43folder

43Folders, commonly written as 43Folders or 43 Folders, was a website and blog created by Merlin Mann in 2004 devoted to personal information management, digital organization, and productivity. The site offered practical guidance on organizing email, notes, and other digital information, with an emphasis on durable workflows, archiving, and searchability. The name reflects the idea of using folders to keep material accessible and retrievable rather than allowing it to accumulate as clutter.

The content centered on strategies for managing inboxes, archiving rather than deleting, and building lightweight systems that could scale across devices and platforms. A hallmark of the site was discussions around inbox management and information retrieval, including early discussions that helped popularize a disciplined approach to email, often associated with the broader “Inbox Zero” concept. It also covered tools, client software, and methods for balancing simplicity with effectiveness in personal information workflows.

Historically, 43Folders gained prominence in the mid-to-late 2000s and influenced the broader productivity and personal knowledge management communities. It contributed to conversations about how people interact with digital information, often inspiring readers to adopt longer-term archiving strategies and to rethink the role of email in daily life. In the following years, updates slowed and the site shifted toward archival content, with active posting waning while the accumulated material remained a reference for discussions of digital organization.

See also: Inbox Zero, Getting Things Done, Merlin Mann, personal information management.