Discussion Forum > Processing emails as a Closed List
Hi JM,
I tend to screen my emails first thing in the morning and then as new ones come in. On my first screening I extract any associated tasks and list them into my paper task diary as part of my day's 'will do list'. Unless new emails coming in are absolutely an 'immediate response' or 'same day response' I leave them untill tomorrow, when in the morning I will repeat the process. If they are 'same day' I write them in under the line in my 'will do list'.
To be honest I don't have a deluge of daily emails (approx 10 per day - that is not to say that they are not important and require a response), however if I end up with a back log then I will do an Audit to work out what the problem is as per DIT.
Hope this helps.
I tend to screen my emails first thing in the morning and then as new ones come in. On my first screening I extract any associated tasks and list them into my paper task diary as part of my day's 'will do list'. Unless new emails coming in are absolutely an 'immediate response' or 'same day response' I leave them untill tomorrow, when in the morning I will repeat the process. If they are 'same day' I write them in under the line in my 'will do list'.
To be honest I don't have a deluge of daily emails (approx 10 per day - that is not to say that they are not important and require a response), however if I end up with a back log then I will do an Audit to work out what the problem is as per DIT.
Hope this helps.
November 7, 2008 at 10:34 |
Leon
Leon
JM,
I use 2 email accounts, one work and one personal. I tend to close my email programs during the day (which is extremely difficult!)
The appeal to DIT for me is NO RESIDUE. What I mean by this is that when I do (yesterdays batched) email in the morning, I FINISH the email if it can be done within 5-10 minutes. Then when yesterdays mail is done, I close the program. I then do the same thing with my personal Gmail account.
Pre-DIT, I used the workflows of GTD. I would use the 2 minute rule and the @action folder for longer than 2 minute emails. This would allow me the joy of procrastination while thinking I was getting work done....
Now, I batch email and handle them ONCE in the morning and forget about them. I will occasionally open Outlook to see if any timebombs have come in during the day.
I use 2 email accounts, one work and one personal. I tend to close my email programs during the day (which is extremely difficult!)
The appeal to DIT for me is NO RESIDUE. What I mean by this is that when I do (yesterdays batched) email in the morning, I FINISH the email if it can be done within 5-10 minutes. Then when yesterdays mail is done, I close the program. I then do the same thing with my personal Gmail account.
Pre-DIT, I used the workflows of GTD. I would use the 2 minute rule and the @action folder for longer than 2 minute emails. This would allow me the joy of procrastination while thinking I was getting work done....
Now, I batch email and handle them ONCE in the morning and forget about them. I will occasionally open Outlook to see if any timebombs have come in during the day.
November 7, 2008 at 22:24 |
Erik
Erik
JM:
For very fast-moving jobs it is sometimes better to move from "Do It Tomorrow" to "Do It in the Next Batch". What this means is that you deal with your batches in sequence, e.g. Email, Paper, Tasks, but that when you come to a batch you simply clear everything that has arrived in that batch since you last visited it.
In the example you quote you would clear everything that has arrived in the Email batch and put any tasks arising in the Tasks batch. Then when you get to the Tasks batch you again clear everything since you last visited it - which would include the task arising from your email.
The disadvantage of working this way is that you don't start the day knowing more or less exactly how much work you have that day - but, hey, you can't have everything!
For very fast-moving jobs it is sometimes better to move from "Do It Tomorrow" to "Do It in the Next Batch". What this means is that you deal with your batches in sequence, e.g. Email, Paper, Tasks, but that when you come to a batch you simply clear everything that has arrived in that batch since you last visited it.
In the example you quote you would clear everything that has arrived in the Email batch and put any tasks arising in the Tasks batch. Then when you get to the Tasks batch you again clear everything since you last visited it - which would include the task arising from your email.
The disadvantage of working this way is that you don't start the day knowing more or less exactly how much work you have that day - but, hey, you can't have everything!
November 8, 2008 at 14:01 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Thanks for all your replies about how to handle emails in a batch process. I think the biggest challenge has been trying to get yesterday's email processed in the morning, which rarely happens unless I make it my current initiative (but I have other projects and backlog that I'd like to use that time for).
