To-Do List Tips: Inbox ≠ To-Do

One of the most common answers I hear about why people have so many emails in their Inbox is that....

'Well, it is my to-do list... I can't file the emails until they are done'.

But if you have an email from a year ago still hanging out in your Inbox so you do it, how can you see what is urgent or not?

Now I am sure that it works for some, but you have to be really disciplined in how you use your "Inbox to-do list" and I am yet to find someone who can do it effectively. However organised you are there are a few big minuses to this way of working:

1. No Email Tasks
There are bound to be tasks that need doing such as regular filing, expenses and weekly reports, that you don't get an email about So how do you slot these tasks into your daily to-do?

2. You are at the mercy of the to-do list of others
Emails will pop into you "to-do" list all the time and if you are just letting them creep on to the list for today or even to the top then are you really in control of your task list?
Now I know there are jobs out there that you do need to react to the emails coming in as it is essentially the job to be done, but I am yet to find a job that is all sitting and reacting to emails
So how can you be productive if you are always being driven by the whim of others?

3. The most important slowly disappears
Your Inbox is not very helpful when it comes to prioritising tasks. It is made to sort things by date really well, but to sort a prioritised to-do list for you it is not very helpful, even if you try and categorise them. The worst part is the task that will soon become urgent because you haven't managed to get it done, will slowly disappear out of view as more "tasks" come into your Inbox
So how do you know what to do now or later?

What is the solution I hear you ask? Well, it is simple and has been there all the time but in the default form is about as useful as an Inbox to-do list....

TASKS!

Yes, that weird very unhelpful tool that nobody uses because it is far from obvious as to how to make it work for you, but if you can get into the habit of making it work like a dream you can get to the holy grail of a clear inbox, yes it is possible!

So, go on get in touch and we can work together to escape the Inbox to-do list and get you on the path to a decluttered digital life

Move away from the Inbox!