Inbox Zero sounds, frankly, a little terrifying at first—like someone suggesting you should alphabetise your spice rack for inner peace. But then you try it, and suddenly life is… well, slightly less chaotic. Especially if you’re using Fastmail, which somehow makes managing your emails feel like a lightly enjoyable hobby rather than a full-time siege.
The principle is simple: the inbox is not a filing cabinet, it is a holding pen for attention. Every unread email is a tiny passive-aggressive nudge reminding you that somewhere, someone expects something from you. Inbox Zero isn’t about obsessively clearing messages—it’s about refusing to let them occupy mental real estate. The moment your inbox reads “0,” you experience a rare clarity, like walking into a room where nobody has left socks on the floor.
Here’s where it gets even better: RSS feeds via email. Yes, really. Those newsletters, blogs, and updates you used to scroll through endlessly can be piped straight into Fastmail, labelled, and read when convenient. It’s the perfect Inbox Zero-friendly hack: you’re not constantly distracted by a feed; instead, your inbox becomes a neatly curated river of content, arriving on your terms. Articles you want to read are stored, irrelevant ones are deleted, and nothing gets in the way of actual productivity. It’s like having a personal librarian who whispers “only the good stuff, love” while shoving the rest back on the shelf.
With Fastmail’s filters and folders, you can automagically process RSS updates just like regular email. A quick glance, a decision made, and the content is either enjoyed, deferred, or discarded—no mental clutter, no guilt. Suddenly, Inbox Zero isn’t a chore; it’s a sanctuary. A place where you can focus on what matters, enjoy curated reading, and occasionally marvel at the audacity of the internet delivering precisely what you want—without screaming for attention.
So yes, Inbox Zero is achievable. Yes, Fastmail makes it painless. And yes, even RSS feeds can be corralled into this tidy digital utopia. The result is a refreshing productivity boost: clarity, calm, and a small but satisfying sense that, for once, the internet is behaving itself.
PS: If you're curious about using your email as an RSS reader, check out FeedPigeon for delivering feeds by email.