Comments on: Effectively handling incoming emails http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/ Rebooting the workforce Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:51:37 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Joshua Kaufman http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4961 Joshua Kaufman Thu, 14 Dec 2006 18:00:11 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4961 <p>My method involves a single folder under my inbox called "Archive."</p> <p>Whenever I receive new messages, I do one of two things:</p> <ol> <li>If I can act on it, read it or delete it immediately (within one minute), I do so. Then I'll move to the the archive folder if I haven’t deleted it.</li> <li>If I can’t act on it, read it or delete immediately, I keep it in my inbox and act on it when I have time. This can be 30 minutes later, a day later or a week later.</li> </ol> <p>I wrote more about this method <a href="http://unraveled.com/archives/2006/08/email-organization" rel="nofollow">on my blog</a>.</p> My method involves a single folder under my inbox called “Archive.”

Whenever I receive new messages, I do one of two things:

  1. If I can act on it, read it or delete it immediately (within one minute), I do so. Then I’ll move to the the archive folder if I haven’t deleted it.
  2. If I can’t act on it, read it or delete immediately, I keep it in my inbox and act on it when I have time. This can be 30 minutes later, a day later or a week later.

I wrote more about this method on my blog.

]]> By: Krish http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4816 Krish Thu, 14 Dec 2006 01:40:03 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4816 <p>I have long given up on this. The only time I am not disturbed by email is when I am camping out deep in some mountain range where the cell phone signals does not enter. Since I couldn't eliminate the problem fully, I have minimized it with the use of filters so that I see only the important mails with one click and other mails need some extra action.</p> I have long given up on this. The only time I am not disturbed by email is when I am camping out deep in some mountain range where the cell phone signals does not enter. Since I couldn’t eliminate the problem fully, I have minimized it with the use of filters so that I see only the important mails with one click and other mails need some extra action.

]]> By: karlmccracken http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4786 karlmccracken Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:34:13 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4786 <p>I think that three times a day's about right. I once read a Dilbert cartoon to this effect - if something is really urgent enough to need an immediate reply, you'll get a personal visit, call to your cellphone, or call to your land-line - in that descending order of urgency for the message.</p> <p>The fact is that email doesn't always get through instantly. More to the point, it's only words, without intonation, inflection, and gestures. As such, the scope for misunderstanding is huge. And when you want urgent action, you don't want the WRONG action!</p> <p>I also use a similar method to John Athayde, but with seven folders in all, as I count the in-box and the trash. I think this came from something I read in a US edition of a Mac mag I bought last year, which I also wrote up as one of our <a HREF="http://sevenringsarticles.blogspot.com/2006/05/so-much-email-and-so-little-time.html" rel="nofollow">TeamTips articles</A></p> <p>Karl.</p> I think that three times a day’s about right. I once read a Dilbert cartoon to this effect – if something is really urgent enough to need an immediate reply, you’ll get a personal visit, call to your cellphone, or call to your land-line – in that descending order of urgency for the message.

The fact is that email doesn’t always get through instantly. More to the point, it’s only words, without intonation, inflection, and gestures. As such, the scope for misunderstanding is huge. And when you want urgent action, you don’t want the WRONG action!

I also use a similar method to John Athayde, but with seven folders in all, as I count the in-box and the trash. I think this came from something I read in a US edition of a Mac mag I bought last year, which I also wrote up as one of our TeamTips articles

Karl.

]]> By: Judi Sohn http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4769 Judi Sohn Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:40:31 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4769 <p>I think there's one factor we're leaving out of this discussion...does the person who checks his email 3 times a day only talk to people in the hallway 3 times a day? Does he only answer the phone 3 times a day? Does he only answer the knock on his corner office door 3 times a day? My point is that for most professionals, email is one of many forms of communication they have to keep in touch with co-workers/customers/clients. For me at least, email and IM are 98% of how I communicate in my business day. Locking it down for any stretch of time completely disconnects me from the outside world. Sometimes that's my intention, most of the time it's not. I filter out non-essential email and IMs in my day in the same way that executive filters out the chatter happening outside his doorway.</p> I think there’s one factor we’re leaving out of this discussion…does the person who checks his email 3 times a day only talk to people in the hallway 3 times a day? Does he only answer the phone 3 times a day? Does he only answer the knock on his corner office door 3 times a day? My point is that for most professionals, email is one of many forms of communication they have to keep in touch with co-workers/customers/clients. For me at least, email and IM are 98% of how I communicate in my business day. Locking it down for any stretch of time completely disconnects me from the outside world. Sometimes that’s my intention, most of the time it’s not. I filter out non-essential email and IMs in my day in the same way that executive filters out the chatter happening outside his doorway.

]]> By: Paul http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4752 Paul Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:44:19 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4752 <p>After years of having anywhere up to 3000 emails in my inbox, I finally made the commitment to empty my inbox every day.</p> <p>It took me a few days to clear the backlog, and set up less that 10 folders to hold email I want saved.</p> <p>For the past few months now I have tackled everything on the day it is received - either relpy, deal with an issue, delete or save in a folder.</p> <p>I don't find it difficult to deal with email as it comes in. It takes a second to see if it is something I can deal with in a moment, or something I need to take care of later in the day. I typically end the day with 5-10 items that need more than a moment.</p> <p>It's a great feeling to end the day with an empty inbox!</p> After years of having anywhere up to 3000 emails in my inbox, I finally made the commitment to empty my inbox every day.

