BUSINESS

The Ultimate Guide

to Inbox Zero Mastery
Inbox Zero is an action-based email management system.
Learn these powerful techniques to take control of your email
inbox and stay on top of your most important messages.

by Laura Spencer
Contents

Introduction 1

How to Achieve Inbox Zero With Your Own Email Inbox 4

Section 1. Take Preventative Measures 5

Section 2. Set Up for Inbox Zero 8

Section 3. Regular Inbox Zero Habits 11

Section 4. Periodic Reviews 15

Section 5. More Time-Saving Measures 17

Conclusion 20
Introduction

You’re busy. Because of that, every

minute counts. You don’t have a lot
of time to spend on email. You need
to be able to go to your inbox, get
what you need, deal with it, and leave
as quickly as possible. Yet, for many
of us, our email inbox is a mess.

A messy inbox is hard to deal with.

From a business perspective, email
clutter can slow you down. If you don’t
answer an important message because
you overlooked it, email clutter could
even cost you a sale or make you look many messages. Yet, the longer you wait
unprofessional. to deal with your messages, the more
messages there are.
Plus, having a lot of email messages
that you haven’t dealt with is stressful. If you dread the thought of dealing with
In the back of your mind, you know that your email, you know exactly what I mean.
eventually you’re going to have to do It’s time to solve the problem of email
something with all the messages. You’re overload. It can be done—you just need to
afraid that when you do, it won’t be know what to do.
pleasant.

A cluttered email inbox is a problem that

tends to build on itself. You put off dealing
with your email because there are too

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 1

What Is Inbox Zero?
That’s where Inbox Zero comes in.
Inbox Zero is a productivity concept
that helps reduces the amount of
time you spend in your inbox and
maximizes your efficiency.
The Inbox Zero concept was introduced
in 2006 by Merlin Mann on the 43 Folders
website. Mann was looking for an easy
system for managing a high volume of
email effectively. Inbox Zero has a lot in
common with David Allen’s Getting Things
Done® (GTD®) productivity system.
The information in this ebook is inspired
by Mann’s original Inbox Zero concept. The
techniques described here may vary from
Mann’s original suggestions.
Many people think Inbox Zero is just about
reducing the number of inbox emails to
nothing. In reality, that’s only part of the
concept—although it’s an important part.
The main concept is to spend less time
on email so that you can spend more time
doing other things. The actual number of
messages in your inbox doesn’t always
have to be literally zero.
Inbox Zero is about using your email
platform more effectively. As such, it’s an
action-based email management system.
As someone using Inbox Zero, you won’t
allow email messages to accumulate in
your inbox. Instead, you’ll deal with them
quickly because you have a plan.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 2
Why Is Inbox Zero Important?
Maybe you’re sitting here thinking
that the Inbox Zero concept won’t
help you. If so, you may not realize
how much time you spend on email.
According to figures from Reuters, the
average worker spends a lot of time on
email, and many workers spend up to 6.3
hours a day on email. That’s a lot of time.
If you use email like the workers in the
study, that means you spend more than
75% of your time each day on email. This
leaves you less than two hours to get
everything else done if you work an eight-
hour day. Unless answering email is your
main job, you either have to work overtime
to get everything done or you wind up not
processing your email.
Inbox Zero Techniques Can Help
If you’re spending more time dealing with
email than you should be, it’s time to take a
closer look at how you can use Inbox Zero.
You need a simple system that you can use
to process your email messages quickly.
Once your email is dealt with, you’re free to
perform the rest of your daily tasks.
You might be thinking, “That’s not me.”
But isn’t it? How many times in an hour do
you stop what you’re doing to check your
email? And when you find a new message,
don’t you usually look at it right away?
Most of us interrupt our daily work to deal
with email without even thinking about it.
That’s why it’s so easy to lose track of how
much time you actually spend on email.
Interruptions affect your productivity. They
cause you to lose track of what you’re
doing. They can lower the quality of your
work. And they can make your work more
stressful.
You can achieve Inbox Zero using your
email platform by adopting a few simple
email management practices. In this ebook,
I’ll explain how to do that. Let’s get started.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 3
How to Achieve Inbox Zero

To make your own email inbox

management approach more
effective, use the following process:

1. Take preventative measures. The

tactics provided here get your inbox
ready for Inbox Zero and help you
reduce the number of email messages
you receive.

