Exchange server, assistants, and GTD - How to make it work?

[Jim West]

My assistant and I are both on a exchange server and are using outlook 2003.

She goes through my email, deleted the junk, and replies for me to the ones that don’t really need my time (like Jim, pls send me Bill’s number).

She can see my whole mailbox in her folder list. Tasks, inbox, everything. Full access

How can I make best use of this feature and her time. given the fact I am now using GTD (she is also using it)?

I use my Outlook tasks a lot. And use that technique were you can convert emails to tasks. The problem is that processing my inbox daily is taking to much of my very limited time!

Can she do my Email processing for me? How would that work? What if she converted an email into a @Call task, how would I know that she did it (other then seeing it in my @Call group and realizing that I didn’t make it).

What do other people who have assistants and who are on an Exchange server do to better facilitate their assistant helping them in a GTD environment?

How can we best exploit the ability for her to access my exchange mailbox to help me better mange email and tasks and my project list.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

thanx in advance,

Jim West

 

[Anonymous]

Have you tried color coding? Perhaps you can make her additions another color so you'll get an instant feel for what's been added in your lists. It also sounds as though you don't want/or have time for the type of interaction where your assistant tells you what she has added to your workload. You want to be able to see it for yourself?
You could also have her summarize in an email whatever she's done, and set a rule to highlight that email (larger font, color, bold, whatever works) so you pull it up first thing and can get a handle on what's been happening.
I'm looking forward to everyone else's ideas on this as well. Thanks for asking!

HTH,
Elena