that people aren't kept waiting.
The Feathers Email Folder
Besides Save and Receipts, I have one other folder called Feathers.
When someone compliments me, it is a 'feather in my cap.' Therefore, any time I get a thank-you email or anything complimentary, I move the message to this folder. When I'm having a depressing day, I flip though these messages to cheer myself up.
This folder is also useful when I have to write my yearly performance review.
The problem is that sometimes the reply will require a lot of work, and I won't have time for it right then. In that case, I put the email into my to do list management system so that it won't be lost, but I can still delete it from my inbox.
For example, my reply is usually, 'I've added this to the to do list. I'll get back to you with a full answer by [insert date].' I then forward the email to our request-tracking system.
With a system like RT from Best Practical (http://bestpractical.com), you can do this in one step. Simply forward the entire message (attachments and all) to the person and bcc the email address that creates new RT tickets. Add a message to the top saying, 'Hi! I got your message. I should get back to you by [insert date] with an answer.'
No muss, no fuss.
Sometimes it's more appropriate to record the request in your organizer and send email to the person when you expect to have an answer.
Either way, the message is recorded and no longer needs to be in your inbox.
(If you don't have a request-tracking system, I highly recommend you make it a top priority to install one. Some of the best ones are free, including the aforementioned RT.)
I used to think it was polite to reply to every email I received. Polite? I thought it was my duty! Now I actually reply to very little email. If someone sent me a joke, I don't reply with, 'Thanks, it was hilarious' or the more annoying, 'Gosh, I've been on that interweb since 1987 and I've seen that a million times.' I just delete it and move on.
Unless, of course, the email asks for a specific reply. Then I forward it back to the person with a quick answer. By including the entire message, I don't have to explain context. Life is too short to write long memos.
Delegate or forward, then delete
Some email requires delegating a task to someone else. I always cc the person who made the request so she knows who it has been delegated to. Sometimes I create a to do item in my organizer to follow up on the item on a particular day, which helps me stay in the loop and verify that the task wasn't dropped.
Sometimes forwarded email—messages to my boss or my team to keep them updated—doesn't require follow up. I also don't reply to emails spreading the latest hilarious Internet joke—such as when I learned about a seven-year-old boy in England, named Craig Shergold, trying to get into the
Do Now, Then Delete
Requests that are important or quick to execute should be done now. Usually these are requests from the boss or simple requests that would take less time to do than to submit into a request-tracking system or organizer. If something takes less than two minutes to complete, it is less work to do it now than to spend time recording it to do later.
Jump Starting the Process
The difficult part about this system can be getting started. If you have 2,000 email messages in your inbox, this system must sound like some kind of unrealistic fantasy.
My recommendation? Forget the really old stuff and move forward.
Some mail clients have special archive functions. However, it is just as easy to create a folder called 'DeadItems-2005-11-19' (or whatever the date is) and move all items older than that date into that folder.
Now you have a clean inbox, and if someone does need you to pull something out of your old archive, it's all right there.
And if you don't touch that folder for a full year, burn it onto a CD-ROM, delete it, whatever, just get it out of your mailbox. If you