2. Set your inbox up. Organize your inbox,

so it’s set up properly for efficient use.
Good inbox organization helps you
achieve Inbox Zero.
good ones that work well for you and
3. Follow good email habits. Learn how ignore the bad.
to use your email efficiently with these
Inbox Zero inspired email management Let’s take a closer look at some tactics you
strategies. can use to get to Inbox Zero.

4. Perform regular reviews. Regular I’ll use Gmail as a specific example of a

reviews of how you process email help
keep your email inbox usage on track
long term.
5. Learn more time-saving strategies.
Evaluate email productivity strategies
as you run across them. Adopt the
professional email platform. Although I’m
using Gmail as an example, these tactics
work with most popular email platforms.
To learn more about using Gmail, review
the Envato Tuts+ series, How to Use Gmail
(Ultimate Beginner Guide).

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 4

Section 1: Take Preventative Measures
Get a good head start on achieving
Inbox Zero by controlling how and
when you share your email address.
Get a good head start on achieving Inbox
Zero by controlling how and when you
share your email address. Many of us
receive dozens of messages each day that
we have no real interest in reading. If you
reduce the number of unwanted messages,
you’ve taken your first step towards a
cleaner, more manageable inbox.
The fewer messages you receive, the fewer
decisions you have to make about what
to do with those messages. Preventative
measures deal with the sources of your
unwanted email.
If you’re setting up a new email inbox, pay
close attention to this section. It’s always
easier when you start off right. These
measures can also help clean up your
incoming email clutter for an established
email inbox.
Here are some causes of unwanted email
and what to do about each of them:
Newsletter Subscriptions
Email newsletters can be a helpful source
of information. Yet, if you receive too many,
they can make your email inbox cluttered.
You probably don’t read every single email
newsletter that you receive. Some of them
may have seemed like a good idea when
you subscribed to them, but the reality is
that they didn’t live up to their promise.
You may truly be interested in other email
newsletters, but you never get around to
reading them. If you’re honest with yourself,
you probably never will.
Follow these steps to keep email
newsletters out of your inbox:
• Ask yourself before you sign up whether
you need this newsletter.
• Automatically filter email newsletters to
a folder.
• Unsubscribe from email newsletters you
don’t read or need.
Remember, you can always resubscribe
later if you find that you really miss a
newsletter.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 5
Email Promotional Signups
You use your email to sign up for offers
such as contests and other promotional
deals.
The entry form for nearly every offer
requires you to provide an email address.
That’s because those offers aren’t really
about giving something away. They’re
about building a mailing list for the
sponsoring company. If you read the fine
print, most forms include an email opt-in
statement. By submitting the form, you’re
agreeing to receive email.
So, think before you complete that form.
Ask yourself:
• Am I okay with getting email from this
company?
• Do I really want this prize or offer?
• How often am I likely to receive an email?
Remember, a bargain isn’t a bargain if it
means your inbox is cluttered with email
you don’t want or need.
Deal with promotional emails by creating
a separate email address for these and
other less important messages. You could
also use a disposable email address. To
learn more, review Beginner’s Guide to
Disposable Email Addresses. Manage your
separate email address as you have time. If
you change your mind about a promotion,
delete the associated email without
worrying about losing important contacts
or messages.
Another tactic to keep your email inbox
uncluttered is to use your email’s filtering
tools to send promotional messages to
a folder. Read them later when you have
time. To learn how labels work in Gmail,
study the tutorials How to Organize Your
Gmail Inbox to Be More Effective and How
to Filter & Block Unwanted Emails (Spam)
in Gmail.
As part of your regular periodic review,
re-evaluate the promotional emails you
receive. If you haven’t read an email from a
vendor in a month, unsubscribe.
Automatic Alerts and Notifications
Many apps and tools send regular email
alerts and notifications. These notifications
can add a lot of email clutter to your inbox.
Here’s what happens. You use your email
address to sign up for an app or tool. The
default (which most people don’t change)
is that you are notified by email when
certain events occur. Do you really need all
those notifications? Probably not.
Here are some examples of tools that
automatically send email updates:
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 6
• Social media accounts Section Checklist
• Online vendors
This checklist reviews the main points
• Software apps
made in this section. Use it to make sure
• Financial institutions
you’ve followed the recommended steps.

