Organization Hack: The Top 10 Reasons Why You Need An Inbox On Your Desk Now To Boost Your Efficiency

Inboxes, you've got one for your house, one for each of your emails, and even one at work, so why don't you have one for your home desk? These may seem overly formal and unnecessary, but you may be surprised by their unexpected benefits. There's a reason why these things have persisted for so many years. These simple items can definitely level up your efficiency allowing you to get even the most tedious tasks done faster.

How can you translate sitting an empty box on your desk to boosting performance in seemingly unrelated areas of your life?

1.   Mail

So, what do you do with the mail when you bring it inside?  You flip through it. Next, you look at their sender’s address.  Finally, you drop it on your kitchen table.  

I could be wrong.  Maybe you have a shelf beside your door and that's where it's left.

Let's take a trip back to in time to productivity 101: the two-minute rule.

You should be handling these things right away.  First, separate and toss out all the junk mail. If you are not able to deal with the bills or any letters that require a response, right away you should have a place to put these items where they will not be lost or forgotten about.

This place is not the bookshelf beside the door, this place is your inbox. Toss any mail or bills that you can't get to right away, into your inbox. This is the perfect place for them to sit and marinade until payday or, you can craft your response.

2.   Drop off

If you live with other people having an easy place for them to leave things with you is really helpful. Your inbox is particularly useful for this. Whether they're dropping off your mail, or your blow dryer, just tell them to leave it in the inbox on your desk. Now you will both know exactly where it is or where to look for it. 

This is also a great place for them to leave things for you when you are deep in focus.

3.   Clear clutter

Some items just don't have an evident home. You need to get to them sooner rather than later, so putting them away may be counterproductive. Being able to put these items in your inbox will ensure that you will get to them in a timely fashion and then they can be put away after that.

Your inbox is also a great place for quick notes to yourself to add things to your to-do list which you can then organize and add to your planner or assignments later.

Don't you hate when you're working on a project and suddenly you have an amazing idea for something that you can add to a different assignment? Quickly write it down toss it in your inbox and get back on task.

You won't forget that incredible idea because it's written down and your focus is not broken because you did not actually fully interrupt what you were working on.

Having an organized place to put these things in a pinch will also stop clutter from building on your desk or post-its piling up on your laptop and whiteboard.  Having a clear workspace will reduce stress and give you more room to operate.

4.   Not ready to-do

Sometimes you're just not ready to get to things on a given day, as with the bills we mentioned earlier, or maybe you're just not mentally ready to do a task.  Having an inbox that you empty daily, will allow you to prioritize which task to complete and when. 

Start by going through it and organizing the items in order of difficulty or, the order in which you feel like completing them.  Warm-up with some of the quick pieces that you can handle immediately then, work your way up to the ones you are dreading. 

Once you have gotten your productive juices flowing, and you are sufficiently inspired to get things done, you can tackle the chores that are accompanied by the dread.

5.   You know when you are done

Emptying your inbox will give you a great sense of accomplishment.  You can ride that high for the rest of the day or, use it to finish off your night.  When your inbox is empty, you know you are finished.  There is nothing left that you are putting off.  This is clearly defined, and unmistakable.

It will also keep you from allowing work to pile up.  Simply check and complete each possible article in your inbox each day.

6.   Increase efficiency

Tackling your inbox, one item at a time, will allow you to dedicate your full efforts to a single task.  Once it is completed, it can be put away and you can move on to the next. 

Multitasking divides you energy, slowing down both projects that you are working on.

Having a place to put new items or ideas, that you come across while focusing on a project, will also help you to avoid interruptions to that task.  This simple tweak can increase the efficiency of your work.  If you remove multitasking, you can devote your complete attention to the task at hand to get it done quicker.

7.   Keeps you on task

Sorting your inbox into like tasks, then completing them individually, will help you to avoid distractions.  Once you are in a particular rhythm finishing these responsibilities will be quicker. 

Having a clearly defined mission, with a start and an end, will also make it easier to stay on focus until its completion, at which time you can address any distractions.

8.   Minimizes interruptions

Interrupted by a person, phone call, or anything else demanding your attention?  Add it to your inbox. 

Adding little notes to your inbox about the nature of the interruption, even if it is just a random thought of your own, works great as well. It allows you to finish up the task you are working on, then give the interruption your full attention. 

It will take you much longer to leave the task, address the interruption, return to the task, figure out what you were doing, then return to being as productive as you were before the initial interruption. 

Just allow yourself to finish what you are doing, then deal with the intrusion.

9.   Quick and easy clean

At the end of a work or study session, clear off our desk.  This will give you a fresh start when you return.  If there are any tasks left unaddressed or, if you were not able to complete a job, add it back to your inbox, exactly as is.

This will not only allow you to keep your workspace clear and decluttered, but it will also allow you to more quickly pick up where you left off.

10. Never forget important tasks

Keeping important papers and bills in your inbox will ensure that they are never forgotten.  Sometimes it is easy to overlook something when you put it away.  Even more commonly, you will remember that they need to be addressed at the most inopportune times. 

You know what this looks like when you are laying in bed at night, or out with friends and you can not actually address the problem.

When you wake up the next morning you have a nagging feeling that you are forgetting something, but it takes hours, or days to remember what.  Adding these items, or notes about them, to your inbox will ensure that you are reminded of them while you are sitting down and ready to take care of things. 

These little notes can then be tackled directly or added to your planner and scheduled.

And there you have it, inboxes do not have to be the black hole of the work desk, nor do they have to be dreaded.  Inboxes can be incredibly useful in organizing your life and making sure that no balls are dropped at home, at school, or at work.  Adding an inbox to your home desk can increase the efficiency and productivity of how you address your responsibilities every day.