In the last four years my inbox has changed from being something I would occasionally check and infrequently get messages from friends. Recently my inbox has become something I compulsively check and that can dominates my life. The worst part is that even though I often check my email, and find things I need to do, the emails will just sit there and pile up.

So this summer I am vowing to change that, or at least to try something new. That something is Inbox Zero, and was thought of by Merlin Mann. After noticing that others struggle to do what he does, continually empty his inbox, Merlin decided to teach others the tricks. The simplified message is that ever email needs to be dealt with as soon as you open it by applying 1 of 5 options:

• Delete
• Delegate
• Respond
• Defer
• Do

Looking at the list it seems simple and obvious enough, but every nursing student and nurse I know is guilty of ignoring these rules. The compulsion is to open our email, check it and if it is important enough or we have time do something. If not the email will sit there and pile up.

Being a student I rarely have the option of delegating. However, I regularly need to do things, and yes it is true we don't always have time to do things immediately. That is why the To Do list was invented. Now a new problem, I have 3 scraps of papers, three napkins and a dozens of stickies with random lists of things I need to do. This requires further organization. Another smart individual is David Allen, who wrote Getting Things Done. His basic premise is as soon as we think of something to do it needs to go on a to do list. That way we can put all the stress and worry out of our mind and focus on tasks. So combining Merlin and David's advice, I downloaded Things. Now when ever I get an email, if I have to do something, even simply "respond to John Doe" it goes on my To Do list.

Although it doesn't seem like a big deal. This has taken a lot of effort, but has already started to pay off. I feel less stress when I open my inbox, because I know what to do with emails that bring more work because  I have a system to organize my work. Also, when I have time to work on things I don't open my inbox, and get flooded by more emails with things to do. Instead I go to my To Do list and start getting the satisfaction of ticking things off that list.

As a nursing student, adopting a great system for managing emails as well as To Do's is critical. There will be hundreds if not thousands of emails that nursing students will open about paying tuition, getting reference checks, course selections, clinical placements, and who knows maybe even grade appeals, none of which need to stay in your inbox. Find a way to file them, even if you just archive them. Just get them out of you inbox and dealt with.

Nurses could also benefit from reducing the amount of email they have in their inbox. Nurses are always dealing with a lot of information and an over flowing inbox is not something nurses need.