What are the psychological advantages to having inbox zero? 4 min read · Written by Mae R Davis on · Inbox Zero.
Inbox zero for me is heaven.
My inbox is my to-do list for the day. If I have a task/email there, that I’m not going to handle today, I snooze it to a day I’m planning to do it.
I admit, some tasks get constantly snoozed but I’m ok with a little procrastination now and then :)
Other than snoozing I make sure to auto-delay all my daily newsletters to the weekend. During my weekend morning coffee, I go over all the emails and catch up (I use email monster to delay my future newsletters).
I also study minimalism and my assumption is that the psychological advantages are quite the same:
- Individual autonomy – Feelings of independence and individuality. No emails in your inbox mean nothing to do. You’re more likely to feel confident and comfortable with yourself as an individual.
- Competence – Because people with clean inboxes have fewer distractions, they are better able to focus on tasks that demand their undivided attention. This way, they are more likely to attend to important things going on in their lives, whether they are interpersonal relationships or work assignments.
- Awareness – This goes hand in hand with competence. When you pay attention to your surroundings, you take notice of things that you maybe haven’t in the past. This allows you to be more attentive and observant, which has been linked to increased productivity in many areas of life, including work and relationships.
- Mental space – On average, people who hold minimalist practices are more self-disciplined. Rather than multitasking, they are able to dedicate their attention to one thing at a time, this means more effort goes into the task at hand without distractions of unnecessary emails or thoughts.
- Positive emotions – Overall, if you care about what happens in your inbox, you experience less stress and anxiety and more happiness and fulfillment knowing it’s empty.
Hoped I helped someone reach inbox zero ❤️