Mark - You mention "Do It in the Next Batch"...how do you suggest making email part of a closed batch since it's always coming in? Email seems to always be an open list in your Inbox unless you move it a folder. So would I just continue to move messages from my Inbox to my "Batch" folder until I decide I want to process the entire batch (which could occur multiple times throughout the day)?
Mark - You mention "Do It in the Next Batch"...how do you suggest making email part of a closed batch since it's always coming in? Email seems to always be an open list in your Inbox unless you move it a folder. So would I just continue to move messages from my Inbox to my "Batch" folder until I decide I want to process the entire batch (which could occur multiple times throughout the day)?
November 9, 2008 at 1:13 |
JM
JM
JM:
I probably didn't make myself clear enough, but I wasn't suggesting processing batches "multiple times throughout the day". What I meant was that you deal with Email, Paper, Tasks, etc., once a day as in DIT and that you deal with everything that has arrived since you dealt with it the previous day.
In the case of email, you simply clear the inbox once a day. Once it's empty, you move on to Paper (or whatever your next item is) and clear everything out of your in-tray. And so on.
You're still dealing with one day's work in each batch.
If you feel the need to deal with email more than once in a day, then the important thing is to deal with it all each time.
I probably didn't make myself clear enough, but I wasn't suggesting processing batches "multiple times throughout the day". What I meant was that you deal with Email, Paper, Tasks, etc., once a day as in DIT and that you deal with everything that has arrived since you dealt with it the previous day.
In the case of email, you simply clear the inbox once a day. Once it's empty, you move on to Paper (or whatever your next item is) and clear everything out of your in-tray. And so on.
You're still dealing with one day's work in each batch.
If you feel the need to deal with email more than once in a day, then the important thing is to deal with it all each time.
November 9, 2008 at 8:26 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Now that my Inbox looks amazing (thanks Mark!), I'd be interested in views on how to manage my sent box. Its a mixture of replies to questions and requests to others to do something. How would you file/diary forward to chase?
Thanks
Thanks
January 2, 2009 at 12:10 |
Sheila
Sheila
Sheila:
I don't know if you're using Outlook but, if you are, all you have to do is drag the email into the Tasks icon in the margin and set a reminder.
Another method is to forward the email to yourself, and put a "Do not deliver until..." date/time on it.
I don't know if you're using Outlook but, if you are, all you have to do is drag the email into the Tasks icon in the margin and set a reminder.
Another method is to forward the email to yourself, and put a "Do not deliver until..." date/time on it.
January 2, 2009 at 12:32 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Hi Sheila -
What works best for me (if you're using Outlook) is adding a macro that asks what folder you want to file the message in after sending it. I have a "WF" (Waiting For) folder that I will file messages in that I need to follow-up on. Everything else goes to Sent.
Setting up the macro is quite simple. Here's a link to a blog that explains it:
http://verychewy.com/archive/2006/04/12/outlook-macro-to-move-an-email-to-folder.aspx
Cheers
JM
What works best for me (if you're using Outlook) is adding a macro that asks what folder you want to file the message in after sending it. I have a "WF" (Waiting For) folder that I will file messages in that I need to follow-up on. Everything else goes to Sent.
Setting up the macro is quite simple. Here's a link to a blog that explains it:
http://verychewy.com/archive/2006/04/12/outlook-macro-to-move-an-email-to-folder.aspx
Cheers
JM
January 2, 2009 at 15:16 |
JM
JM
I've been using DIT for about three months now (with MLO software to maintain my lists) and have found it to be working well for me overall. However, much of my work is email driven and I try to apply the Closed List approach by processing my inbox every hour or so, responding to or creating tasks for anything urgent enough to do "now" or "same day". All other emails get sent to my "Tomorrow" folder. Tomorrow morning, I move all "Tomorrow" folder messages to my "Today" folder. Now I have a closed list of emails to process, which I try to do before lunch every day.
So my problem is around processing my "Today" 'folder. If a message has an action or project associated with it, I create the task - but should I add the task to tomorrow's Closed List (2 days from when I received the email) or do I add it to today's Closed List (and above or below the "urgent" line)?
I'd be interested to hear how others are handling their email, especially if there is a large volume with tasks and projects that are generated from them.
Cheers
JM