How to avoid getting buried by your email inbox using queuing theory — and a simple but highly effective habit!

In a recent newsletter, colleague Mike Vizdos (perhaps tongue-in-cheek, perhaps not) shared a #InBoxZero hack for those whose inbox has grown beyond manageable size. Basically, it's 1) Go to your inbox, 2) Select All, 3) Hit Delete — pretty radical, but effective (Caution: NOT to be done without DUE consideration!).

In reality, it's hard to reach InBoxZero. The reason is that email inboxes present a basic queueing theory problem. We all get too much email. As a result it tends to pile up — the queue grows — and by year's end most of us might seriously consider Mike's suggestion.

This is a problem that for most of us needs solving.

We could look at this queueing problem using calculations such as the Little's Law or takt time. These calculations can be useful; however, the most practical approach to solving the too much email problem is to keep the queue short. “Yes, but” I hear you saying. Bear with me. I’ll be sharing a technique to get there below. Ideally we would have kept the queue short in the first place, but we're human after all and most of us have likely begun the year with a rather lengthy queue.

Luckily, the technique for keeping the queue short on a regular basis also applies to trimming an out-of-control queue. The longer queue just takes... longer, but you'll be glad you took the time. And once you've got the queue short, the trick is to keep it short.

Think of the content of your inbox as your work in progress. In lean talk, this would be your WIP. These emails are like customers demanding your attention. Your goal is to process the customer demand at a rate that meets the arrival rate. Ultimately the exit rate of the emails from your queue has to equal the arrival rate or you're sunk.

To achieve this balance, the most useful technique is to prioritize the queue. A simple prioritization will enable you to spend more time on the important emails and little or no time on those of little or no importance.

First, you might reduce the customer demand (that is, the unwanted demand) by unsubscribing from dubious sources or aggressively applying a junk filter. These steps can significantly reduce time spent on unwanted emails. Once you've unsubscribed and your junk mail filter is doing its job, what remains to be processed is up to you.

At this point, let's go back to basics by invoking Habit 3, "Put First Things First", from Stephen Covey's bestselling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In his book, Covey presents a four quadrant matrix representing four different ways we might spend our time:

Quadrant I represents time spent in important and urgent activities. In your email queue these are the emails that are both important and require a timely response. Either act on these emails immediately or bump them to the top of the queue.

Quadrant II represents time spent in important and not urgent activities. In your email queue these are the emails that are important, but do not require immediate action. Put these aside for now, but don't lose track of them. Get them out of the inbox and into a "later" folder or other temporary holding place. Important but not urgent items may in time become urgent, so make sure to review these items on a regular basis and take action when appropriate. A helpful technique here is to tag time critical emails with a "due by" date.

Quadrant III represents time spent in unimportant and urgent activities. In your email queue these are the emails that scream out for your attention — having subject lines containing words such as "Action required", "Invitation", "Activity alert on your account" and so forth — but on further investigation are of no interest. These emails often warrant a quick look to see if they are important after all, but if you determine that they are not, immediately move them to your trash or junk folder as appropriate. If they are important, move them to the top of the queue.

Quadrant IV represents time spent in unimportant and not urgent activities. In your email queue these are the emails that are pure time wasters, the ones that have the potential to suck you in and give no value in return. You know the ones I mean. You might delude yourself that they are valuable — a useful distraction, a break, a chance to recharge your batteries — but deep down you know them for what they are: a wolf in sheep's clothing, a seemingly pleasant activity that leaves you feeling disappointed, perhaps a bit guilty and hollow. Instead of recharging the batteries, these emails drain you of energy and steal your most precious commodity — time. Get rid of them. They are not worthy of your attention. They belong in the trash or better yet in your junk folder.

If you have followed these prioritization steps by putting first things first, you have likely significantly reduced the number of items in your inbox to a more manageable queue and more importantly identified and maybe even already acted on the emails that legitimately needed your immediate attention. What remains can be reprioritized and acted on as appropriate.

If you've read this far (let me first say, thanks for sticking with me!), you're probably wondering what your email inbox has to do with the subjects I most often write about — lean and agile. Well, lean and agile principles and practices help us optimize value by working on the most important stuff and getting it done. Your email inbox represents a microcosm of the queues that are all around you, demanding your limited time.

What are the other queues in your life? What is the "customer demand" vying for your attention? Are your queues growing beyond manageable size? Is the important and urgent stuff getting buried in piles of other unimportant or not urgent detritus? If so, get those queues under control.

Discard the time wasters. Defer until later those things that are important and not urgent, and make sure to act on each deferred item at the appropriate time. Above all, act now on the important and urgent items before they grow stale and lose their value.

At this year's end, if you have stuck with the "Put First Things First" habit through the year, take a moment to reflect on what you've accomplished. Keep your queues short and see the difference it makes!