How to empty your inbox (the most urgent tip ever?!)

28th July 2020

How many emails are in your inbox?

Let me guess – far too many.

So here’s how to empty your inbox – my 5Ds.

Underpinning the Ds is The Golden Rule with Inboxes – “only read emails once”.

So don’t open an email, read it, close it and leave it in your inbox.

Instead: read it, and do one of the 5Ds:

  1. DO – for urgent or easy emails, do the action you need to, then delete it from your inbox
  2. DELETE – for those emails you know you won’t ever read, delete them
  3. DELEGATE – for emails that should go to someone else, forward it on, telling them what you want them to do with it. Then remove it from your inbox
  4. DRAG – some emails you need to file – so drag it out of your inbox into a folder
  5. DIARY – for all other emails – the ones you need to action, but not right now – simply drag it out of your inbox into a diary entry on the day you need to respond

Each of these Ds removes your email from your inbox. And removes a bit more stress from your life!

Action Point

Start easy. Now you’ve read this email, take it out of your inbox! And then do the same with the next one, and the next…

Doing this will save you huge amounts of time and stress. As will all the tips here…andyboundsonline

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