Inbox ZeroManaging Email Overload with Action Based Email

Christian Veillette M.D., M.Sc., FRCSCAssistant Professor, University of TorontoShoulder & Elbow Reconstructive Surgery

Toronto Western Hospital University Health NetworkEmail: orthonet@gmail.com

Objectives

• Learn a system for handling email overload

• Understand the difference between checking email and processing email

Email Overload

• Problem of email overload is taking a toll on all our time, productivity, and sanity

• Why?

Lack a cohesive system for processing our messages and

converting them into appropriate actions as quickly as possible

Then• 1995 first email account• PINE• Did not need a system

Now

• Email now one source for all incoming and outgoing information

• Only way you are going to succeed is figuring out how to deal with high volume email

• Remember - Life outside email

Time & Attention are finite.

Time & Attention are finite.

Concept: Joel Spolsky

Inbox ZeroQuickly answering a few escalating questions

about each email message in my inbox:

1. What does this message mean to me, and why do I care?

2. What action, if any, does this message require of me?

3. What’s the most elegant way to close out this message and the nested action it contains?

Inbox Zero

Email’s just a medium

One place for anything

Process to zero

Convert to actions

What is Processing?

More than checking

Less than responding

Decide what action to take with each email

Action based email

What are your actions?

The Processing Habit?

“We are what we frequently do”- Aristotle

If you want to stop being part of the majority whose ass is getting kicked

by email every day, it’s time to get serious about improving your habits.

Do Email Less

• Ultimate Goal - Spend less time playing with your email and more time doing stuff

• Say no to crack(berry) - “always on” approach to email

• “What if I ‘miss’ something?”• Schedule email dashes - ganging your

related email work into a focused few minutes of hard-edged activity performed on a regular schedule

Benefits of the scheduled email dash

• Gets you out of the perpetual notification business – allowing you to focus on your non-email work without interruption

or distratction• Gives you more contextual insight into your true

priorities – rather than letting the existence of new mail always equate the

need for your instant and undivided attention – slightly higher-level vantage point lets you choose richest targets

in context – dash format forces you to wisely pick best use of your time – surprisingly many “crises” will resolve themselves between

dashes• Regular schedule firewalls your time and attention

– ensures that you won’t get so absorbed in hitting “Get new mail” that the real “thinking work” gets short shrift

Cheat!• Create filters• Noisy, frequent, and non-urgent items which can

be dealt with all at a pass and later– “friend” requests and similar announcements from

community sites like Facebook or Flickr – mailing lists and subscribed forum threads – regular updates like newsletters and office memos – non-spam store updates, coupons, and sale

announcements

When you check your email and find yourself groaning “Ugh, this again?” consider creating a filter.

My Inbox

Thank you

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