An inbox is an essential tool inside any PKM.
If you use it correctly, it becomes a peacemaker and a time saver.
Why an Inbox Is an Amazing Tool
An inbox is like email. Everyone criticizes it, but it’s still alive decades later.
This is because it’s an awesome invention.
I don’t know who invented it, but I’m sure it was a smart guy.
It’s great because it’s based on common sense, and common sense, rational thinking, always work in life.
One place to store it all. It doesn’t sound bad.
Having a one and only entry point is fantastic. You don’t have things all over the place. Just one place to store and, later, just one place to look at.
We’re simple creatures. We need simple mechanisms in our lives.
I cannot tell you how much time I’ve wasted wondering where to store something.
Not having a clear and defined workflow to put things into your PKM is a source of anxiety, stress, and negative emotions.
An inbox solves all that, turning negative emotions into positive ones: control, peace of mind, safety, high performance without any stress.
Why an Inbox Becomes a Problem
The point is people’s overwhelmed by inboxes.
Just one signal of that: there’s a lot of stuff out there to learn how to reach inbox zero.
People suffer from seeing inboxes that would take all their life to clean them up. I understand it.
The problem is they gave us a Ferrari, but they didn’t tell us how to drive it.
We’re like monkeys with guns.
In the end, we’re only using a Ferrari to do the grocery once a week instead of enjoying it on a racing circuit.
The 2 Main Problems Related to Inboxes
People get collapse due to 2 reasons:
- They over capture.
- They don’t process their inboxes daily.
That’s how an inbox becomes a problem instead of an awesome tool.
How You Can Make Your Inbox Work For You
You need to directly attack the 2 reasons above to make things work.
Firstly, before putting things in your inbox, ask yourself this question: “Is this worth it?”
Do you really think the thing you’re saving will change your life?
Be as radical as possible.
Think it this way: no captured item will be life-changing for you.
I repeat it: no captured item will be life-changing for you.
Based on that principle, be sure your filtering process will improve.
Secondly, process your inbox daily.
If you process your inbox daily, it should take just 5–10 minutes.
If it takes you more, you’re over-capturing.
Don’t be afraid to ignore or quickly archive things if they don’t really resonate A LOT with you.
Again: no captured item will be life-changing for you.
Be merciless.
By the way, you’ll see that something that resonated with you when capturing and saving to your inbox doesn’t resonate so much when you’re processing it.
Do this exercise: just imagine how it’ll resonate with you 2 months ahead from now. And what about one year ahead?
The last time (forgive me, but it’s crucial): no captured item will be life-changing for you.
You need to overcome the information overload you’re suffering on a daily basis.
This is the way.
Takeaways
- I achieve inbox 0 every day, not only in my email (4 different email accounts) but in all my inboxes.
- I don’t suffer at all. I used to.
- I’m happy capturing. I’m happy processing.
- I sleep well every day.
- That’s my (your) main goal in life.
Photo by Nikolay Tchaouchev on Unsplash.