I follow Inbox Zero, and for me, it is genuinely a way to build trust with the people I work with. Here’s how…
The idea is simple: every email gets acted on, delegated, scheduled, or cleared. Nothing sits there “for later.” My inbox is a queue. Of course, I am not talking about notification emails from Jenkins, GitHub, general groups, etc. :)
The first benefit I get is reliability. Nothing important gets buried. I have the confidence that if something reaches my inbox, I have seen it and made a decision - even if that decision is to ignore it.
There is also a trust angle with managers and teammates. When I respond consistently, without being nudged, people notice. It reduces follow-ups and signals that I am on top of things. More than anything, it removes the mental tax of uncertainty.
One practical thing: not all emails deserve equal attention. I route the noise out of the inbox, like CI/CD alerts, GitHub notifications, and automated reports.
To me, Inbox Zero is about staying on top of human communication (we can say that now, I guess). It is not about an OCD for a clean inbox - but about making sure nothing important slips through the cracks, and I always know what’s going on.