Some updates you probably want to

√√ Review newsletters and other email
receive. For example, you need to know
subscriptions regularly. Unsubscribe
if your bank account is overdrawn. You’ll
from any you don’t use.
want to keep that email notification turned
√√ Don’t give out your email address
on. Do you need to receive an email each
indiscriminately. Examples include
time an online vendor ships a product you
entering contests, signing up for
ordered or each time you gain a social
discounts, or giving out your business
media follower? Maybe not.
card at events.
√√ Remember when you give out your
Reduce the email you receive by turning
email that many companies sell email
off email notifications in the apps and
addresses.
tools you use. For most tools and apps,
√√ Turn off automatic alerts and other
turn email alerts and notifications off in
distracting notifications.
your Profile or Account Settings. Look for
an option called Notifications or Email and
Notifications.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 7

Section 2: Set Up for Inbox Zero
We’ve discussed preventative
measures you can take that keep
your email inbox from getting too
cluttered. Now it’s time to talk about
ways that you can set up your email
inbox so that you spend less time on
email. This section describes some
steps that you can adopt to make
your email process more efficient.
Combine Multiple Inboxes
How many email inboxes do you check
each day? Many people use more than one
email address. While it’s understandable
that you may want your personal email
coming from a different email address than
your business email, it takes time to open
more than one account and process the
email in each.
There’s a better way, especially if you own
and operate your own business. You can
maintain separate email addresses, but
funnel all your messages into one account.
Gmail, for example, lets you do this. You
can even reply to messages from other
accounts and choose which email address
you want the response to come from. For
more details on how to combine email,
study the Envato Tuts+ tutorial, How to
Combine All Your Email Accounts Into One
Gmail Account.
Even if your employer requires you to use a
separate email account for work, you can
still save time by combining your personal
accounts if your email platform allows you
to do so.
Organize Your Current Inbox
If you’re lucky enough to start with an
inbox you just set up, you don’t have to
worry about decluttering your email inbox.
It’s already clean because it’s brand new.
You just need to keep it that way.
Most of us already have a pretty cluttered
email inbox, though. You may have dozens,
hundreds, or even thousands of emails you
need to remove from your inbox before you
can start using Inbox Zero principles.
The first thing to do is set aside some time
to handle your existing email inbox clutter.
The more cluttered it is, the more time it
will take to deal with. Unless you literally
have thousands of emails in your inbox,
you can probably process it in less than a
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 8
day. So set aside a morning or an afternoon
for decluttering.
Here are five steps to make your inbox
cleaner:
1. Use the search function. Don’t try to
look at every single email individually.
Chances are that you receive emails
from the same sources over and over.
Start with the first email in your inbox
and search on the sender’s email
address or a keyword to pull up all
emails from that source. Most email
systems let you batch delete messages.
Gmail, for example, has a checkbox on
the upper left of the menu bar (next to
the icons).
2. Delete or archive ruthlessly. Save only
emails you’re required to keep. Delete
or archive anything you haven’t needed
recently. You’ve already unsubscribed
from newsletters you don’t want, but old
issues from past subscriptions may still
be in your inbox. Keep only the most
current issue if you must. (Remember, if
you decide to keep it now, you’ll need to
delete it later on, after you’ve read it.)
3. Don’t overthink your deletions. It can
be easy to justify why you might want
to look at that email later. If you don’t
process an email within a day or two
of receiving it, you probably never will.
Keeping those messages is how your
email inbox got cluttered in the first
place. Delete or archive them now.
4. Repeat. Once you’ve searched on
the sender of the first message in
your inbox and deleted or archived all
messages from that sender, move on
to the next message. Search for all
messages from that sender and delete
or archive those messages. Continue
until your inbox is nearly empty or you
run of time.
5. Use a TEMP email folder. If you run
out of time clearing your inbox or if
you have an unmanageable number
of emails in your inbox, select all the
emails left in your inbox. Move the old
messages into a temporary folder you
create just for these messages. Mann
calls this the email DMZ folder or you
can name it TEMP. Regardless of what
you name this folder, its purpose is to
give you a fresh start. Of course, you’ll
need to make time to deal with those
emails later (probably by deleting them).
Your email inbox should be nearly empty
at this point. Our goal with Inbox Zero is to
keep your inbox as uncluttered as possible.
Now that you have a nearly empty inbox,
the next section will help you develop
habits that enable you to spend less time
on processing email.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 9
Don’t Do This To find a message later, use your email’s
search tool rather than relying on finding
How many folders (or labels if you’re using
the right folder.
Gmail) do you have in your email? A dozen?
Two dozen? More?
Of course, your email folder structure may
be different depending on your needs. Also,
However many folders have you set up, it’s
your job may dictate how you store emails,
probably too many. Using a high number
particularly if you work in customer service.
of email folders means you have to spend
Develop a simple folder structure that
time figuring out which folder to use. You
works for you.
might even wind up creating yet another
new folder. Section Checklist

