Inbox Zero Michael Reynolds
michael@spinweb.net
How To Become an Email Ninja http://michaelreynolds.com

Special Thanks to
David Allen and Merlin Mann

The problem...

• Email is just a medium
• Convert actions
• Process to zero
• Rule your email with
only 4 folders

Keep your email closed unless you are acting on it

How To Act on Email
Delete (or archive)
Delegate
Respond
Defer
Do

Delete
• Will you ever really do anything about it?
• If not, delete it (or archive it)
• Don’t feel bad about being realistic
• Any modern email system can handle a large
archive of email (i.e. Google Mail, MS Exchange)
• Use search to recover archived email

Delegate
• Is it more efficient for someone else to deal with it?
• If so, delegate it
• CC yourself and place a copy in “Waiting For” folder

Respond
• Can you respond in
less than two
minutes?
• If so, go ahead and
respond
• Then delete or
archive

Defer
• Will this take longer than
two minutes to deal with?
• If so, defer it
• Place it in an “Action
Required” or a “Someday
Maybe” folder to address
later
• Place it on a to-do list and
then delete/archive it

Warning: do
not let “Action
Required” get
out of control!

Do
• Can you act on this
message in two minutes
or less
• If so, DO IT!
• Get it out of your inbox

Choose One
• Delete (or archive)
• Delegate
• Respond
• Defer (to another folder
or a to-do list)
• Do

Action
Archive
Required
Someday Waiting
Maybe For

Waiting
For
no
no Does this really require action? yes
Action
Required Should I be dealing with it?
no yes
Can I respond or do it in 2 minutes?
Someday
Maybe
yes
respond
do

Aaaahhhh...

Mobile?
• Process inbox on your mobile device
• Make sure your device syncs with your server
(use IMAP or Exchange)
• Can make it easy to cheat
• Cheating is ok as long as you catch up later

TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS OF NEW EMAILS
ON YOUR PHONE

TRY KEEPING YOUR EMAIL PROGRAM IN
OFFLINE MODE WHILE
WORKING THROUGH FOLDERS

Migration to Inbox Zero?
1. Create your 4 folders
and organize all other
folder into them
2. Delete other folders
3. Set aside a block of
time to process Inbox
4. Enjoy your state of
Zen

Multiple Email Accounts?
• Set up same folder system on each account
• Process all at once or within each individual account
• Outlook, Apple Mail, Gmail, etc. can all bring multiple
email account into one dashboard

Testimonials
“You guys are going to be sooooo proud of me. I have gone from 3,953
emails on Saturday morning to 0 today. Everything is cleaned up and in a
folder. This gives new meaning to ‘Spring Cleaning.’ Thanks for your help
with that workshop.”
-Tina Elliott, Assistant Director, Indiana Rural Health Association
“Inbox Zero not only made me feel more in control of my email but it
increased my efficiency and productivity.”
Laina Molaski, PhD., President/CEO, C&S Consulting
“I thought I had pretty good systems for managing my email till I took
Michael's class. Now I have great ones!”
Lorraine Ball, President/CEO, Roundpeg

Inbox Zero Michael Reynolds
michael@spinweb.net
How To Become an Email Ninja http://michaelreynolds.com