A couple people have asked me how to get started with the Inbox Zero process if you currently have an overflowing Inbox. I had around 1,500 items in my Inbox when I started. Some people declare e-mail bankruptcy and just delete everything. Then they send e-mail to all their contacts saying that they have deleted everything and, if anything was important, please send it again. I don’t recommend this, but it is one alternative.
What I did was to make a new folder called “Inbox to Process” and move everything from my Inbox to the Inbox to Process folder. You immediately have reached the Inbox Zero state. Now start applying the Inbox Zero process to all new mail that you receive, and spend some time each day going through the stuff that you moved to the Inbox to Process folder. Set a goal of processing some number of items each time you work on it. Then handle it just like the Inbox Zero process. It may take a while to clean it up, but you are practicing the Inbox Zero process so you will feel motivated to clear out all the old stuff, too.
Bill V.
