Comments on: How to regain control of your In-box.

By: How to automatically file sent mails with received mails in your Outlook folders. — Managing Priorities with Richard Maybury

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:37:40 +0000

[...] Would you like Microsoft Outlook to automatically file emails you send into your chosen folders? Our reputational and commercial risk is recorded more in our ‘sent’ emails than in our received mails. Many people have elaborate Outlook folder structures to file received emails, yet they pile their sent mails in their ‘Sent’ folder. The following automatic filing approach works well within our 4D Zero Inbox process. [...]

By: Richard Maybury

Richard Maybury — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:15:13 +0000

Good question, Matt, This 4D process is based upon visiting the inbox deliberately to execute the decisions on the new mail and getting out of the inbox as quickly as possible (so as not to tempt us into lingering longer). The best order to approach the 4Ds is Delete, Delegate (with a control process if necessary), Date activate and then Do.

These decisions are made in the knowledge of what is on our Daily Dashboard of meetings and tasks (in Outlook / Lotus Notes or whatever one uses). The Do stuff is done knowing how doing it will impact what is already on the list for the day. If reacting right now to a mail that has just come in clearly the right decision, then one must look at and adjust the order of priorities on the Dashboard. I recommend doing this before we start dealing with the mail because that reinforces the impact assessment.

Does this make sense to you?

By: Matthew Cornell

Matthew Cornell — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:54:45 +0000

Nice summary, Richard. I like you application of the matrix to the Ds. Q: What if a Do Now takes three hours and precludes emptying the rest of the inbox?

By: Email management: When 4Ds are not enough! — Managing Priorities with Richard Maybury

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:01:02 +0000

[...] face it, every now and again we get a mail that doesn’t fit into our classic 4D email processing format. Sometimes a mail hits us and we do a Homer D’Oh! , we want to keep it ’Just [...]

By: Using Outlook Rules to control the Email deluge — Managing Priorities with Richard Maybury

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:48:16 +0000

[...] a little on philosophy and purpose check out: How to regain control of your In-box. The Inbox rewards reactivity whilst the Priority Management daily dashboard rewards [...]

By: How to control what emails hit your Blackberry — Managing Priorities with Richard Maybury

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:45:42 +0000

[...] You have, presumably, already created critical email Rules in Outlook to help you manage the deluge and operate from an empty inbox with our 4D approach. [...]

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:04:27 +0000

Looks like a cool solution for managing generic email traffic.

By: Jason Gallic

Jason Gallic — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:52:29 +0000

Those are all wonderful recommendations for dealing with email overload and its subsequent fallout. And the suggestions are necessary, considering the number of people and organizations that are falling prey to the drain of email.

There is a solution that addresses the management of unending buckets of customer and business email that often plagues organizations.

Email Center Pro was built to address these issues by collecting email from shared addresses like info@ and sales@ into a centralized location. This eliminates the need for any single person to own all of that email, and prevents incessant email checking and perpetual delegation. The service will make you more efficient and accurate — and it will help you improve your overall work flow so that you’re no longer weighted down by your inbox.