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You go on vacation, you focus in a project, and when you come back your inbox has exploded.
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At the beginning, it's easier to clean up messages (newsletters, outdated notifications, stuff you're in CC). Then it gets harder (emails you actually need to think and type, emails you can only answer).
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Inbox Zero is a good thing, but it's unrealistic. There's always a minimum amount of emails flowing in your inbox.
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While you catch up with old email, you still receive new emails. However, you can include both as part of the same workflow.
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To catch up, it helps having a deadline.
- We follow an exponential decay model to solve the problem. That means the speed you empty your inbox is proportional to the number of remaining emails in your inbox. Check out the Wikipedia chart to get a visual idea.
Who knew, the same rules governing Chemical reactions, Electrostatics, Fluid Dynamics, Geophysics, Heat transfer, Luminescence, Pharmacology and toxicology, Physical optics, Radioactivity, Thermoelectricity, or Vibrations may apply to inboxes as well.
We use this method regularly, but we're just a few data points. Feel free to contact us with your feedback (Twitter, Google+).