Wrangling email - Infrastucture

Mailbags at the US Postal Service, 1913

Staying on top of email is a sysyphean task. However, doing so can make a huge difference in how smoothly--or not--your day goes. That said, it can also be a huge time-sink that keeps you from focusing on your projects and goals and actually getting anything done. 

I have found that a combination of infrastructure and habits help me to stay ahead of the deluge. This post will cover the infrastructure and I will talk about the supporting habits next time.

What I mean by infrastructure is the way I have set up my email software (I use Outlook). There are 3 main elements to my email infrastructure: folders, categories, and rules. Setting it all up can take a little while, but once it is in place it will do a lot of work for you and making modifications is pretty simple when what you need changes.

Folders

I have created folders for my various projects and for things I may need to refer back to (parking info, payroll announcements, and each of my direct reports, for example). I have read in various places that you don't need to create folders because you can just keyword search when you need to find an old email, but I have not found that to be the case. For that to work the email you are seeking has to include the words you remember. Whatever the email actually says in it I can find it in the folder for the thing it connects to for me. Having used this system for 20+ years I do have a lot of folders. I have an "Archive" folder where I move folders I think I am done with and then I clean that out periodically (when my IT department starts to complain about file size). 

Categories

Outlook lets you define "categories," that you can name (and color code if you want). I use these primarily to keep track of what emails need to have done with them. The real power of these comes from combining them with rules. I have my inbox message set up to sort by categories which are collapsible so I can have it show me only uncategorized stuff unless I open a particular category by clicking on it.

• "Waiting for" is stuff that I am holding on to until something (that I can't control) happens (agendas and links for upcoming meetings, stuff I forwarded to someone else for clarification, etc.).
• "Deal with" is stuff I need to do something about (more about this when I get to habits) 
• "List-servs" are messages that come from distribution lists I subscribe to -- these could be specific lists with their own category, or a catch-all, depending on how frequently you need to catch up on your various subscriptions. 
• "Notices" are messages that I get which tell me that some outside system has work it wants me to do. I name these for what the system is--our purchasing system for example which sends me an email notice when there is a transaction for me to approve--so I can tell at a glance where my attention might be needed. 
• The final type of category I use is basically a sub-section of "deal with" but is things I want to easily batch together when I am ready to do them. Messages people have sent me with "website updates" is an example.
  

A typical day in my inbox

Rules

Setting up rules is what makes the Outlook categories and folders really useful. Anything that you want to happen the same way every time a message arrives with particular attributes can be made into a rule that the software will follow to sort your incoming email.

• I have rules created that when an email comes from a particular address (like a listserv subscription, or a system notification) it is automatically assigned the category where I want it.
  
• I have rules created that move emails from particular addresses directly into a folder (so they never come to my inbox at all). I use this for the notices that come automatically from systems that I am the back-up administrator for (like a listserv someone else manages). The messages don't take up any of my time because I never even see them, but if I am called on to help out they are all in one place and I can easily look at them and see what needs to be done.
• I have rules that automatically forward messages from a specific address and a specific subject to a co-worker who needs to see them right away even if I am not available.