According to Mann’s original Inbox Zero
concept, you don’t need lots and lots of
folders. In fact, using lots of folders can
mean that you spend more time figuring
out which email goes in which folder. When
it comes to folders, less really is more.
How many email folders do you need?
Probably not as many as you have.
Consider simplifying the number of folders
you use to fewer than six if you can. Here is
a simple four-folder structure:
This checklist reviews the main points
made in this section. Use it to make sure
you’ve followed the recommended steps.
√√ Combine multiple inboxes into one
to simplify your email management
system.
√√ Set time aside to deal with your current
inbox clutter.
√√ Don’t set up lots and lots of folders.

1. Inbox. Where new unread messages

live. Keep this as close to empty as
possible by processing email regularly.
2. Archive. Where most messages will go
after you act on them.
3. A to Z folder. Where you keep emails
you need to refer to in the near future.
4. Waiting. Messages that you need more
information on before you can respond.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 10

Section 3: Regular Inbox Zero Habits
Those looking to reduce the amount
of time spent on email should put
some or all of these habits into daily
practice. Here’s a look at the Inbox
Zero habits you should adopt:
2 Minute Rule
Process email quickly. According to David
Allen’s Getting Things Done® productivity
system, if something takes less than two
minutes, do it right away. In most cases,
processing a message takes a lot less time
than two minutes.
You can process messages quickly
because you know in advance what to do
with them. Depending on the message,
Mann identifies five options for dealing
with a new email message:
1. Delete or archive the message.
2. Delegate the message to someone else.
3. Respond to the message.
4. Defer acting on the message.
5. Do something about the message.
The key is not to let messages sit in your
inbox while you decide what to do.
For more detail on how to perform these
five options, study our Envato Tuts+
productivity tutorial, How to Use the
Getting Things Done (GTD) Productivity
System. The tutorial outlines a decision-
making process for emptying a physical
inbox, but the principles also apply to an
email inbox.
Batch Processing
Unless your job demands it, don’t leave
your email open and respond instantly to
each message as soon as it comes in. And
turn email notifications off on your phone
and on your desktop. Those constant
interruptions are seriously hurting your
productivity. They hinder you from focusing
on deep work.
Instead, schedule designated times during
the day when you will process email. Only
check and process email during those
times.
How often you schedule time to process
email depends on the volume of messages
you receive. If you receive a high volume of
messages, you may need to schedule a few
minutes each hour. For a lower volume of
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 11
messages, schedule your email checks for
just a few times a day at regular times.
If your contacts are accustomed to
receiving instant responses from you, then
you need to manage expectations. A good
way to manage expectations is to include a
phrase in your email signature. Something
like the following could work:
“I check email twice a day. If your message
requires a response, I will answer within 24
hours.”
By managing expectations, you let
contacts know that you are not ignoring
them.
Of course, if you work in a customer
support field, you’re not going to be able
to batch process your email. However,
you can still apply the principle of batch
processing email to your personal email
account. You can also adopt many of the
other Inbox Zero principles described in
this ebook.
Use Search Over Labeling
Nearly all email platforms give you the
ability to create folders (labels in Gmail).
While folders can be helpful, most of us
create far too many of them. Deciding
which folder(s) to put an email in can be
time-consuming.
Try to limit the number of email folders you
create and use. For a simple folder strategy,
refer to the ebook section on a possible
four folder scheme.
“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking.
“Without folders, how am I going to find the
emails I need?”
The answer is to use your email’s search
utility. Most email platforms have a tool
that allows you to search within messages.
Gmail, for example, has a sophistical email
search tool that allows you to set specific
search parameters. To take a closer look
at the Gmail search utility, read through the
Envato Tuts+ tutorial: How to Search Your
Emails in Gmail Like a Pro.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 12
Convert Your Emails to Tasks
Inbox Zero is an action-based system. As
you process emails, it’s important that you
act on them. Don’t use your email inbox as
a to-do list.
