Garbage in, garbage out. Everyday our mail boxes are filled with requests on our time. Getting through these messages can can be annoying at best, and a complete time sink at worst. Below are a few practical tips on how to help you read your email effectively.

Catch All Clarity

I have about five different email address’, mostly because an address a day keeps the spammers away. If I had to waste time going through each of these mailboxes in search of useful information, I’d drive myself up the wall. Luckily, almost all mail clients have some sort of forwarding feature.

The trick is to forward all of your messages to a single location. That way, you can prioritize when you need to, and when you have time you can efficiently go through the slush pile. I usually start the day by checking my catch all box, afterwards I leave the catch all alone and concentrate on messages based on the context. At work, I look at my work email; when working on the blog, I search through that box etc…

When I find that I am on top of a particular context, I go back to the catch all and wade through a few more messages.

26 Second Rule

You should spend no more than 26 seconds on any particular message. In twenty-six seconds you can take in a huge amount of information, enough information to determine whether the email is spam (in which case delete it), requires a short reply (then do it), or requires more thought (set it aside). If you find yourself spending minutes paging through long, unwieldy emails take a step back and realize that most emails are structured like this: introduction, fluff, fluff, call to action. The only part that counts is the call to action. Skip over the rest, and live a happier life.

Why 26 seconds?

Well, it was going to be a 30 second rule but I figured the last four seconds would be spent trying to figure out if Princess Xajibari really does need your help to smuggle money out of her country.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Once you finish going through your mailboxes, delete everything that you have acted upon. That way, you don’t have to waste time wondering whether you have replied to a particular piece of mail. If it’s not in the inbox, then it’s no longer on your mind. At this point, the only thing that should be left are those messages that require indepth responses. For them, I suggest responding in the order they are received and then deleting them. I try to minimize the latency between receiving an email and responding to it.

I have found that not only do people appreciate a prompt reply, but it makes sure that you are giving crisp responses. The less time you spend dwelling on something, the more likely it will be that you’ll answer the question instead of writing your biography.

Clean House

By the end of the day, your mail box should be basically empty. If it’s not, either you tend to get a flood of emails at the end of the day, or you haven’t been paying attention! Either way, take a few moments before you go to bed to clean house. If possible, reply to as many emails as you have the energy too, but if not set them aside to be picked up the next morning.

There is nothing quite as satisfying as an empty email box.

Software Solution

Gmail

GTDInbox

GTDInbox is a Firefox plugin that adds a full suite of GTD capabilities to Gmail. GTD is all about labeling, contexts and next actions so this is the perfect tool to attach to your catch all email box. Just install the plugin, head over to your Gmail account and follow the instructions in the side-bar. I had my entire mailbox reorganized in under an hour.

A word to the wise, don’t get too caught up with all the exciting new organizational functionality that comes with GTD. The best way to mail at an organizational strategy is to make it so complicated that it takes more time to implement than your old way of doing things.

Web 2.0 Roundup

For those with short attention spans, here is a summary of everything that you have learned. Come back soon.

  • Use a catch all email address for when you have time to wade through messages.
  • Concentrate on the mailbox relevant to your current context.
  • Don’t spend more than 26 seconds on any message before sorting it.
  • Delete messages after you have acted upon them.
  • Make replies quick and crisp.
  • Empty your email box before you go to bed.
  • Install GTDGmail to help you get your emails organized.


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[Photo credit goes to wiseacre photo]