Ever notice how much you get done on a plane or early in the morning before your team logs on? There's a reason for that.

This week's productivity micro challenge is to free yourself from the most common invisible drain on your ability to focus and get things done.

You already know that task switching kills productivity. But there’s an invisible form of task switching… something we couldn’t see even if we watched your actions on video.

In less than 4 minutes, I'll show you how to recognize and eliminate this insidious distractor so you can achieve more with each hour of focused effort.

“Inbox Zero” is a concept that effectively triages your inbox so you can achieve better productivity.

No more “675 unread emails” for you! Here’s how it works:

Get my list of email tools to improve productivity here.

What is Inbox Zero?

“Inbox Zero” is a term that was coined by productivity evangelist, Merlin Mann, who gave a popular Google Tech Talk on the subject in 2007. Since then, there have been several different methodologies proposed for achieving Inbox Zero, so you can choose the method you prefer.

What is Inbox Zero? It’s a system for organizing and filing email messages quickly. You label and triage emails so that you reach and maintain the coveted status of an empty inbox every day.

It’s important to note here that Mann’s premise isn’t to fanatically keep your inbox at zero, but the term refers to the amount of time an employee’s brain is in their inbox. 

From Mann’s original...