The importance of email and Asana Inbox zero

This is bragging time: this image shows my email Inbox. This is not photoshopped: several times a week I reach Inbox Zero.

Why is it important:

  • It just feels so good to know you are “done” with your email Inbox

  • I try to put “answering to clients” at the top of my priority list, and that’s a nice way of knowing I did respect that engagement

How do I reach Inbox Zero:

  • I don’t triage my emails into a complex folder system. When dealt with, it is archived. That’s it.
  • If an email requires more than 5 minutes of my attention, it is usually turned into a task in Asana. I did not “move the problem elsewhere”, I just worked towards having a single todo list.
  • I try to unsubscribe from anything generating emails I don’t need.

Any other tips & tricks out there?

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There’s no image! :cry:

Definitely! I used to have a complex folder filing system but now just save what I choose to save to one folder. Modern email clients have a good enough Search mechanism that it’s not hard to find what I want by searching for it.

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I agree that haven zero emails in the inbox is great for the Sleep-at-night-factor. Converting emails to task cleans up the email inbox and gives me clarity on the task. and gives me control of my task list. Someone once said that if you use email as a task list you’re giving someone else that does not value your time (as much as you do) the power to prioritize your tasks

Very nice!

Thanks, added it back!

Amazing! I also aim for Inbox Zero. I do keep emails in folders for open projects but its so nice to just a clear screen! Converting to Asana tasks is a smart idea! I think I’ll be implementing that.

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Nice, @Bastien_Siebman - getting to Inbox 0 in email is just as important as Inbox 0 in Asana.

In Gmail, a couple of other tips:

  • Use snooze for messages which you can come back to in the future or those you want to follow up on

  • turn on auto-advance and use the keyboard shortcuts to reply+archive, archive, or snooze messages to rapidly move through the inbox

  • if you don’t want to unsubscribe from a notification but don’t want it to clog the inbox, set up a filter to auto bounce these messages into a label and out of the inbox

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@Bastien_Siebman Well done! I love the vantage point of Inbox Zero as a way of respecting your clients’ engagement :grinning:

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Hi, this is great. How do you create a create a task from your webmail (not gmail). Is there a specific email address associated with your asana account - I can’t find one?
TIA x

I do practically the exact same thing Bastien and get to inbox zero several times a week as well! It’s glorious!

There is one in My Tasks > Add Tasks via email. But I never do this, this only brings noise to Asana. I manually create a clean and organised task.

Welcome, @redearthrural,

In addition to @Bastien_Siebman’s mention of an email address for your My Tasks, every project has a unique email address as well:

Thanks,

Larry

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