Mental Inbox Zero
Plus, the top 5 most interesting pieces of content I consumed this week | What I Learned • Season 5, Episode 3
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gm, y’all!
Thanks for giving me some of your precious attention today. I hope these recent meanderings have been helpful and fun to read.
Mental Inbox Zero
I first heard Naval talk about the concept of getting to mental “inbox zero” a few years ago. And it has stuck with me since then.
Email “inbox zero,” is simply the concept of getting to zero emails in your inbox everyday - to stay on top of work/life tasks, on a daily basis.
So, the concept of getting to a mental “inbox zero” is a derivitive of that.
The problem
I, like many, have lots of thoughts swirling around in my head at all times of the day (or night). These are wide-ranging thoughts — shallow things like to-do lists (eg: I need to remember to take out the trash) to deeper things (eg: why do I have such deep-seated fears around a big decision in my life).
These chaotic thoughts distract me from the current task at hand (eg: work) or being present (eg: hanging with my wife and kid).
These unorganized thoughts can also cause stress - this feeling of having “unread messages” hovering in the back of my mind causes a constant low-level of anxiety.
In the same way that my email inbox has tasks that I know I should get done today. Until I have completed them all (paid that bill, given an answer to that vendor, marked the nonsense as spam, etc.) it’s hard for me to not be sub-consciously distracted by my email inbox.
The solution
With my email inbox, the solution is very simple.
I need to reply/action all of the emails in my inbox by the end of each day (get to “inbox zero”). Voila, I feel accomplished! (Because, I have accomplished). Even if some of the emails are “marked read,” at least I have made the conscious decision to ignore them, as opposed to kicking the can down the road to deal with that email tomorrow.
With my mental inbox, the solution is not as straightforward. I have been working on how to accomplish mental inbox zero. And starting to put together a guide on how to best do it.
My working list
Here is my current working list of tools I’m using to consistently get to mental inbox zero:
Alone time. For me, I need a lot of time by myself to recharge. Usually, an hour a day and a few hours on the weekend. Without my wife and kid, even.
Running / Walking. Running has been a very helpful tool, as I’ve gotten back into a rhythm of running recently. And long walks. I’ve found that I need at least 30 minutes before the clutter starts melting away, and I begin to get into a state of clear thinking.
Minimizing social media. Getting off social media also helps to not introduce unnecessary noise. I recently had to delete X from my phone (for like the 19th time) because my lizard brain just can’t compete with the powerful algorithms that give me those sweet, sweet hits of dopamine.
Meditation. I have gone through seasons of meditating, and am currently fighting to get back into a season of meditation. I’m planning to do a 60-day, 60-minute morning meditation challenge (tricky with a small kid, let’s see how it goes). Painting is another way I’ve been able to consistently sit with my thoughts, observe them, and then let them pass.
Writing. Processing my thoughts (like this post) helps me get swirling ideas out of my head and onto paper. It helps me “move on” from a particular thought or idea that I’ve been chewing on - sometimes for a few hours on-and-off, and sometimes for months or even years, sporadically. I am glad to be Writing again.
If I go a couple of weeks without doing these five things consistently, I can feel the mental clutter piling up.
Some of that “clutter” is worth spending time with and taking action against. And other bits are “spam” that I just need to take the time to acknowledge and consciously “mark as spam” and move on from it.
But I have to take the time to process through my mental inbox.
And that “processing through” means I have to do these five things, consistently.
Thinking about the concept of “mental inbox zero” has been a very helpful framework for me to become more clear with my thinking and mindful throughout each precious day I have here on earth.
The top 5 most interesting pieces of content I consumed this week:
The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessen. This one went viral in Silicon Valley circles / “tech Twitter,” this week. I tend to believe technology has and will solve a lot of our problems and create an increasingly better/healthier/happier life, so I related to this piece on a very deep level.
Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) went on Bro Jogan and it was pretty mind-boggling to hear him talk about the future of AI. Here’s a Youtube clip from it, on AI changing society. And here is the full episode on Spotify.
Most people think “The Metaverse” was a flop. I think it’s still going to happen. It’s the inevitable future (imho). We may not have a completely parallel digital life, but I’d love to upgrade my “2D” Zoom/Facetime conversations to a more immersive “3D” experience — I’m not sure who wouldn’t want that. Watch the first 90 seconds of this interview and tell me this isn’t the future: Mark Zuckerberg: First Interview in the Metaverse | Lex Fridman Podcast
Focus: The Last Superpower? Your mission is to find your life's work and to not get distracted once you do. by Frederik Gieschen
Make More Art: The Health Benefits of Creativity, by James Clear (writer of Atomic Habits)
Just another tech bro trying to “hack” mindfulness,
B.
I can definitely relate to this. Unread messages before bed are the worst.