Chapter 24

Simplify Your E-mail

by Gina Trapani

If you spend more time dealing with e-mail than getting the right work done, it’s time for an e-mail makeover.

Clear Out Your In-Box

Computer scientists developed e-mail based on the paradigm of postal mail, so think of your in-box like your physical mailbox. You wouldn’t keep bills you have to pay and the invitation to that birthday party in there forever, right? Sort by sender, date, or subject line to clear out your messages as efficiently as possible. Then delete the junk; unsubscribe from newsletters you never read or websites you no longer visit. If you have thousands of messages in your main folder, business writer Amy Gallo suggests creating a new subfolder in your Archive folder called “Old In-box” and putting all of your messages in there. You’ll still have access to them if you need them, but you’ll be able to jump-start your new e-mail process without the drudgery of actually reviewing every old message.

Set Up Just Three Folders

Sometimes it’s not just the sheer volume of messages that makes e-mail management a time-sink, it’s the complicated folder system we’ve concocted. Streamline your inbox by creating these three folders:

Follow-up: For messages you have to respond to or act on that will take longer than a couple of minutes. (Put a corresponding item on your to-do list for each of these messages.)

Hold: For messages where you’re waiting for something to happen, like a package shipment or event invitation. (Put a corresponding item on your calendar for each of these messages.)

Archive: For messages you’re done with but want to keep for reference.

Maintain Your New System

Once you’ve cleaned out your in-box, you’ll want to keep it organized and manageable, so you can focus your attention on your most important work.

Here are some techniques to keep your e-mail under control:

• Process your e-mail in batches. Most of us are on e-mail all day, scanning for anything urgent and ignoring everything else, which is how backlog ac cumulates in your in-box. Instead of checking every time you hear the incoming message “ding,” process your e-mail in batches. Completely shut down your e-mail or set it and your handheld to check for messages only every few hours. Then, when you have time or are in between tasks, fully commit yourself to processing new messages. Alexandra Samuel, cofounder of Social Signal, recommends selecting specific times when you’ll process e-mail (for example, 8:00 to 10:00 AM and 4:00 to 6:00 PM). Notify correspondents and colleagues of your schedule through your e-mail signature or a note on your blog (and clear this approach with your supervisor, if applicable). Assume that if it’s an emergency, people will call you—but refrain from actually suggesting that, since you don’t want to encourage a constantly ringing phone.
• Use the “two-minute” rule. As you process your e-mail in batches, reply to any messages that will take fewer than two minutes on the spot. Don’t delay and leave them in your in-box marked as read, thinking you’ll get back to them; don’t even file them away in “Follow-up.” Just take care of them immediately. To help keep you within the two-minute mark, try answering all e-mails in three sentences or fewer (visit Three.Sentenc.es), says Dave Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media. Anything that takes more text probably requires a quick call instead. Have your team or department try this as a group experiment, and watch your collective e-mail–processing time shrink.
• End “Reply all.” Kerpen also recommends using internal social networking tools instead of e-mail to chat with your coworkers, facilitate collaboration and passive listening, and eliminate the dreaded “Reply all” e-mail chains. Try a private, closed Facebook group. Or explore proprietary tools such as Jive and Yammer, which allow organizations to set up private social networking platforms. Jive is best for large enterprises, while Yammer is suitable for departments or smaller organizations. Get an on-the-spot answer and get on with your work.
• Stop spamming people. Samuel notes that a major contributor to e-mail overload is the widely held expectation that every e-mail must get a reply, even if it’s just “OK” or “Thanks.” Don’t do it.

For more suggestions on keeping your e-mail under control, see the next article, “Eight E-mail Overload Experiments.”

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Gina Trapani is the founding editor of the personal productivity blog Lifehacker.com.

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Adapted from content posted on hbr.org on June 9, 2009.