I've read Getting Things Done, but I'm not one of those radical evangelists who subscribe to it as though it is some kind of theology. The book taught me though to start thinking about ways to tweak what I do and create more organized systems out of them. This article intends on showing you how I manage my inbox and how I've managed to build a system to keep me productive and going throughout the day without too much room for procrastination or excuses. It allows me to easily remind myself to follow-up with people, and makes it so that I can handle most tasks quickly and easily using Gmail with Firefox.
Here are the steps to set up the system:
Step One: This system requires you to turn keyboard shortcuts on in Gmail. To turn them on, click on "Settings" on the top of the screen, then make sure the radio button is on "Keyboard Shortcuts On."
Step Two: In order to use our enhancement package, you must also install Greasemonkey on your Firefox browser. Along with Greasemonkey, you'll want to install Lifehacker.com's "Better Gmail" which is a package of extensions that enhance GMail. Most important in this package is a package called GMail Macros Advanced. After installing both Greasemonkey and Better Gmail, open up the Better Gmail 2 preference window (should be under Tools... Better Gmail 2) and make sure "Macros Modified" is checked off.
GMail Macros allows you to assign a label to a message very quickly. You just type "l +
Step Three: Now that you have the right software, you need to create a proper labeling system. Code your labels so that they're easily typeable and human-readable, and won't ever confuse you. They must be completely intuitive or you'll never trust or use the system. My labeling system is to the left. It is pretty great, and a foundation for you to build upon. Copy it if you want, tweak it and tell me what you do.
Here's how it works:
I will process my inbox as I see fit, and put things in these various folders. If I am not sure off-the-bat or requires further brainpower to figure out its classification, it goes into the ToDo folder. If it is an action item that needs to be done as soon as possible, it goes in the to-do label. If it is stuff that I can read later, I toss it in the Reference label. If it is a meeting I need to schedule, I can push it in the "Schedule It" label. Because of the way my labels are named, it takes a minimal amount of keystrokes to do this. Just an x to select the message, then "l1" puts a todo label on it, and y gets it out of the inbox.
On a regular basis, I check the to-do box, which I can get to in gmail by pressing g+1. I do whatever these things tell me to do, then more often than not, remove the to-do label and let the message sit in the archive. If I were more pro-active, I'd label them "done" and remove the to-do label so that I could gauge my productivity, but for some reason I rarely do this. I just want the task to get out of that to-do box. To remove the todo label from the to-do label view, I just hit y. In order to remove it from some other view, I hit L+1. Same goes for every other folder.
But what happens when you need to do something some other time? That's what my weekday labels are for. If I need to respond to an email on Tuesday (to, say, check in with a client perhaps?) I just hit x to select the message then type in l+w2. That puts it into my Tuesday box. After I clear out my normal to-do mail, I check the Tuesday box and get everything in there too. On Wednesdays, I check the Wednesday box.
The only special days are Mondays. On Mondays, I check not only the Monday label (which I get to by pressing g+w1), but also the "Next Week" label (g+w8) and schedule or do those tasks accordingly. On the first Monday of each month, I check the "Next Month" label and make sure to get everything scheduled out or done in there too.
This has created a system for me that I most importantly really trust to work. I can handle it. I don't need file folders or 500 different contexts. I need to trust that I easily put things in the right place and that I can get back to them when I need to.
I would love your feedback. What additions could you make? This system is intended, to me, to be a lightweight system that can be flexible with me that I can always trust. Hope it helps you too.
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