A year (and a bit) with Inbox Zero

In January 2014 I blogged about Inbox Zero and I have now been following that practice for a little over a year; so it's time to give my appraisal. After following the techniques outlined in the various web posts on Inbox Zero and spending a little time on the remaining stubborn emails that really had to be actioned I achieved the nirvana of an empty Gmail inbox (perviously it held approx. 20,000 mails of which approx. 2,000 were unread).
    I now check my email at set times of the day: first thing in the morning, before lunch, mid afternoon and early evening. I apply the delete, delegate, respond, defer, and do mantra to each email and have maintained inbox zero successfully for just over a year now. I'm never going back, I feel so much more relaxed and in command of my email. I use email not the other way round. For example if I receive an email from a work colleague on a Saturday I defer it until the following Monday (unless of course it really is urgent) - I'm not at work so I shouldn't be dealing with work email at the weekend. I've turned off the email notification and app badges on my iPhone and iPad. I use Unroll Me to manage email subscriptions and mailing lists, Mailbox (an excellent app) on my iOS devices, and a snooze script within Gmail. I strongly recommend you take the plunge and try Inbox Zero, you wont regret it.