If an email requires you to perform a task
and you can’t get to the task right away,
add the task to a task tracking tool. Archive
or delete the email when you complete the
task.
There are many good task tracking tools
available. The best ones integrate with your
calendar and send reminders close to the
time when the task is due.
Some email platforms include task list
capabilities. For example, many people
don’t realize that Gmail includes a task
utility that integrates with Google Calendar.
You can open the task list from within
Gmail and even cause it to pop out onto
your desktop. To learn how to use the
Gmail task list tool, study the helpful
tutorial: How to Work With Tasks in Gmail
to Be More Productive.
Write Short Responses
One part of processing emails that often
takes a lot of time is crafting a response. In
many instances, you may be overthinking
your email replies.
Most emails can be dealt with quickly, in
just a few sentences. Yet, it’s not unusual
for the average person to agonize over
writing an email. Some people even spend
hours crafting a simple response.
While it’s normal to worry that your
response seems too curt, most people
won’t be upset by a short reply. Mention
that you are being concise in your email.
Something like the sample response below
could work:
“Thanks for bringing that to my attention. The
quick answer is, we won’t be implementing
that process any time soon due to the cost.
If you have further questions, feel free to call
me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.”
Notice that the response was only three
short sentences. Sending an answer like
the response above is quick and effective.
It probably took less than a minute to type
and send. The sender notes that they are
being concise by using the phrase “The
quick answer is.”
Use Response Templates
Do you find yourself answering the same
email questions repeatedly? If so, you’re
not the only one.
Instead of crafting a new response each
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 13
time you receive the same old questions,
create answer templates that you reuse
over and over. Answer templates can be a
huge timesaver, especially if you deal with
customers by email.
Gmail Labs has a feature called Canned
Responses that is perfect for this. Enable
the feature from the Settings menu. Learn
more about how to work with this feature in
the tutorial: How to Create Email Templates
in Gmail: With Canned Responses.
MS Outlook also has the Quick Parts
feature that allows you to store and reuse
email text blocks.
You don’t need an email platform with
special features to store common email
answers, though. All you need is a simple
word processor. Notepad could even work.
Here’s what to do:
1. Create an email answer folder on your
computer for common email answers.
2. Each time you find yourself answering
a common email question, copy and
paste the text into a word processor file.
3. Give the file a descriptive name and
save the file to your email answer folder.
4. To use an email response template,
open your email answer folder.
5. Find the appropriate response.
6. Copy the text from the file into your
email response.
7. Customize the response for your
recipient, if needed.
8. Send the email.
Or you can work with a dedicated app
like TextExpander. As you can see, the
process isn’t hard. Having prewritten email
responses for certain questions can save
you quite a bit of time.
Section Checklist
This checklist reviews the main points
made in this section. Use it to make sure
you’ve followed the recommended steps.
√√ Don’t spend more than two minutes
deciding what to do with an email.
√√ Set aside specific times of the day to
process your email.
√√ Don’t overuse email folders or labels.
Use the email search utility instead.
√√ Convert emails requiring actions into
tasks and use a task manager.
√√ Write short email responses whenever
possible.
√√ When a short response won’t do, use an
email response template for common
email questions.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 14
Section 4: Periodic Reviews
Once you’ve set up your Inbox Zero
system, you’re not really done.
Clutter tends to creep back into
your inbox if you’re not careful.
Plus, old bad habits tend to reassert
themselves.
The answer is to schedule a periodic review
of your system. How often you perform
your review depends on how heavily you
rely on email. Many email users will be fine
with a monthly review, but for some a short
weekly review is a better option.
3. Did I unsubscribe from a list I needed to
be included on? That’s easy enough to
fix. Simply resubscribe.
4. Am I still receiving emails I don’t need?
You may need to unsubscribe from even
more email lists.
5. Is my system for converting email to
tasks working? Do I need a better task
list tool? Is there one that will integrate
better with my email system?
6. Do I need to create more email response
templates?

