Take the Zero Inbox Challenge

How many emails do you have in your inbox? I'm sure it is quite a few.

Inspired by Merlin Mann's site 43 Folders, I took the challenge. Merlin's site is about personal productivity or life hacks as they are called. What is a life hack? If you think of a computer hack and apply it to your life, you get the general idea. Think Atkins Diet: You eat a certain type of food, avoid others and you lose weight...in effect hacking your body. It could be a lifestyle hack, such as doing the dishes while you are taking your bath to save time. I don't really recommend this, but if you do, just don't tell your guests about it.

We all get swamped with email, and it is so easy to let it pile up. I myself have over 10 email addresses with all the podcasts, blogs, corporate, and personal emails.

There are some great articles on 43 Folders to help you out: Click here

I myself use flags in Outlook to tag messages I need to access, but file them out of my inbox right away.

You should also check out the Getting Things Done plug-in for Outlook. It has some pretty cool features, such as a snooze option (you can make the email go away for a day or so and it will come back in your inbox).

What is in it for you? A feeling of Zen. You feel like you are on top of things. It really lets you concentrate on the important tasks.

It takes effort to do that initial cleaning and organizing, but it is worth it.