Comments on: How I Declared E-Mail Bankruptcy, and Discovered the Bliss of an Empty Inbox http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/ Business + Technology in the Exponential Economy Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:30:41 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Wade Roush http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-89159 Wade Roush Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:06:14 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-89159 @Rob: Sure, I already use labels for many categories of mail -- I have filters set up to put labels on e-mails from family or from Xconomy colleagues, for example. But can you say more about how you use labels to speed up e-mail management? Ideally I'd love to do what all the gurus say, and "touch" every e-mail no more than once. I guess labels would help me decide to trash some e-mails without even looking at them -- but do you have something more complex in mind? Thanks. Good piece by Scott Kirsner in the Boston Globe about all this, incidentally: Avoiding Inbox Overload: Advice on Better Managing E-mail http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2009/10/avoiding_inbox_overload_advice.html @Rob: Sure, I already use labels for many categories of mail — I have filters set up to put labels on e-mails from family or from Xconomy colleagues, for example. But can you say more about how you use labels to speed up e-mail management? Ideally I’d love to do what all the gurus say, and “touch” every e-mail no more than once. I guess labels would help me decide to trash some e-mails without even looking at them — but do you have something more complex in mind? Thanks.

Good piece by Scott Kirsner in the Boston Globe about all this, incidentally:

Avoiding Inbox Overload: Advice on Better Managing E-mail
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2009/10/avoiding_inbox_overload_advice.html

]]> By: Rob http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-89158 Rob Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:57:48 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-89158 I would HIGHLY recommend using the "labels" function in Gmail....it can be a life saver for sorting and organizing mail. Just using half a dozen or so can help you screen out and prioritize mail on the fly....allowing for much faster "down to zero" time on your email inbox purge every day. Who knows, maybe it will even help you sort out those 15,000 "dead" emails you put in the "All Mail" graveyard?!?! I would HIGHLY recommend using the “labels” function in Gmail….it can be a life saver for sorting and organizing mail. Just using half a dozen or so can help you screen out and prioritize mail on the fly….allowing for much faster “down to zero” time on your email inbox purge every day.

Who knows, maybe it will even help you sort out those 15,000 “dead” emails you put in the “All Mail” graveyard?!?!

]]> By: Swedes Fall Under the Spell of the Empty Inbox | Travels with Rhody http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-87613 Swedes Fall Under the Spell of the Empty Inbox | Travels with Rhody Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:45:54 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-87613 [...] former Innovation Journalism fellow Erik Mellgren, published a piece about my declaration of “e-mail bankruptcy” in a column last [...] [...] former Innovation Journalism fellow Erik Mellgren, published a piece about my declaration of “e-mail bankruptcy” in a column last [...]

]]> By: Heather http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-87190 Heather Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:40:47 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-87190 Good work. Now dump your Blackberry and all other cell phones, and go back to a simple land line and answering machine, and see how sweet life was intended to be. Cell phoneless Gen X girl (and loving it), Heather Good work. Now dump your Blackberry and all other cell phones, and go back to a simple land line and answering machine, and see how sweet life was intended to be. Cell phoneless Gen X girl (and loving it), Heather

]]> By: Per Jonsson http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-84058 Per Jonsson Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:35:31 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-84058 I do the same as Charles. Never let the inbox grow so I have to scroll or flip page. The inbox seems to never get tired :) I do the same as Charles. Never let the inbox grow so I have to scroll or flip page. The inbox seems to never get tired :)

]]> By: Wade Roush http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-47716 Wade Roush Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:00:18 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-47716 @Charles, I used to do the same sort of thing, but I wound up with 15,000 to-do items. Something had to give. I guess you could just as easily say I declared to-do bankruptcy. Also, my inbox gets so big that I have to scroll or flip the page about 3 times a day. So I have to be relentless about cleaning it out. @Charles, I used to do the same sort of thing, but I wound up with 15,000 to-do items. Something had to give. I guess you could just as easily say I declared to-do bankruptcy.

