Email and GTD

O

OmeWillem

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GTD has become a second nature to me. I handle my stuff in an orderly fashion and usually I get my things done. However, there is one loose end I can't seem to get hold of: the email that led to actions and projects. Obviously the vast majority of my workload enters my world through email and by forwarding this to my list manager I get all of this into my trusted system. But the original emails are still roaming around in my email account.

So I find myself handling actions and projects (in Remember The Milk), but I don't know what to do with all the emails that led to that workload (in Gmail). Can anyone help me out finding a way to deal with this? Should I keep the emails I forwarded to RTM in Gmail and if yes, how?
 
Yes, keep the emails "forever" in your email system. That's what I do, anyway. They make up an important part of your correspondence archive (for future reference, if needed one day), and before that you can also regard them as project support (if needed for the tasks you have listed).
 
Thanx! Do you have any suggestions how and where to keep the action related emails? That's where I get into trouble. Nice to find you here by the way. :)
 
I just leave them in the mail. I usually have no problem finding them if/when I need them. I usuallay phrase my tasks such that they tell me clearly enough what to do (including phone numbers to call, text snippets with names, figures etc) - because I do not want to have to re-read the whole email if I can avoid it. Sometimes I also paste a link to the email if it contains lots of essential data, or if for some reason I think the email will be hard to find.

Yes, nice to see you here, too :-)
 
I enter the task that was triggered by the email into my system, and then I just dump the email into the unsorted archive that contains all of the other emails for that year. If I think that there's any chance that I will need the email again, I'll add information to the task that will allow me to search for the email.

Examples:

- Sort bug in address screen, see email JSmith 3/12/14
- Install licenses in 2/1/14 email from WidgetSoft.
- Do data cleanup specified in 3/1/14 email from BJones.
- Respond to Jane's invitation, email 3/1/14.
 
I have a mail folder called @action (so it stays on top of my other mail folders): I put mails in there for which I defined a next action in my list, and for which I think I will need the mail when performing the action.

In the list itself I write a short info showing me that the action is tied to a mail. A bit like Gardener does, only I use a code (I got tired of writing down "see mail date xyz). For a mail dated today, I write m1504 (m0415 would also work, if you are used to write dates as mmdd rather than ddmm).

Key in this is that I never put a mail in the @action folder without first having defined the next action in my list.

When it comes to archieving: all my outgoing mails are kept in one folder, if I need one I do a search. The incoming mails go in a bunch of folders with the client's name. I much more often need an incoming mail related to a client/project than an outgoing, and sometimes I need them when sitting with the client, so it's nice to have them separated. My inbox is empty in my dreams, and every now and then in real life. Right now, it has around 50 mails, but the trend is in the right direction (a couple of days ago I got around 100, and that really stressed me) ;-)

Myriam
 
OmeWillem said:
GTD has become a second nature to me. I handle my stuff in an orderly fashion and usually I get my things done. However, there is one loose end I can't seem to get hold of: the email that led to actions and projects. Obviously the vast majority of my workload enters my world through email and by forwarding this to my list manager I get all of this into my trusted system. But the original emails are still roaming around in my email account.

So I find myself handling actions and projects (in Remember The Milk), but I don't know what to do with all the emails that led to that workload (in Gmail). Can anyone help me out finding a way to deal with this? Should I keep the emails I forwarded to RTM in Gmail and if yes, how?
Click to expand...

Hi,

My emails go to one of five places:

@Action folder: action required by me and I need this email to get the task done

@Waiting For: stored there because I am waiting for response or action from someone else -- I also store notification emails there: product shipped, check cut, etc.

Project Folders: email specific to a project including support for the project, information or reference which could include those emails that previously lived in @action or @waiting for

Reference folders: labeled by sender or topic, but not project related i.e. HR, DAC/John F. Agreements

Trash: nonactionable emails that I don't need to for reference or incubation items, emails that had been actionable but are completed and I don't need to store, and waiting fors that have been completed or received.

So happy to hear that GTD has become second nature!! Feels pretty good, doesn't it?

