future moment of time 4) they have data that must be added to a list of items 5) they need to be married to some other information before action is possible (this category is especially troublesome!) RESPONSE Francis - you are right on the money here. At Orla in Australia we figured this out and built a product which squarely addresses this issue. All the other (respected) commentators are effectively shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. Solving the email problem is not hard at all, when you know how and have the tools to get the job done. Cheers QUOTE:

Instead, emails with the following attributes are the ones that cause me the most trouble:

1) they require some further thought before I decide what to do

2) they have important information that must be stored

3) they must be scheduled into my calendar for a convenient future moment of time

4) they have data that must be added to a list of items

5) they need to be married to some other information before action is possible (this category is especially troublesome!)

RESPONSE

Francis – you are right on the money here. At Orla in Australia we figured this out and built a product which squarely addresses this issue. All the other (respected) commentators are effectively shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. Solving the email problem is not hard at all, when you know how and have the tools to get the job done.

Cheers

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