7 questions to clear your inbox faster

Hi Everyone,

Every email sitting in your inbox represents a decision still waiting to be made.

Reply. Delegate. Read later. Ignore. Book a call.

By Friday, hundreds of these small decisions may have passed through your head.

Today, we're sharing seven questions that help you deal with routine emails quickly and save your attention for the few that genuinely need it.

Start with the right goal

Merlin Mann introduced the term Inbox Zero in 2007. He later explained that the "zero" referred to the amount of attention your inbox takes up while you are doing something else.

The goal was never simply to keep the inbox empty.

A Harvard study tracked how 27 CEOs spent their time over 13 weeks, recording about 60,000 hours of activity.

The CEOs spent 24% of their working time on email, which often pulled them into issues that did not require their involvement.

The following seven questions help you decide which messages deserve your time.

1. Have I chosen to hear from this person?

Start with the sender. Messages from people you know, customers, colleagues, and sources you have deliberately subscribed to can stay in your main inbox.

Cold sales emails, vendor pitches, and messages from unknown senders can go into a separate folder. You can check that folder when you choose, rather than allowing every new sender to interrupt your day.

2. Does this require action or awareness?

Some emails ask you to do something, and others simply keep you informed. Separate the two.

Emails sent for your awareness can go into an FYI folder that you check once or twice a day. This keeps them away from the messages waiting for a reply, decision, or task.

3. Can I finish this in under two minutes?

When a reply or action will take less than two minutes, complete it immediately.

Leaving it in the inbox means you will have to read it again, remember the context, and make the same decision later.

4. Am I the right person to handle this?

This may be the most useful question for a founder or executive.

Does someone else already have the knowledge and authority to deal with the email? Forward it with a short note explaining what is needed, then remove it from your inbox.

5. Is this a decision request or an update?

Decision requests need your judgment, while updates usually need a quick read. Handle them separately.

Set aside one time block for decisions that require thought. Read routine updates together at another point in the day.

6. Does this support one of my three main priorities?

Compare the email with the three most important things you are working on.

Messages connected to those priorities move higher up the list. Everything else can wait, even when the wording makes it sound urgent.

7. Would a 15-minute call settle this faster?

Email works well for simple questions, clear updates, and written confirmation.

It becomes less useful when a conversation goes back and forth without producing a decision. So, after three rounds with no clear next step, move the conversation to a short call.

Try this over the next week

Start with the next 10 emails in your inbox and run them through the seven questions.

Your folders, rules, and delegation system will not be perfect on day one. That is fine. The goal for the first week is to notice the patterns.

Each time you notice something that could be handled better, make one small change, whether that means creating a folder, adding a rule, handing off a type of request, or giving someone else ownership of a recurring decision.

By next Friday, your inbox may still be busy, but fewer emails should require fresh thought from you.

Go deeper

👉 Microsoft: Breaking Down the Infinite Workday — if you want hard numbers to anchor the conversation about workload with your team, this report has them.

👉 Harvard Business Review: How CEOs Manage Time — a useful benchmark for your own week.

👉 First Round Review: A Tactical Guide to Working with EAs — the most practical guide we've read on setting up with an executive assistant.

👉 Merlin Mann: On Chasing the Right "Zero" — a short essay from the person who started the Inbox Zero conversation. Useful if you've ever told yourself you'd "get to Inbox Zero" and then felt worse for not getting there.

Coming up on Monday

On Monday, we'll share a simple way to pressure-test your next market move.

P.S. Hopefully, this was one of the emails worth opening today. Have a good weekend!