Meet Parker the Paralegal.

Every morning, Parker opens an inbox packed with hundreds of emails. Important messages are buried, newsletters accumulate, and notifications never seem to stop.

Tired of letting the inbox control the day, Parker sets a bold goal: go from hundreds of emails to Inbox Zero in just 60 days.

Ready to join Parker on the journey to Inbox Zero?

The 60-Day System

Over the next 60 days, LPB Strategic Consulting will guide participants through a practical system built on:

• Four daily 15-minute reviews,

• Rapid email decision-making

• Strategic inbox automation

The result will achieve and sustain Inbox Zero.

Two Key Objectives for Success

Everything in this challenge flows from two foundational commitments.

Organize your email system by

• Using folders

• Conversation views

• Rules

• Filters, and

• Automation.

This structural change ensures that your inbox is easier to identify and process, so the right messages reach you at the right time.

Set the Inbox Up for Success

Commit to spending no more than one hour a day reviewing email. You can break that time up into four 15 minutes in the morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. During each review, every email receives a 15-second decision: Delete it, Delegate (Forward) it, or Do it. Email review becomes a scheduled activity rather than a constant interruption during your day.

Build a New Email Habit

02

01

This week is about creating the foundation for a cleaner inbox and a better email routine. The goal is not to fix everything in one day. The goal is to build a repeatable system.

Build the Habit. Reduce the Noise. Take Back Control.

Week One: Start the 60-Day Inbox Reset Challenge

This Week, Focus On

1. Scheduling email review time

2. Reducing obvious clutter

3. Setting up basic organization tools

Day 1

Schedule Your Email Review Times

Start by placing email review appointments on your calendar. The key is to stop reviewing email all day long and begin treating email as a scheduled task.

The recommended routine (4 X 15-minutes blocks) is:

• 15 minutes in the morning

• 15 minutes at noon

• 15 minutes in the afternoon

• 15 minutes in the evening

If four check-ins do not fit your schedule, another option is to schedule three 20-minute email review appointments during the day. Either way, this creates one hour of total daily email review.

During each review session, use the 15-second decision rule should I:

• Delete it

• Delegate (Forward) it; or

• Do it.

If an email takes less than two minutes to handle, complete it. If it takes longer, schedule time on your calendar to address it later.

If you use your scheduled one hour a day calendared email review time and the 15-second decision rule, then you can review 120 to 240 emails a day!

Action Step:

Add your daily email review blocks to your calendar for the next 60 days.

DAY 2

Turn Off Email Notifications

Email notifications create interruptions and make it harder to focus on meaningful work. Turn off pop-ups, sounds, banners, and unnecessary mobile alerts.

This helps train your mind to review emails during scheduled times instead of reacting to every new email as it arrives.

Action Step:

Turn off email notifications on your computer and phone.

DAY 3

Delete the Easy Clutter

Begin with the emails that require no thought. Do not overthink these emails. If they are no longer useful, delete them.

Look for:

• Expired promotions

• Old newsletters or articles

• Old forum digests

• Old social media notifications

• Outdated announcements and event invitations

• Calendar invitations that have been responded to

• Obvious junk messages

Action Step:

Delete at least 10-25 clutter emails from your inbox. (If you have over 500 emails in your inbox, delete 50 clutter emails.)

Action Step:

On all new emails, implement your one-hour a day scheduled email review and use the 15-second decision rule during your review.

Action Step:

On all new emails, conduct your one-hour a day scheduled email review and use the 15-second decision rule during your review.

DAY 4

Create Your Core Folders

Create a simple folder structure that will organize your emails during your 15-second decisions. Avoid creating too many folders at the beginning.

During your 15-second decisions, except for the decision to delete it, you will move the email from the inbox to one of these five core folders:

• Do It — emails that require more than two minutes to complete

• Delegated It — emails delegated or awaiting a response

• Future Event — scheduled events, deliveries, or other future activity

• Interesting Article — non-urgent articles or newsletters

• Decide Later — emails that you will decide later if you will attend or get involved

For more assistance on the five core folders, print the 'How to Use Your Core Inbox Folders' for a quick daily guide to moving emails.

Action Step:

Action Step:

Create these core folders. Delete at least 10-25 clutter emails from your inbox. (If you have over 500 emails in your inbox, delete 50 clutter emails.)

On all new emails, conduct your one-hour a day scheduled email review and use the 15-second decision rule.

Use Conversation or Thread View for Your Email Inbox

DAY 5

'Conversation view' or 'thread view' groups related emails together in your inbox. The view helps you read an entire email discussion at once instead of separating every email in the chain as if the emails are unrelated.

This feature is especially helpful when multiple people reply to the same email chain. You will see the full context without scrolling through scattered messages.

Action Step:

Action Step:

Turn on conversation or thread view. Delete at least three to ten clutter email conversations. (If you have over 500 emails in your inbox, delete 25 clutter emails.)

For all new emails, conduct your one-hour a day scheduled email review. Use the 15-second decision rule and move the email to one of your five core folders (or subfolders).

DAY 6

Unsubscribe to Unwanted Emails

Unsubscribing is one of the fastest ways to reduce future clutter.

Look for recurring emails you no longer read, including:

• Marketing emails

• Store promotions

• Newsletters

• Event announcements

• Social media updates

Action Step:

Unsubscribe to five to ten unwanted senders. (If you have over 500 emails in your inbox, unsubscribe to 20 unwanted senders.)

Action Step:

For all new emails, conduct your one-hour a day scheduled email review. Use the 15-second decision rule and move the email to one of your five core folders (or subfolders).

DAY 7

Review Your First Week

Today is a progress check day.

Ask yourself:

1. Did I obey my scheduled email review times?

2. Did I stay close to one hour of total email review per day?

3. Did I avoid reviewing emails outside of the scheduled review times?

4. Which emails were the easiest to delete?

5. Which senders create the most clutter?

Week One is about creating momentum. Do not worry if your inbox is not clean yet. You will get there if you are performing the daily Action Steps and you are committed to making the change during this 60-day Challenge.

Action Step:

For all new emails, conduct your one-hour a day scheduled email review. Use the 15-second decision rule and move the email to one of your five core folders (or subfolders).

Week One Goals

By the end of Week One, you should have:

• Scheduled daily email review times

• Turned off unnecessary notifications

• Deleted some of your obvious clutter

• Created five core folders and subfolders

• Turned on conversation or thread view

• Unsubscribed to some of your unwanted emails

• Begun the habit of reviewing emails with intention

The inbox will not change overnight, but your relationship with emails can begin to change this week.

Congratulations on completing Week One of this 60-day Challenge!

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