Processes any email backlog to zero using the 4Ds - Delete, Delegate, Defer, Do - with a mass-archive strategy for the obvious, a touch-each-email-once discipline, and a keep-it-clear system of batched processing windows, ruthless unsubscribing, filters, and a minimal folder setup. Use when someone says "I have 5,000 unread emails", "help me get to inbox zero", "email is eating my whole day", or treats their inbox as a to-do list. Do NOT use for drafting the reply emails themselves or prioritization rules for an ongoing support queue - use email-triage instead - or for protecting focus time around the email windows - use deep-work-planner instead.
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name: Inbox Zero
description: Processes any email backlog to zero using the 4Ds - Delete, Delegate, Defer, Do - with a mass-archive strategy for the obvious, a touch-each-email-once discipline, and a keep-it-clear system of batched processing windows, ruthless unsubscribing, filters, and a minimal folder setup. Use when someone says "I have 5,000 unread emails", "help me get to inbox zero", "email is eating my whole day", or treats their inbox as a to-do list. Do NOT use for drafting the reply emails themselves or prioritization rules for an ongoing support queue - use email-triage instead - or for protecting focus time around the email windows - use deep-work-planner instead.
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# Inbox Zero
Inbox Zero isn't an empty inbox for its own sake - it's a clear mind. The inbox is a
processing queue, not a storage system or a to-do list. This skill clears it and keeps
it clear.
## The core idea
Your inbox should hold only **unprocessed** messages. Once you've looked at an email,
it should not stay in the inbox - it gets a decision. Touch each email once.
## The 4Ds
For every email, make one of four decisions immediately:
- **Delete** (or Archive) - no action needed, no future reference. Most email is this.
Be ruthless; you can always search archive later.
- **Delegate** - someone else should own it. Forward with clear context and a deadline,
then archive it from your inbox (track the handoff elsewhere if needed).
- **Defer** - needs action but not now, or takes > 2 minutes. Move it to your task system… load the full skill through Skill Me