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5 comments

  1. I’ve been using this system for some time (we probably got the same training) but later on I switched to subfolders named like on a phone: ABC DEF GHI JKL MNO PQRS TUV WXYZ as a compromise.

    frankg Reply

  2. To be honest: I wouldn’t know when to file an email under A. I never look for an email by subject. (Most people do not name their email very well) And sometimes I want an email in multiple folders because two seperate conversations are in a single email. So I do NOT archive by topic.

    The way I work:
    All that is in the inbox needs attention. As soon as something doesn’t need attention anymore I put it in my Done folder. Outlook 2010 even comes with a button to do that for me.
    If something needs a reminder I put it in my calender so I am forced to think about the amount of time it needs and when it needs to be done.
    Thanks to search and conversion view it is not that difficult to find an old email in my done folder.

    Erno de Weerd Reply

  3. conversion = conversation

    Erno de Weerd Reply

  4. E-mails don’t have a very good subject, most of the time. So I check the contents to see if it fits a particular category and I place it under that folder in my archive.

    Because I have so much e-mail I still need the search functionality to find the older mails, but the archive structure sure makes live easier for me.

    Look at the comments though I can see that there are many variations possible and all those variations work for the people that use them.

    The idea is that you introduce an external memory system, so you can clear your head and have a better overview of what’s going on.

    willemm Reply

  5. Yup, clear your head and have an external memory/reminder is very important and relaxing 😉

    Erno de Weerd Reply