Question: Try checking email manually for a few days. Any email messages that come in while you’re working will be dealt with the next time you check for email. Most refreshingly, the goal posts don’t move on you. You’re not going to get into conversations with someone who’s processing their email at the same time you are (or worse- working with their email client open! Cue screams of terror.).
#Airmail zero Offline#
Working offline while you check your email is a simple, powerful hack for getting through your email quickly. Working offline creates boundaries around your email so it doesn’t take over your day. You will be tempted to repeat the process to get to zero again. It’s like the tree branch that gets jostled, dumping its burden on your cleared walks right before you go back inside. We used Exchange in my day job, and I was all about categorizing emails, sorting them into folders, and ruthlessly deleting unwanted messages each day. Try to ignore any new messages that sneak in at the end. Back when I had an office job and writing for Ars was a side gig, I was all about inbox zero. The more emails you process, the more time other people have to send you more emails to process. This opens the door to new messages coming in.
If you’re not careful, all your hard-earned productivity may come to naught.ĭepending on how you went offline, you might need to go online to send the messages you created while you were offline. Most apps will queue up the changes offline and catch up when you go back online. Even if you had to turn WiFi off, you can create tasks in OmniFocus, notes in Evernote, and appointments in Calendar. If all else fails, turn WiFi off and pull the network cable if you have one. With some apps, like AirMail, you’ll need to change the server settings for the account to refresh manually. Apple’s own Mail.app makes this the easiest: just select Mailbox > Take All Accounts Offline and you’re done. How you do this will depend on your mail client.
If your mail client checks automatically, you’re probably already up-to-date. You can pause the snowfall while you’re shoveling the walk.įirst, get all new messages. The good news is there’s a simple trick to help you process email without getting snowed in: Staying on top of it all can feel like shoveling the sidewalk while it’s still snowing. Even at home, it’s possible to get sucked into the trap of dealing with endless avocational emails. For most of us, reading and replying to emails is an integral part of our job, but it’s not our job.
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