Buckets by Niels Linneberg

The Inbox Conundrum

Matt
2 min readMay 10, 2013

I have a problem with inboxes that has gone unchecked for too long now.

I’ve been a practitioner of Getting Things Done and Inbox Zero for many years and even though my environment, responsibilities and tools have all changed since then, my workflow remained mostly untouched. It is so mechanical and engrained in what I do, that it is rarely given a second thought.

Until recently.

It came to me slowly, over the course of a few days.

I knew I had more important things I could be doing and yet, there I was, skimming through a pile of Hacker News articles, making sure nothing was left unread.

I knew I had more important things I could be doing and yet, there I was, playing the newest level in Cut the Rope, making sure nothing was left unplayed.

I knew I had more important things I could be doing and yet, there I was, staring at my Reading List with a glimmer of hope that one day I may get to the bottom of it.

I have a problem with inboxes that has gone unchecked for too long now.

And it’s because inboxes are everywhere, I just didn’t see them. They weighed me down, creeping into my life without me ever realising and acknowledging their existence. It was time for a course-correction.

I processed my Reading List down to zero. I’m trying to find a way to schedule my feeds only to refresh once a day. I responded to every email I had starred in hope of someday replying to it, apologising for not being able to. I started using Mailbox to be able to easily postpone email for later and keep my inbox empty throughout the day. I pruned my to-do list.

It took a while, but I managed to clear every possible inbox I could find. I put failsafes in place to make sure they’re regularly cleared and set time aside every month to take stock of any inbox I may not yet know I have.

I still succumb to procrastination. I pick up my devices hoping to find a more pleasant inbox to clear, but I find them all empty. And then, with a subdued smile on my face, I think to myself—“Oh well, I guess it’s my to-do list again”—and get back to work.

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Matt
Matt

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