I believe in my Inbox having zero unread messages. Email is work and a representation of the role you play in an organization. Messages may be one of the following (with each having unstated subcategories):
- Direct action request – someone needs you to do something
- Indirect action request – someone needs an action and tentatively is asking you do do something
- Information only (necessary) – someone copies you on their activities directly related to your actions
- Information only (unnecessary) – someone copies you on something completely unnecessary to your actions
I use emails as a type of task management system. At any given time I am likely to have between 3 and 25 active emails that need to be dealt with (someone sent from me to myself recording a task that needs to be complete). These tasks may exist in a state of needing completion for between 1 and 15 days (after which point it is declared that it is not really a necessary task after all and sent back to the sender as undone and unnecessary (or just striked off the list altogether)).
But what this means is that I must manage my email. This is the process I use:
- Everyday must end with the inbox containing zero unread items.
- If an email requires action taking less than 60 seconds it is completed immediately upon reading.
- If an email requires action that can be completed same day it is left in the inbox (if still uncompleted at the end of the day it is moved to the Active Tasks folder).
- If an email requires action that will not be dealt with the same day, it is immediately moved to the Active Tasks folder.
- Every morning the Active Tasks folder is reviewed for critical items that need to be dealt with immediately. Same process occurs right after lunch.
- Once the inbox passes 300 read messages, but no later than 1,000 read messages, all emails are filed into an appropriate email folder or deleted if completely unnecessary. Folder structure follows:
- General items – not directly action related
- Project emails – filed by Account and/or Project name
- Internal Project emails – filed by Admin/Technology/General with subfolders based on topic
- Sales emails – filed in folders named A to Z with the client name within each.
This process has been in place as stated above for the past 2+ years with some form of it in place for the past 8. It has made email so much easier to manage and maintain. I can almost always put my hands on an email I’m looking for in no time at all while also tracking down things I may have done years in the past (the folder structure can be saved and stored in PSTs or external locations for easy archiving without any loss of time integrity).
The above is just my process but it’s served me very well. Any other processes that you all use?