Best,

Nancy
 
Nancy.LoCascio said:
@Action folder......
Click to expand...
I like a lot your idea Nancy! I think I could implement it in my system. On the other side, when you suggest to create several folders for each project I feel concerned. I think that too many folders make the organization heavier because each time you have to find where to save a document you need to open...and open again till you have not found where it have been saved
 
I usually forward the email to my task manager and then move the email to an archive folder. I used to try to keep these old email in all sorts of categories, but over time I've found that search has become so good that I no longer need to do that. In gmail I just archive. In Outlook I have a "Quick Step" to do both of these tasks for me at the same time. It forwards to my task manager, mark the mail as read and then moves the email to my archive folder. I keep archives folders by month. This is just makes it easier to find by scanning if I need to find something quickly. If can't find it quickly by scanning I can then use search. This has worked for me for years now, even during times where I've received well over 100 emails a day.

James
 
I use a slight variation on Nancy's system. I use MS Outlook for my e-mail and overall GTD system.

@Action folder: action required; the e-mail itself is the next action reminder. For me this may include:
  • E-mails that require a simple reply
  • Notifications of credit card statements ready for payment
  • Long e-mails that I can't process in under two minutes; I have to read and review to discover and define the work embedded within it)
@Waiting For: the e-mail itself is a reminder of a "waiting for" action. For me this may include:
  • Copies of sent e-mails for which I'm awaiting a reply
  • Delegating e-mails that I've forwarded to someone else to handle
  • Order confirmation e-mail messages (the initial reminder that I placed an order and am waiting for it to be shipped; updates go elsewhere)
~Action Support: e-mails that I may need to support an action listed on an action list or in @Action folder. This folder is reviewed and purged during weekly reviews.
If I didn't use an @Action folder in my e-mail system, I might move an e-mail notification from the bank that it's time to make a credit card payment to this folder and put the reminder of the action on my @Computer list.

~Waiting For Support: e-mails that I need to support a "waiting for" action that listed on my @Waiting For list or in the @Waiting For folder. I primarily use this to store e-mails that update me on the status of my orders, shipping confirmations, PayPal payment receipts, etc. This folder is reviewed and purged during weekly reviews.

Project Folders: email specific to a project including support for the project, information or reference which could include those emails that previously lived in @action or @waiting for

Reference folders: labeled by sender or topic, but not project related i.e. HR, DAC/John F. Agreements

Trash: nonactionable emails that I don't need to for reference or incubation items, emails that had been actionable but are completed and I don't need to store, and waiting fors that have been completed or received.
 
Think of your kept emails like concentric circles of holding patterns. The innermost circle contains those things that are the most urgent or significant for that day. Another circle consists of things you are waiting to hear back about within the next few days. Still others may be emails related to events in the distant future.

I have found the following mailboxes useful:
  • Today!! - for things that are urgent and must get done that day
  • Pending - for things I've parked and am waiting to hear back on (tracking numbers for orders, etc.)
  • Meeting With - to keep track of back-and-forth emails on arranging a meeting with somebody. (I park these until the meeting takes place and then delete them.)
I teach online classes, so I keep student correspondence in folders organized based on the universities I teach for. About six months after the semester is over, I move these emails to the trash.

Nobody has mentioned the importance of purging email yet, but I think it's important to purge your email often (at least once a week). Even for those who archive everything, your searches take longer the greater number of emails you have to search through. If you prefer to archive rather than purge, Nisus Software developed InfoClick to help speed up email searches for OS X. But I rarely have to use it because I purge my email system and keep it as lean as possible.
 
Think of your kept emails like concentric circles of holding patterns. The innermost circle contains those things that are the most urgent or significant for that day. Another circle consists of things you are waiting to hear back about within the next few days. Still others may be emails related to events in the distant future.

I have found the following mailboxes useful:
  • Today!! - for things that are urgent and must get done that day
  • Pending - for things I've parked and am waiting to hear back on (tracking numbers for orders, etc.)
  • Meeting With - to keep track of back-and-forth emails on arranging a meeting with somebody. (I park these until the meeting takes place and then delete them.)
I teach online classes, so I keep student correspondence in folders organized based on the universities I teach for. About six months after the semester is over, I move these emails to the trash.

Nobody has mentioned the importance of purging email yet, but I think it's important to purge your email often (at least once a week). Even for those who archive everything, your searches take longer the greater number of emails you have to search through. If you prefer to archive rather than purge, Nisus Software developed InfoClick to help speed up email searches for OS X. But I rarely have to use it because I purge my email system and keep it as lean as possible.
 
