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authorLars Wirzenius <liw@liw.fi>2011-07-17 15:04:43 +0100
committerLars Wirzenius <liw@liw.fi>2011-07-17 15:04:43 +0100
commit9b0862213468e3f35e083c65f391e2892f22fc98 (patch)
tree55f2150032146f9f66c02b5ee00485c550e205b9 /inboxes.mdwn
parentb276de40496780fbfde73d104b811493e39eb673 (diff)
downloadgtdfh.liw.fi-9b0862213468e3f35e083c65f391e2892f22fc98.tar.gz
Add a couple of sample starts of chapters (for testing book script).
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+Inputs and inboxes
+==================
+
+Consider how you deal with e-mail. All your e-mail arrives,
+automatically, unbidden, unwanted, unloved, in one or more inboxes.
+You might have one inbox for work, and another for personal use.
+Further, you might have automatic filters that move some incoming
+e-mail into other folders: software developers are often on many
+discussion mailing lists, each of which goes into its own folder.
+Each such folder would be a separate inbox.
+
+A common anti-pattern for people is to keep e-mail in their inboxes.
+They read it, and leave it there. The next time they read e-mail, there
+might more some new mail, which they read, and leave there. Eventually,
+the mail piles up a lot, and it gets hard to find a specific mail you
+may need. Even more importantly, it gets hard to know which mails still
+require you to do something. Perhaps there was a mail from your boss
+you need to re-read? Or a mail from your mother that you need to reply
+to? Or perhaps you replied to her already? Can't remember if you did?
+
+Treating an e-mail folder both as an inbox and an archive of old mail,
+and mixing it futher up as a list of things to do, leads to confusion,
+angst, and stress.
+
+Let's make a small change to e-mail handling. Let's keep only
+unprocessed e-mail in the inboxes, and do one of the following things
+for every e-mail in each inbox, after reading it:
+
+* delete it, if it is unlikely to be of further use; for example, spam,
+ or stupid jokes from friends
+* reply to it immediately, if you can, and it will only take a minute or two;
+ for example, your mother asks if you'll be visiting next weekend, and you've
+ already made plans with your partner to go on holiday, so you can reply
+ at once saying sorry, not this weekend
+* move it to a "need replying" folder, if the mail requires a reply, but
+ you don't have time to do that right now
+* forward it to someone else, perhaps with a cover letter, if it's their job,
+ not yours, to deal with it; for example, it might be a question only your
+ boss can answer
+* move it to an archival folder, if you think you might need it later on
+
+(Compare the above list with "do, defer, delegate, delete, or file" from
+the [[quickie-overview]] chapter.)
+
+When you have time, you look into the "need replying" folder, and reply
+to one or more mails in there. After you've replied, you delete or archive
+the original mail.
+
+With this change, you have a better handle on your e-mail. You know that
+anything in the inbox is unknown and needs to be processed, and anything
+in the "need replying" folder needs some action, and that anything you
+might need later is in the archival folder. No other mails require any
+action, and any mails that do require action are easy to find.
+
+This will make you be much more relaxed about your e-mail. You never need
+to worry whether you've replied to everything that needs replying. A further
+benefit, also of great benefit, is that you're likely to reply to mail
+much faster than before.
+