If an inbox is clogged with hundreds or thousands of emails, how is it possible to find what you need when you need it? Is it possible that you could miss an important email? Would you rather use up the time you have fishing out a silly email or doing the work that matters?

A clogged inbox ripples: it doesn’t just slow down one person, but also everyone else that works with him.

I have 5 professional email accounts. In each Inbox, I have 0 emails. That’s right: 0.

There’s no fancy product or app to keep my inboxes clean. Just one simple rule has served me well over the past decade: after I respond to a message, I do 1 of 3 things: FILE, FLAG, or DELETE.

FILE: Emails that are given a home (correct folder) can be instantly retrieved in the future.

FLAG: Some emails (only some) deserve to stay in my Inbox for just a few more days until I get around to them.

DELETE: If I haven’t found a reason to file or flag an email, I delete it.

Inboxes are one source of frustration that we can all CHOOSE to control.