Comments on: How to Handle Inbox Craziness

By: Jeff Grigg

Jeff Grigg — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 12:40:01 +0000

In reply to Jess T..

And they provide a quick summary of their email workflow here:

https://www.michaellinenberger.com/blog/excerpt-from-the-new-total-workday-control-using-microsoft-outlook-4th-ed-the-myn-outlook-flow-chart/

Their web site:
https://www.michaellinenberger.com/

The book (on Amazon)
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004VAA9HE/

By: Jess T.

Jess T. — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 03:17:16 +0000

David, you offered some really sound insights to a problem that plagues so many of us out here. I’d tried many methods to master email overload and they fell short. Michael Linenberger’s Total Workday Control is an easy to understand and apply methodology. And yes, I am able to accomplish zero emails in my inbox at the end of most workdays!

By: Sandra S.

Sandra S. — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 17:00:24 +0000

I think it’s much more important to find ways to flag “action required” emails and to file some emails into meaningful folders than it is to focus on clearing out one’s inbox. Yes, one should unsubscribe to emails that aren’t useful and yes, one should set up rules to automatically file emails with just “nice to know” info (like newsletters you subscribe to, etc.). But I don’t think it’s worth stressing over having a “clean” inbox, especially if you already have thousands of emails in there, nor is it always worth going through and filing everything.

However, I do recommend filing things that neatly fit into a category…for example, I run a SIG at work and I put everything related to that SIG into one folder, but I don’t worry about filing away every email “conversation” I have.

Also, if you need to find an email, you can always sort by one of the column headers or use the Search feature.

Inbox Zero is just another guilt trap for many folks….in the end, is it really that important? The important question is whether what you’re currently doing works for you…if you’re not having a problem noticing important emails that come in (another vote for color-coding emails from certain senders, like your boss!) and you’re not having a problem finding emails when you need them later, then I think that’s all that matters.

By: T Sykora

T Sykora — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:16:45 +0000

Good suggestions. I also color code my emails so if it’s to me directly vs. a group or if it’s from my boss it shows up in a different color so I know it needs more immediate attention. I also file my email by month and year so I don’t spend too much time filing. When I need to search for something I usually can remember which month I received it and can quickly find it.

By: Allison Conrad

Allison Conrad — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 13:38:39 +0000

My inbox is basically emptied out each day which gives me is a huge satisfier for me. I make good use of adding a flag for reminders or creating descriptors in the category key and using those if working on a team project and need to keep related emails together until the project, invoice, communication string whatever it is you need to keep in front of you and track is done. I also love creating standard responses in my Signatures for answering emails that call for the exact same response. It saves so much time to just insert the standard Signature response instead of retyping it each time.

By: Alan Janak

Alan Janak — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 13:08:52 +0000

Great e-mail advice! One other thing that works for me is having two–and only two–email accounts: One for work, and one personal. You can then apply the same rules to each as listed above (unsubscribe spams, etc.). So you probably check work email every workday, and just have to remember to check personal daily to. Good Luck!

By: Jeff Grigg

Jeff Grigg — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 12:24:37 +0000

And when all else fails, make a new “in box” folder, and move everything into that folder.

“But I might lose track of something important!” you might object. Well, you probably already have. And having a mound of messages in your inbox is not going to help you find that needle in the haystack, is it?

I figure that if it’s really important, the other person will ask or tell me again.

I use a whole “mountain” of folders, and a great many rules to automatically shuttle most messages by priority. Once or twice a day, I skim through the folders holding cataloged unread messages to pick out the few that I should do something about. And I move them to prioritized “action” folders and/or topic-based subfolders.

To be most productive, ignore email as it arrives, and work it in batches.