During your review, look at what is working

in the system and what is not working. You
can also tackle your temporary email folder
at this time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself

during your review:

1. Have I been able to mostly eliminate

inbox clutter? If not, what is cluttering
my inbox and how can I deal with that
clutter?
2. Am I checking my email too often or not
often enough? You may find you need
to change how often you check your
messages.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 15

Some signs that your Inbox Zero system
isn’t working as well as it could be:
• You’re spending more time processing
email than you should.
• Your customers, colleagues, or boss are
upset with the way you handle email.
• You feel more stressed with your email
process than ever.
Don’t be discouraged if it takes several
rounds of adjustments to get your Inbox
Zero system to maximum efficiency.
The good thing about achieving Inbox Zero
is that it’s up to you how you do it. That
means it’s flexible. If some part of this
advice isn’t working for you, adjust it until it
does work. Create the email management
process that works best for you.
Section Checklist
This checklist reviews the main points
made in this section. Use it to make sure
you’ve followed the recommended steps.
√√ Review your temporary (TEMP/DMZ)
email folder and process it down.
√√ Make sure that your Inbox Zero system
is working.
√√ Make adjustments to your approach as
needed.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 16
Section 5. More Time-Saving Measures
Inbox Zero is just one system for
dealing with your email inbox. There
are many other email management
techniques as well, which you can
use to further improve your approach.
In this section I address three common
email strategies. I’ll look at:
1. Using a junk email address.
2. Using a vacation responder.
3. Using email plugins and apps.
Let’s review each of these concepts
separately.
Should You Use a Junk Email Address?
Many email users create what is called a
“junk” email address. They give this email
address out when they need to provide an
email address, but don’t intend to read any
emails they receive from the entity they are
providing the email address to.
The purpose of a “junk” address is to keep
email messages out of the email address
you use on a regular basis.
Some examples of when someone might
use a junk email address:
• When entering a contest
• When creating an account to buy
something online
• When subscribing to services
• For newsletter subscriptions
• When you provide your email address to
get something for free
You can probably think of your own
examples of when a junk email address
might prove useful. And having a “junk”
email address can help reduce inbox
clutter.
There are some definite disadvantages to
creating a “junk” email address, though.
Here are some things to be aware of:
• Clutter. Since most people who create
a “junk” email address rarely check
that email, the inbox fills up quickly. It
may only take a few weeks before you
have hundreds of messages in your
inbox. Not only can this be irritating if
you decide to read a message, but your
email storage can start to fill up quickly.
• Missing out. Inevitably, something
important will be sent to your junk
email address. It may be a product
recall. It may be a special offer. It may
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 17
 be something else. You won’t see it in
your “junk” email box because you’re
ignoring this email inbox.
• Security. Even though you may not wish
to receive promotional emails from the
online vendors you do business with,
they will probably also send account
information and receipts to the email
address you provide. That account
information and those receipts could
contain sensitive information.
While you may be tempted to create a
“junk” email address to keep promotional
email from your main email, it’s a better
idea to just use a single email address and
control who you provide it to.
If you must provide an email address to
open an account with an online vendor, opt
