Too much e-mail? Here's how to get it under control

The following article from Barbara Hemphill, an expert in organization, gives excellent, usable tips on how to get your e-mail under control. Both incoming and outgoing e-mail can take up huge amounts of our time and add to the stress of daily work. According to Hemphill, it's not the amount of e-mail that's the problem, but how much of it we allow to hang around in our system.

Barbara's article starts here:

One of my favorite definitions of "organization" is "controlling the things you can control, so you can cope with the things you can't." At a recent seminar of regional sales reps of a large pharmaceutical company, attendees blamed their problems with e-mail on antiquated computers, non-user-friendly software, and lack of easy connectivity. While those three complaints were accurate, and were out of the attendee's control, further investigation demonstrated that enormous strides in productivity were possible while concentrating on the things attendees could control: knowledge and habits.

Tools for Managing E-mail More Effectively

Eliminate as much e-mail as you can by using a program which minimizes spam. There are a variety of possibilities. Ask your colleagues what they use. (Mine is iHateSpam.)
Invest some time to understand how your e-mail program can help you manage e-mail. One of the best investments I ever made was hiring a consultant to work with me a few hours to learn how to use "Rules" feature in my e-mail program to send messages directly into folders.
Create a system for regularly purging your e-mail. (It's one of the ways I make use of time on airplanes when I'm too tired to think creatively!)
If you are feeling the stress, here are some techniques for taming the e-mail tiger. (Important Tip: Be sure to read to the end of this e-zine for the most important technique of all!)

When You Send E-mail:

Use the e-mail subject line to clearly describe the purpose of your e-mail. This is helpful for the recipient (and for you, when you're trying to find a message you've sent to someone else.). For example, "Proposed Itinerary for Chicago 9/20/05 - CONFIRM by 7/25/05."
If your e-mail requires action on the part of the part of the recipient, and/or is urgent, say so by putting URGENT or DECISION in the subject line, or use the "urgent" notation provided by your e-mail program. Caution: Don't overuse, or you will be like the old fable of the boy who cried "wolf" too many times!
Include only one subject per email message. Not only will this method will simplify e-mail filing and retrieval, but it eliminates the possibility of someone reacting to the first issue, and missing the second, or forgetting to go back and deal with it.
When replying to e-mail, attach enough of the old message for the recipient to remember the content of the original e-mail, but delete unnecessary information or duplication.
Avoid communicating other people's e-mail addresses without their permission:
When sending an e-mail to multiple addresses, put your e-mail in the "To" line and the recipients in the "BCC" line.
When forwarding an e-mail, delete the addresses automatically included in the body of the forwarded e-mail.
If you are composing a lengthy or complicated e-mail, create the e-mail in your word processing program and then copy to your e-mail. If you have an e-mail glitch during the sending process, you can easily retrieve your message!
Avoid sending e-mail attachments whenever possible. Receivers are becoming more reluctant to open attachments due to the increasing prevalence of viruses that can come through attachments. One precaution is to send an e-mail alerting the receiver that you are sending a file in a subsequent e-mail.
When You Receive E-mail:

Set up your e-mail to not automatically download messages from the server over a certain size (30-50K will handle most relevant e-mail without attachments.) This is especially useful if you travel with no fast access.
"Clutter is Postponed Decision®" applies to your electronic In Box as well as your physical desktop. When you open your e-mail In Box, apply The FAT System™ (File-Act-Toss) to each e-mail:
File
Create electronic folders to file emails for future reference. Possibilities include:
Name of person
Name of project
Topic - e.g., "Statistics" "Humor"
Note this is a great place to apply the "Just-in-Time Reading™ method. File information and read only when you are ready to take action.
Most e-mail programs allow you to change the subject line of an incoming message. This can make it easier to retrieve the e-mail later.
Print out and store in paper files for future reference.
Act
Apply the 2-minute rule if possible. If you can take the necessary action in 2 minutes, do it immediately. If will take longer to file and retrieve again than to "just do it!"
Store in folders for future action. Possibilities include:
Print out (Helpful when you don't have access to printer)
Name of person (Note you can have a Reference File and an Action File for the same person. Reference is for items completed; Action for items yet to be completed.)
If you use Microsoft Outlook, you can turn e-mails into task. Left click on an e-mail and drag it to task folder and drop it, a task window will pop open with the e-mail appended to it. Write in the task, assign a priority, and a due date. Click Save. Now you can delete the original e-mail.
Change subject line to reflect action requited. For example, change the subject line "re:re:re: Annual Meeting" to "Call travel agent re: Chicago trip."
If you use a date file system (folders for 1-31; Jan-Dec), print out the related e-mail and file on the day you need it. This could include, for example, a map you need for an appointment, or a printed page of an e-mail to remind you to work on a project which has additional papers stored in e-mail folders.
Toss
Apply The Art of Wastebasketry® questions:
Does this require my action?
Can I identify a specific use?
Is it difficult to obtain again?
Is it recent enough to be useful
Are there tax or legal implications?
What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I toss this?
If you can live with your answer, delete and work happily ever after!
People often complain about the volume of e-mail they receive. However, as Mark Hurst (www.goodexperience.com) points out in his article, "Managing Incoming E-mail", the issue is not volume (the number of e-mails you receive), but "message count" (the number of e-mails in your In Box). He tells the story of the 1980s video game Tapper, in which the bartender must serve thirsty patrons as they advance the length of four bars. At any moment in the game, the payer's status can be determined by the number of customers who, by not receiving service, are nearing the edge of a bar and threatening to end the bartender's "life." Moment to moment, the bartender's survival has nothing to do with how many customers have entered the bar in the past. It only matters how many customers are currently distracting him with their demands for attention. So it is with e-mail.
The Most Important Tip of All

It is not how many e-mails you get. It is how many you let "hang around!" Your "In Box" is not a filing cabinet, a to-do list, a calendar, an address book, or a bookmark list. Although you have limited control over the number of e-mails you get, you have total control over the number you leave in your "In Box." In other words, your goal should be to "Keep your In Box empty!" Sound impossible? I thought so too - until I tried it with much success. I'd love to hear how it goes for you!

BARBARA HEMPHILL is CEO of Hemphill Productivity Institute, located in Raleigh, NC. Author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger series and Simplify Your Workday. She provides speaking and consulting services to help individuals and organizations increase productivity. She can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com