Think of your kept emails like concentric circles of holding patterns. The innermost circle contains those things that are the most urgent or significant for that day. Another circle consists of things you are waiting to hear back about within the next few days. Still others may be emails related to events in the distant future.

I have found the following mailboxes useful:
  • Today!! - for things that are urgent and must get done that day
  • Pending - for things I've parked and am waiting to hear back on (tracking numbers for orders, etc.)
  • Meeting With - to keep track of back-and-forth emails on arranging a meeting with somebody. (I park these until the meeting takes place and then delete them.)
I teach online classes, so I keep student correspondence in folders organized based on the universities I teach for. About six months after the semester is over, I move these emails to the trash.

Nobody has mentioned the importance of purging email yet, but I think it's important to purge your email often (at least once a week). Even for those who archive everything, your searches take longer the greater number of emails you have to search through. If you prefer to archive rather than purge, Nisus Software developed InfoClick to help speed up email searches for OS X. But I rarely have to use it because I purge my email system and keep it as lean as possible.
 
Nice to meet everyone here. I am just starting my GTD journey and this has been a sticking point for me as well. In my personal life, I find that creating an action in my task manager for emails that I receive is easy as they are mostly things like pay a bill, enter an online receipt into Quicken, download a monthly statement etc. E-mails at work are more conversational and require me to reply, wait for a response, and so on. I tried similiar suggestions of having "actions" and "waiting for" categories but I prefer to have everything in my task manager software instead of managing inboxes in multiple places. I also find it hard to keep up-to-date with the categories. For example, do I always categorize the latest message in the thread an uncategorize previous ones so that my "waiting for" or "action" category doesn't get loaded with duplicates? I use Outlook 2007 at work, so it doesn't organize e-mails in conversations like GMail does. I think it would be easier if that were the case. I am still trying to figure out what will work best for me and am hoping something will just click one day.

Along the same lines, I find that I am always monitoring my email inbox and tend to spend a lot of time responding to mails instead of working on actions that I already defined. Do you just go through your email inbox at certain points of the day instead of throughout the day? How do you determine when to reply to emails vs. work on other actions that are defined in your task manager?

Thanks,
Mike
 
Yes, Forever keep the emails in your email system. That's what I always do. They have created the archiving option that can help you refer your mails in future.
 
I tried having @Action and @Waiting For labels in my email but that did not work for me either. Two systems was too much for me and the email one was never up to date. There were problems with accidentally applying @Action and @Waiting For labels simultaneously. Finally, labelling an email @Action lets me know there is an action but not what that action, or the desired outcome is. In the end, I found it easier to create actions (and sometimes projects) in my main system with enough info in a notes field to get me back to the email.

Technology has become very skilful at distracting under the guise of convenience: phone calls, emails, text messages, voicemail , skypes, snapchats, facebook, weather warnings, breaking news and more default to interrupting you throughout the day. Without controlling them, they will rule your whole day. The only one that intrinsically requires immediate attention is a phone call and that's only because once it stops ringing you can't answer and even then only if that call will be important to you. For the rest, you have to decide how important they are to you, your employer and the people who contact you.

For most people, I expect that checking and processing emails properly once or twice a day is sufficient to keep everyone happy.
 
E-mail is an area that I'm really struggling with. I'm in a new role, where I'm getting 60-80 e-mails a day, in addition to a very packed schedule. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me - that's a pretty decent volume. I think one of my struggles is that (being new to the role), it often takes me more than 2 minutes to process each e-mail. I'm sure that will get better with time, but for now - I'm drinking from a fire hose.

I do need some more discipline in my system (which is what drove me back to the GTD site...need a refresh) - but curious to see how those of you with high e-mail volume handle that task without losing 2 hours a day to process e-mail. Love the use of "@action" and "@wtg for" (used that practice at one time, but have gotten away from it).

Do I need to just give in and schedule a solid block of time devoted to processing e-mail?

Very interested to hear your comments/suggestions.
 
I guess most of you use Microsoft Outlook for e-mail. If you do, Clear Context is an amazing add-in you should buy. It lest you easily create tasks from e-mails (I know Outlook can do that to, but trust me this is so much better)

Process your e-mail 2-3 times per day and Do (everything taking less than two minutes), Defer (make a task), Delegate (make a task and delegate it) or Delete (or archive as I do, i nevere delete anything). Learn the hotkeys in Outlook, and you will do this super-fast!
 
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