1) Only check email twice a day- 12 noon and 4 pm.
2) set up filters to label everything that comes in on a regular basis
3) Ruthlessly send everything I label straight to archive- unless I know it is going to be urgent.
4) Batch process archived and unread mail once a week.

You will be amazed to discover that the world does not fall apart if you do not repond instantly to every email. As Barney points out. if its really urgent they’ll find a way to contact you! 🙂

Email is alive, kicking and growing strong. 90 trillion emails were sent over the Internet in 2009 (NetCraft stat) and 81% are spam.

The problem is email is such a flexible tool. We are addicted to it, thus your 7 hours inbox session. New Social Media/networking technologies have not managed to displace it, despite the promise.

There is a really opportunity to whoever can sort out our overflowing inboxes. Unfortunately its not easy – Lotus have tried with workflow for 15+ years and now Xobni with search. Time will tell.

Right, back to my Inbox!

Best

Nick

Welcome back.

I tried a trick in my last place and it worked fine.

Basically, don’t go any further back than the last 3 working days. If it’s important, they’ll come back to you. It took discipline, but boy did it work and save a huge amount of time. There is, of course, a risk that you might miss something vital – but I really do think that someone else is likely to have picked it up in your absence.

Always nice to read personal stories.
Cheers
Barney