Also, my inbox gets so big that I have to scroll or flip the page about 3 times a day. So I have to be relentless about cleaning it out.

]]> By: Charles Hill http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-47711 Charles Hill Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:28:54 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-47711 What I do is never let my inbox so big I have to scroll or flip the page. If it get close, I stop and dedicate time to cleaning it out. Then I follow similar rules. 1. Family first. These are almost always quick. 2. Trash all chain letters and FYIs 3. Delegate or answer others. My inbox IS my to-do list. If it isn't filed, it is a to-do. Once done, it is filed. What I do is never let my inbox so big I have to scroll or flip the page. If it get close, I stop and dedicate time to cleaning it out.

Then I follow similar rules.

1. Family first. These are almost always quick.
2. Trash all chain letters and FYIs
3. Delegate or answer others.

My inbox IS my to-do list. If it isn’t filed, it is a to-do. Once done, it is filed.

]]> By: george girton http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-45951 george girton Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:35:46 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-45951 Great idea, to respond to personal messages first. And if you include the text of the message, it still stays in your "Sent Items" folder, and you can delete it from the inbox. I used to use my inbox as a humongous database combined with a (badly organized) todo list. I tried Mark's web page for six months, and it was pretty doggone good but then I got what for me was a simpler program for my Mac and iPhone called "Things". My life at the moment doesn't depend on email followups enough for mark's webpage to be the best thing, but if you do, then yes! I still keep on deleting that email, though, as it comes in. I love getting it down to zero. Great idea, to respond to personal messages first. And if you include the text of the message, it still stays in your “Sent Items” folder, and you can delete it from the inbox.

I used to use my inbox as a humongous database combined with a (badly organized) todo list. I tried Mark’s web page for six months, and it was pretty doggone good but then I got what for me was a simpler program for my Mac and iPhone called “Things”. My life at the moment doesn’t depend on email followups enough for mark’s webpage to be the best thing, but if you do, then yes!

I still keep on deleting that email, though, as it comes in. I love getting it down to zero.

]]> By: Marsha Egan http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-45507 Marsha Egan Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:19:25 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-45507 Hi Wade, Great discovery, and I'm glad you found success in taking that inbox to zero every day. To tag on to your learnings, it is helpful to view your going into your inbox as a "sort" effort rather than a "handle 'em all" effort. Just like you handle paper mail, not all must be handled immediately. The triaging is what helps you get things done. So I like to sugggest that anything you decide requires more work is dragged and dropped into another folder, called "Action." Then, set a diary for it, either electronically or in your planner. Then, once a day, view all your tasks, including your diaries, and plan that day. You find the tasks in that "action" folder. This actually works. Might be worth a try. Hi Wade,
Great discovery, and I’m glad you found success in taking that inbox to zero every day.

To tag on to your learnings, it is helpful to view your going into your inbox as a “sort” effort rather than a “handle ‘em all” effort. Just like you handle paper mail, not all must be handled immediately. The triaging is what helps you get things done.

So I like to sugggest that anything you decide requires more work is dragged and dropped into another folder, called “Action.” Then, set a diary for it, either electronically or in your planner.

Then, once a day, view all your tasks, including your diaries, and plan that day. You find the tasks in that “action” folder. This actually works. Might be worth a try.

]]> By: Tracey http://www.xconomy.com/national/2009/02/06/how-i-declared-e-mail-bankruptcy-and-discovered-the-bliss-of-an-empty-inbox/comment-page-1/#comment-45476 Tracey Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:54:21 +0000 http://www.xconomy.com/?p=11741#comment-45476 Wade- Check out Fusion-io if you haven't already- Steve Wozniak stepped up recently and tech is intriguing...might not be around for long before its acquired by the likes of Dell (an investor) or EMC. Wade-
Check out Fusion-io if you haven’t already- Steve Wozniak stepped up recently and tech is intriguing…might not be around for long before its acquired by the likes of Dell (an investor) or EMC.

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