It took me a few days to clear the backlog, and set up less that 10 folders to hold email I want saved.

For the past few months now I have tackled everything on the day it is received – either relpy, deal with an issue, delete or save in a folder.

I don’t find it difficult to deal with email as it comes in. It takes a second to see if it is something I can deal with in a moment, or something I need to take care of later in the day. I typically end the day with 5-10 items that need more than a moment.

It’s a great feeling to end the day with an empty inbox!

]]> By: Brandon Wood http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4734 Brandon Wood Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:45:05 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4734 <p>Not only do we put huge email expectations on ourselves, but it is also placed on us by other people. For most of the people that I work with/for, if I don't answer an important email within a few minutes they get angry.</p> <p>To keep my inbox at a reasonable level, I use lots of filters so that only messages from the people I know I need to respond to quickly stay in my inbox.</p> Not only do we put huge email expectations on ourselves, but it is also placed on us by other people. For most of the people that I work with/for, if I don’t answer an important email within a few minutes they get angry.

To keep my inbox at a reasonable level, I use lots of filters so that only messages from the people I know I need to respond to quickly stay in my inbox.

]]> By: John Athayde http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4728 John Athayde Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:10:09 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4728 <p>I use a technique adopted from other places on the internet and combined together:</p> <ol> <li><p>All list mail is sorted into subfolders of a "Groups" folder. This allows for easy threading and the ability to stay on topic. I also hit this about once a day.</p></li> <li><p>All other email is run through an aggressive spam filter (Spam Sieve) and then dumped to my inbox. I have five folders:</p></li> </ol> <ul> <li>Action</li> <li>Archive</li> <li>Respond</li> <li>Defer</li> <li>Waiting</li> </ul> <p>Any email I can respond to in under a minute I do so. An email that needs me to do something (and typically ends up getting added to my GTD list) goes into Action. Anything that has hit the end of it's life (either it has been responded to or is a no reply email or shipment notification) goes into Archive. I rotate Archive folders annually. Respond gets the bulk of emails. Defer and Waiting don't get much use but I figure they would be more useful if I wasn't using my groups filter.</p> <p>Enjoy!</p> I use a technique adopted from other places on the internet and combined together:

  1. All list mail is sorted into subfolders of a “Groups” folder. This allows for easy threading and the ability to stay on topic. I also hit this about once a day.

  2. All other email is run through an aggressive spam filter (Spam Sieve) and then dumped to my inbox. I have five folders:

  • Action
  • Archive
  • Respond
  • Defer
  • Waiting

Any email I can respond to in under a minute I do so. An email that needs me to do something (and typically ends up getting added to my GTD list) goes into Action. Anything that has hit the end of it’s life (either it has been responded to or is a no reply email or shipment notification) goes into Archive. I rotate Archive folders annually. Respond gets the bulk of emails. Defer and Waiting don’t get much use but I figure they would be more useful if I wasn’t using my groups filter.

Enjoy!

]]> By: coreyclaytonlnp http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4688 coreyclaytonlnp Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:54:23 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4688 <p>I use a ton of filters, which put all my e-mails in folders ranked by priority of sender. Seems to work pretty well.</p> I use a ton of filters, which put all my e-mails in folders ranked by priority of sender. Seems to work pretty well.

]]> By: Stuart http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4676 Stuart Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:53:38 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4676 <p>There are just too many high level interrupts in the work environment. Worse that emails and their annoying notifications are cell phones and the ever ubiquitous instant messenger. I have set up an exchange forward that sends all my email to a work Gmail account loaded with a host of clever filters. This account I check only a few times each day and it really helps. Somehow the now obsolete pager still seems the correct balance between technology and privacy.</p> There are just too many high level interrupts in the work environment. Worse that emails and their annoying notifications are cell phones and the ever ubiquitous instant messenger. I have set up an exchange forward that sends all my email to a work Gmail account loaded with a host of clever filters. This account I check only a few times each day and it really helps. Somehow the now obsolete pager still seems the correct balance between technology and privacy.

]]> By: Jakob S http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4670 Jakob S Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:24:45 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4670 <blockquote>The whole time I watched the notifications coming into Outlook, hoping that the emails weren’t too important</blockquote> <p>I imagine that's why it didn't work for you. You should shut your email client down and only actually have it open during your allotted email period. That way you will not get distracted by incoming emails.</p> <p>That said, I have yet to manage to do that as well ;)</p> The whole time I watched the notifications coming into Outlook, hoping that the emails weren’t too important

I imagine that’s why it didn’t work for you. You should shut your email client down and only actually have it open during your allotted email period. That way you will not get distracted by incoming emails.

That said, I have yet to manage to do that as well ;)

]]> By: Jake Ingman http://webworkerdaily.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4648 Jake Ingman Wed, 13 Dec 2006 07:53:35 +0000 http://webworkerdaily.wordpress.com/2006/12/13/effectively-handling-incoming-emails/#comment-4648 <p>I use the method Merlin (43folders) describes in <a href="http://www.43folders.com/2006/09/15/mail-act-on/" rel="nofollow">his post about Mail Act-On</a>.</p> I use the method Merlin (43folders) describes in his post about Mail Act-On.

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