Anybody have an effective suggestion for handling this email InBox conundrum?
With physical mail, I could divide the incoming missives into piles marked
- Act
- Delegate
- File
- Toss
and respond accordingly.
Another version made a distinction:
- Respond now
- Routine or schedule
- Reflect
- Trash
What I’m finding with my emails is whenever I’m uncertain how to answer, I put it aside – where it’s likely to wither and die. That is, if I don’t respond immediately, the message gets lost in the clutter.
I’ve thought about setting up a basket specifically to hold these cases, but once they’re out of sight, they’ll be out of mind. From my perspective, there’s no place to really put something aside, at least where I’ll see it but it won’t get buried. A pile for reflection sounds like limbo.
Anyone got a workable solution? Help! Tell us all!
Jnana's Red Barn 
In Gmail, I can set up folders and filters that will automatically divert specific emails into folders that declutter my Inbox.
Do things still get lost in the piles? If something’s not “urgent,” it easily falls into limbo. But maybe it’s time for me to reconsider the focus of my Gmail activity. Thanks for the suggestion.
Well, the filters sometimes glitch so they aren’t perfect. I haven’t lost anything important yet. The worst that’s happened is something ends up in Spam that I have to move.
trash, delete work best.
I suppose if I were actually hooked up to a printer, I’d make a copy first. (And put that in a physical pile or folder that would no doubt be ignored?) As it is, our wireless connection doesn’t function, and the device and I are usually two floors apart. The plot thickens …
well, throw a chicken in the pot and forget all else.
Now there’s an idea! Keep our priorities straight!
emails are a necessary evil, and apologies, but I have no solutions other than wade through them all every morning and get it over with.
If anyone does have some good ideas though…
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.