out of receiving promotional email. There
are usually checkboxes on the form you
fill out to create your account. Typically,
they are checked by default. That means
making a conscious decision to look for
those checkboxes and uncheck them.
Does a Vacation Responder
Help or Hurt?
It’s normal to want to unplug when you go
on vacation. When you do so, a vacation
responder message can help. Learn more
about vacation responder messages in this
helpful tutorial: How to Set Up a Gmail (Out
of Office) Vacation Responder Email.
Beware of overusing the vacation
responder message, though. Clients and
colleagues can find them to be annoying if
you use them too often. For short breaks,
it’s a good idea to check and process
your email remotely if you can. For longer
breaks, a vacation responder message
can make sense. Be sure your message
provides your email contacts with a way to
handle urgent situations.
If you do decide to use a vacation
responder message, remember that it may
take longer to process your email when you
return. After a break of a week or more, you
may find that your email box has hundreds
of new messages. Be sure to allow yourself
the extra time to process these extra
messages when you return to maintain
Inbox Zero.
Should I Use Email Apps and Plugins?
There are many email plugins and other
tools designed to expand the capabilities
of your email system.
For an overview of just a few that are
available for Gmail, check out our Email
Plugins article: 20+ Helpful Gmail Plugins
for Better Email Management.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 18
Some email tools can be quite helpful when
organizing your email inbox. For example,
you’ll probably need a task list application.
Other tools may not be practical for your
situation.
Before committing to an email app or
plugin, it’s important to ask yourself the
following questions:
1. What problem am I trying to solve with
this email tool?
2. How long will it take me to learn to use
this tool?
3. How costly is this tool?
4. How well does this tool integrate with
my email platform?
5. Do I already have another way of
handling this problem?
If acquiring the email tool is too costly or
learning to use it is too time-consuming,
skip it. Keep in mind that choosing an email
app is a somewhat personal decision. A
tool that works for you may not work for
someone else. For example, a salesperson
would likely benefit by using a CRM plugin.
But for a research assistant, a CRM plugin
might not be as helpful.
Section Checklist
This checklist reviews the main points
made in this section. Use it to make sure
you’ve followed the recommended steps.
√√ Re-evaluate the use of a junk email
account.
√√ Use a vacation responder message
when appropriate.
√√ Consider email plugins and tools
carefully.
The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 19
Conclusion

You need your email messages,

but you don’t need to spend most
of your day dealing with them. You
can process email more efficiently.
It may seem difficult, but once you
understand what to do, you can
reach Inbox Zero.

In this ebook, you’ve learned why Inbox

Zero is important. As we’ve discussed,
Inbox Zero was designed to help you
reduce the time you spend processing
email.

We’ve explored some strategies to help you
get your email inbox ready for Inbox Zero.
We’ve also discussed some basic Inbox
Zero strategies that you should adopt, as
well as some that you should not.
Inbox Zero is also a flexible strategy. Adapt
it to meet your own needs. Your Inbox Zero
methods may differ from someone else’s.
If you’d like to learn more about using email
effectively and about productivity, Envato
Tuts+ offers some tutorials on the subject:
• How to Master Proper Business Email
Format - and Avoid Professional Disaster
• How to Prioritize the Emails You
Respond To

If you adopt the email management • How to Do One Thing at a Time and Stop
principles in this ebook consistently, you’ll Multi-tasking
save time and get more done.

The Ultimate Guide to Inbox Zero Mastery 20

Find more courses,
tutorials, and eBooks at
tutsplus.com