The Solution: Remove the Load

Remember the statement from the beginning of this section: If overload is the problem, then removing the load is the solution. This has little bearing on e-mail volume. For the most part, users cannot control how much e-mail other people, companies, or spammers send them, so there is no way to remove that load. However, the solution is abundantly possible in terms of message count. Once an e-mail lands in the inbox, the user has absolute control over how long it stays, and where it goes when it leaves. This brings us to one simple rule for solving the problem of e-mail management.

The trick to managing your email is:  Keep the inbox empty!

In other words, clear out incoming e-mails before they pile up too high in the inbox. Delete most of them. File messages in mail folders that you may need at a later time in mail folders. Archive messages in these folders to save space. But most importantly, get them all out of the inbox before they really begin to pile up. Keep the inbox empty. It may be a simple solution, but it’s not easy.

Achieving simplicity — or emptiness, in this case — takes time, practice, and continual improvement. It may be difficult but better than the alternative: drowning in e-mails, causing the user to become less and less effective. An empty inbox will allow users to take full advantage of the benefits of e-mail.