# The Anti-Inbox By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-02-05 "Inbox Zero" is a concept where the goal is to have zero emails in your inbox at the end of the day. The advantages to this are discussed in [[The Inbox]]. However, today many people are battling for your attention. Constant advertisements likely flood your inbox to get you to sign up for a new service or help a Nigerian Prince. Spending time reviewing each of these items is exhausting, and it gives these organizations what they want: your attention. Whether you know it or not, most of these companies can actively track whether you open that email, so even reviewing to put it in the trash verifies your existence. Once they know you are real and open emails, get ready for even more emails. All of the major email services have some spam or junk filters, but they aren't perfect. Alternative email services like [Hey](https://www.hey.com) attempt to do a better job of managing these types of problems, but you still must review emails to let them enter your inbox. However, at least Hey allows you to permit what floods your inbox. Depending on how obsessive you want to be about "Inbox Zero," you may end up reviewing hundreds or thousands of emails per day. This is a waste of time. Furthermore, we've all grown accustomed to this barrage of emails, so we send even more emails to ensure that the person got it. If this trend continues, you'll eventually never stop cleaning your inbox. This is the downfall of it costing nothing to compete for your attention on the internet. Unlike physical junk mail which costs money to print and send the catalog, junk email is almost completely free. There is always a price to be paid, especially when it seems free. In this case, the price is your time and attention. There is no such thing as a free lunch. So, in a world where people want your attention and your inbox is the place to do it, why not abandon the outdated concept of inboxes? These inboxes do not represent work that needs completing. They represent a million voices vying for your time, attention, and resources. Shouldn't we control that and not any inbox systems? Embrace the anti-inbox where you decide what is important and worth spending time on. Sure, you might miss some opportunities, but life is full of choices and opportunities. Who has your best interests in mind: you or the person sending you mail? The anti-inbox mantra is to be active in your journey. Search for what you need and abandon passively consuming everything seeking your attention until you are no longer yourself but a composition of marketing materials. Let your inbox pile up with crap. If someone important needs you, they will know other ways to get your attention, or you can use a non-free service like Hey to ensure you actively let the good stuff in. #### Related Items [[Email]] [[The Age of Choice]] [[The Attention Economy]] [[Work]]