This week, my friend Julia attended a workshop called “Reboot Your Work: Modern Methods for Productivity, Sanity, and Control”, presented by productivity consultant Matt Cornell. (Oooh! I wish I could have gone too!!)

I thought Matt had a good suggestion for people whose e-mail inboxes are out of control. One not-so-productive workshop trainee (we’ll call him “Phil”) complained of having 17,000 unread messages in his e-mail account. Matt advised Phil to (1) focus on dealing with only the e-mail messages from the last 2 weeks, and (2) put the rest of the messages in an archive folder to work on later (if he finds the time to.)

Finally, if the e-mail becomes more than Phil can handle, Matt says he could always file for e-mail bankruptcy.

Here are my two tips for keeping e-mail under control:

(1) Set yourself up for success.

• For the love of God, consolidate your e-mail accounts. If you have more than one e-mail address, set up your system to receive ALL e-mail messages at one central account.
• Create filters. How do they work? Filters will automatically label, archive or trash messages for you based on specific criteria you set. I use filters for managing my all newsletter subscriptions and listservs – basically anything that holds my general interest but does not require action. With filters, I can read newsletters and mailing list stuff whenever I have time (which isn’t very often!), and they stay out of my inbox, which I chiefly reserve for actionable items.
• Set an intention for time spent working on e-mail. Decide before you sit down what your goals are. Do you want to address the most urgent messages and spend only 10 minutes doing so? If yes, then identify the urgent, actionable messages, reply and get out of there quickly. You must fight the urge to get sidetracked following YouTube links or reading forwarded jokes!
• Unsubscribe from mailing lists, junk and newsletters as often as possible. It is worth your time to unsubscribe so you will not receive them ever again.

(2) Check e-mail the smart way.

• Identify the action step inherent in each message. Tagging actionable messages with brightly colored tags (thanks Gmail!) such as “Do”, “Schedule”, “Read”, “Write Back ASAP”, “Write Back Later”, etc. will help you prioritize and clear your inbox much faster. For example, if you have three items labeled “Schedule”, you can take care of all three in one sitting the next time you have your calendar open.
• Add specific tags to the messages you plan to archive but may need to find again later. The most useful tags refer specifically to the content of messages. Examples are “Blog ideas”, “Running group”, and “Recipes”.
• Put off less urgent responses by writing a short note to the person such as, “Dear _______, Thank you for your message. I hope to get back to you next week with a thoughtful reply to your question.” Tag the message “Write Back Later”. Now you can put your energy into tackling the messages that require a more immediate response.
• Archive messages immediately after taking action.

If you need more tips, I recommend checking out 43 folders’ Inbox Zero series.

Thoughts on this? Other ideas? Post a comment or write to Crystal and let her know!

Another reason I use a Web site called Backpack to organize my whole life is the remarkable ability it gives me to store files and share important information with other people.

Here are just a few examples of the ways I use Backpack:

Storing important documents for safe-keeping. A fire might be able to burn down your house or filing cabinet, but it can’t destroy the whole Internet! With Backpack, the filing possibilities are endless. Simply scan and upload documents to the site as files. As an example, I store my a copy of passport and other important travel documents on Backpack in case (heaven forbid!) I lose them while traveling.

Sharing travel information with my family members (they get worried about me). I create a whole page for them called, for example: “Crystal’s trip to Nigeria”. I attach the flight itinerary and include the addresses and phone numbers of the hotels where I’ll be staying. I also include time zone information in case they want to call me. While overseas, I can access the page and update it if necessary – and even include a note about how I’m doing. My mom finds real comfort in the practical travel pages I make for her!

Managing doctor and dentist contact information, as well as listing locations of all my family members’ medical records. This one really comes in handy. Whenever I need to make appointment, call for results or transfer records, I have all the information at my fingertips. I can also share the page with my husband so he can view and access the info too.

Christmas gift and card list. Using the “Notes” function, I create a list of all the people I need to buy gifts for, as well as any gift ideas or notes to myself. (Example: “Anna likes comfy slippers, wears size 8 shoe”) A second list includes all the people I want to send cards to.  I can keep these lists from year to year so I can continue to update and refine them.

Next —> How to use Backpack for organize your daily tasks.

Have more ideas? Post a comment, or write to Crystal and let her know!

For the past two years, I have used a Web site called Backpack as my task list manager, collaboration tool, online filing system and much more.

How does it work? Very simply. Once you are logged in, you make pages. On each page, you choose to start a list, add notes, or upload files. You can share your pages with other people, or just keep them to yourself.

Why Backpack is so great:

• It substantially reduces the amount of time I spend digging for paper or hunting desperately for information.
• It is simple, easy to use and extremely intuitive, meaning you do not have to learn anything to be able to use it.
• Backpack simplifies the way you use task lists, and it is highly useful for filing and planning. Basically, you can organize your whole entire life with it.
• The index system for keeping track of all your pages makes Backpack like having your very own personal assistant.

Bottom line:

Backpack is like an undiscovered treasure. Folks have just not caught on yet. Backpack is great for anyone who wants simple, online organizing solutions.

Next —> How to use Backpack for online filing, lists and collaboration