How to manage mail: 10 tips from TED staff

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

TED employee Michael McWaters shared 10 tips on his blog to keep his mail organized.

Who, if not TED editors and managers, can you talk about methods of dealing with congested mail. According to them, the company receives hundreds of letters every day, and the counter of incoming emails for some employees has long exceeded a thousand.

Michael McWaters, TED UX Architect, offers 10 solutions to this problem.

You will have no more time in the future than you do now

Michael noticed that many people postpone mailing for later because they believe that at some point in the future they will have more time to do this. Will not. Your employment level is likely to remain in the next week, month, year. You may even be happy about it. But there will be the same amount of time for mail. So start working with her right now.

Try to start from scratch

There are two ways to do it:

1. Take some time and go to clean your mail in several steps. Depending on how many emails you have, it will take you up to ten passes to clear them. If this is difficult, break the work down into several 15-minute chunks.
2. Go for broke. Set aside three or four hours and make your inbox the ideal of cleanliness and order.

Take some time each day

For Michael, this is the hardest part of the plan. You will have to work with your mail several times every day. He recommends setting aside 15 minutes every four hours and only focusing on your inbox.

If the letter is not very important - delete

There is a temptation to send each more or less important letter to a separate folder in order to deal with it later. But if the letter doesn't deserve your attention right now, delete it.

Unsubscribe from every unnecessary mailing

I often sin by simply deleting emails from mailings that are not interesting to me. Michael is more categorical:

If the newsletter is not interesting to you, not only delete the letter, but also unsubscribe from it.

At the bottom of each letter there is a button "Unsubscribe" or Unsubscribe. Use it as directed. And the more often the better. You can also use the Unroll.me service, which we talked about here. It will unsubscribe you from unnecessary mailings automatically.

If the message is still in your inbox, read it

If the letter was verified, and you did not unsubscribe and did not delete it immediately, then read it. If it's short, read it straight away. If it is long, send the email to the previously created Read folder and come back to it when you have more free time. Michael believes that if you are honest with yourself, then the minimum percentage of all letters will fall into this folder.

It's better to answer short emails right away

If the email you have sent requires a quick response, please reply … immediately. Do not wait. After sending your reply, delete the email. If the letter contains a copy sent to another recipient, and he does not need to know your answer, remove it from the recipients.

Forward emails to colleagues if they can respond more competently

Redirect the letter with a little explanation and delete it from your inbox.

Get busy sorting

Any mail service gives users the ability to create folders. It is the best tool for dealing with congested mail. I created a folder for work, photos, study and other things. Michael suggests making folders "Projects", "Other", "Reply Later". The main thing is that you feel comfortable.

Choose the right application

For me, Mailbox has become such an application. Michael also chose him. But there are many options. You can enter the word "mail" and the name of the OS for which you are looking for a client in the search for Lifehacker. I promise you will find something suitable.

Outcome

If you could not read the article (tell us why), then here is a short list of all the steps:

1. Disassemble your Inbox in a few rounds.
2. Decide what to do with the letter as soon as it arrives.
3. Clean your mail from time to time.
4. Unsubscribe from unnecessary mailings.