The power of an empty inbox in recruiting

… or any other industry

‘Dealing with an email is easier with a streamlined inbox.’

Every Wednesday at ACELR8 we host a 30 min Q&A or training session that helps us perfect our working style and recruiting techniques. When Eleonora Shepel offered to lead a workshop on a clean inbox and prioritisation techniques for better hiring I was ready to take that step and finally declutter my inbox.

Biggest achievement:

This is the first time in my life that my inbox is empty, my emails are organized, in folders and are colour-coded.

Why I invested my time and energy in a better inbox infrastructure?

Because I am a curious and conscious individual. I wanted to see how an empty inbox feels. I had no idea how it might free my mind and would create a fair amount of dopamine 🤭 What is more, I nourished the environment by deleting about 5 GB of my carbon footprints.

Here’s some more information about the environmental impact of our inbox.

How did organising help?

• It gives me peace, reduces anxiety and creates a feeling of accomplishment. Before checking my email felt like a task, now it’s something I look forward to doing.
• It helps me with prioritisation and decision making: I either respond, delete, colour code and/or archive each email. It helps with better time and project management 😉
• It discourages procrastination — if I want to get the email out of my inbox, I need to act on it.

How did I start?

1. Freeing up my inbox from unproductive emails and starred the ones that are important for me to be successful at my work — these decisions were quick and easy.
2. Creating folders to save the important emails according to a theme — colour coding is a great way to visualise change and make the process pleasant
3. Mass unsubscription to keep the inbox naturally clean

When there were times when it was difficult to make a decision, I asked myself :

Question 1 — What does this email mean to me, and why do I care?

Question 2 — Will I need this email in the future?

Possible answers :

> Yes - keep it (colour code and/or categorize it in a folder)
 
> No - trashed :D 
> Maybe - I looked for the similar patterns (emails) and if they were +11 I moved it into a folder with a theme

Some examples of the names and purpose of the folders:

• ‘Make a decision’ — For emails that require me to complete a task or follow up.
• ‘Please respond’ — For emails that I expect important responses to within the next 24 hours.
• ‘Conversations’ — For chats that I would like to keep.
• ‘Feedback’ — Received and Given.
• ‘Templates from ACELR8’ — Shared by the team.
• ‘My Creation’ — Notes prepared by me.

For my private emails :

• ‘Events, Memberships and Appointments’
• ‘Important Documents’
• ‘Read & learn OR delete’

The motto of my life is, ‘Either accept it or change it’

I accepted the fact: I won’t be able to read and take action on every single email I receive.

Why? Because my brain likes to procrastinate. That’s why I created another folder called ‘Be grateful and breathe’ — this is where I store emails that might be useful in the future. For this folder, I created a strict rule — delete an email if unlabeled within 5 business days.

P.S. Before nailing the “zero-inbox” we have to be honest about our priorities and set realistic time expectations. We all have an instinct about the emails that deserve a response and those that should be deleted.

Let’s get structured and minimize the carbon footprint in the recruiting industry!🙏🏽

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.