studio non troppo : mindful design : facilitation

Photo: IsaacMao

Spam is a hassle, no argument there. But many people suffer under the weight of a growing email inbox, and the messages piling up there aren’t spam. They’re emails that need answers, or emails that provide reminders of pieces of projects that need to get done, or emails that just haven’t found their way into the right folder to be filed away.

Frequently the emails there are there only because the user can’t even remember exactly what they’re about…and isn’t sure if they can be deleted safely.

I know someone who has thousands of emails in her inbox. I can’t say it makes her more productive.

Five years ago, Lawrence Lessig declared email bankruptcy because he was hopelessly behind on responding to his email.

Many others have followed suit, some simply deleting all their messages and starting again.

I must admit, I’m tempted in this direction for my university email account, where I find most crises emerge, blossom, and resolve themselves without need for any input from me. But for email accounts that relate to actual, productive work, I’ve found a less drastic solution.

Simply put, I incorporate all my email into my Getting Things Done system.

• If an email requires a response, and if it takes less than two minutes to send the response, then I deal with the email right away (assuming I have the two minutes) and then delete it or file it in my single reference folder. It takes less time and effort to deal with the email immediately than it would take to keep track of it and take care of it later.
• If the email requires an action that will take longer than two minutes, I put it in my action required folder temporarily and add it to my Getting Things Done system as necessary when I have time. Once I’ve added it to my system, I delete it or file it in my single reference folder.
• If the email will be useful for reference, I file it in my single reference folder.
• If I know I won’t need to respond or act or refer to the email later, I delete it.

On my Mac, I use the clever add-on to my Mail program, Mail Act-On, which allows me to file and mark emails with just a keystroke or two. I keep my Getting Things Done system purring along using OmniFocus and iCal. My paper filing system is in two file cabinets, my electronic filing system is DevonThink Pro Office, and my carry-along inbox is comprised of a small Scully Leather blank book and a Fisher Space Pen.

Yes, it took me a while to get Getting Things Done to this point, but the benefits are worth it. My inbox, fast as it may fill up, is usually empty by the end of the day, with everything responded to, filed, tracked for future action, or deleted.

I can’t claim perfect inner peace, but at least my email inbox isn’t standing in my way.