As you might be able to tell I’m quite taken with the Google suite of online apps. Gradually since starting to use Gmail I’ve noticed that I’m using my inbox more like a to-do list than just a repository for my incoming email. Combined with a couple of other free online apps you can turn it into a useful personal organiser.

In order to make this work though, you need to be disciplined in keeping your inbox empty… (I was put onto this way of thinking by way of two posts, the first from ZenHabits, and the second from Tim Ferris who writes a lot of sense…) Inboxes full of mail make me shudder, you know who you are…

In addition to acting on incoming mail promptly, I use the Google calendar to mail me about things I really need to do (as well as sending me texts to let me know and appointment is imminent).

The final weapon in the arsenal is Hasslebot. This is great for irregular reminders. If you want to be reminded to call someone every few weeks, but you don’t want it to appear too regimented you can get Hasslebot to mail you roughly every 14 days. And the key word there is roughly. Because of that you’ll seem spontaneous, just don’t let them know your secret…

The neat thing about getting these reminders thru your inbox is once you get into the mind set of having an empty inbox it provides a real incentive to act on the reminders you receive in order to have the warm fuzzy feeling you get from knowing where your towel is…

Give it a go for a week, see if it works for you and let me know how you get on.