Basic Move: Have Three Addresses

I have three email addresses: one that I use for conducting general business, one for signing up for various web applications, and one for more important conversations. The first two, I don’t check all day long. I have a few scheduled dips in those boxes to see where things are, and to respond to inquiries. On one of those boxes, I used AwayFind to give people the sense that they can reach me if it’s urgent (so far, the only emails I get from the “urgent” form all say, “I just sent you email.” Grrrrrr!).

On the third email, that’s my business. And so I keep a little indicator light. I don’t read them immediately all the time and interrupt my flow, but I empty that box a few times a day.

Process Once I get Mail

I’ve noticed that I have a rapid flow. Here’s how it looks:

• Information only mail – absorb and delete.
• Information I need mail – copy a note into Evernote, which has web access and searching capabilities. Delete.
• Requests for help – analyze and respond. Delete (or store if I need a record).
• Mail from the boss – respond and store.
• “Generic” mail – automate variations on a response, and customize the important bits. Delete. Note: you probably never get the generics. I reserve them for blind PR pitches, weird software companies, etc.
• Scheduling and task request mail – right into Google Calendar. Tasks into a Google Docs spreadsheet. Web-accessible.
• To-do mail that’s bigger and long – copy/paste the request into Evernote, store the email address, save the mail.

If You Have 1000 Old Mails in the Box

Go through them 100 or so at a time with the above process. Don’t read the new ones. Just try working through 100 here and there. Schedule time on an egg-timer to take a whack at them. (If you want lots more advice on this area, check out You Are Not Your Inbox, which I really loved.)

I’ve kept my box clean for over four weeks, even when I’m out at conferences and on the road. It’s astounding just how this all works once you practice.

What about you? Any ideas and advice?

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Schedule Two Things Faithfully: Offload and Review

The hardest part, and what left a few emails sticking in my inbox, was not just taking the moment to shuffle through them twice a day. The second hardest part, and where I fell down the hardest, was not getting back into my review/follow-up items, and thus missed a few responses I owed people.

Schedule these in Google Calendar (or your calendar of choice) if you find yourself falling down on this front.

Be Brutal With Email and Stop Peeking

Delete the hell out of your email. Answer what needs answering, but don’t keep things around for “someday.” At the worst, stick something in your calendar to revisit an idea, but otherwise, delete.

I’m still learning to not peek at email until I’m ready to blaze through them. If I let them build up, part of me twitches, thinking, “Well my inbox isn’t empty,” but that’s not the point. The point is to empty the thing when I’m scheduled to empty it, not just be a crazed inbox checker.

Write Better Emails in the First Place

I did reasonably well at this, but I found that when I had a ping-pong in my inbox, it was usually my fault for not closing the loop. The better the email I can write someone, the less likely I’ll get something back in my lap.

So What Did YOU Learn?

I’ve seen emails and blog posts and twitters from people saying they’re working on the empty inbox thing. What are you finding along the way? What have you noticed? Share with us.

Screenshots are always taken with Plasq’s Skitch.