TamingEmail.com comes from a ton of ideas that are swirling around in my head having to do with managing email more effectively. As with so many things swirling around in my brain, it’s full of promise, but highly disorganized.
So here’s a brain-dump. An outline, a road map, a sense of direction. The topics concepts and ideas that TamingEmail.com is going to cover.
In other words, just where do I think I’m headed?
So, with that in mind, here’s the outline. As new items occur to me, they’ll be added here. As essays are written, items in this outline will be updated to link as appropriate. (Top level items in the outline correspond to the article categories you see listed on this site.)
Taming Email
- Philosophy and Overview
- My Inbox Is Empty, Yours? (Introduction) – the philosophy behind TamingEmail.com and how and why it came to be.
- That’s A Lot Of Mail! – I get a ton, and break it down as to where from, and where to.
- Getting Less Email
- Opting In, Opting Out – When you can, choose to get email, and choose not to.
- Don’t Ask for Spam – Don’t let your email address hang out for just anyone to see.
- One Simple Trick to Getting Less Email – Really simple: you may not realize that you’re asking for more email. Don’t.
- RSS – A fantastic approach to avoiding email completely for certain classes of information.
- Spam, Spam, Spam, Eggs and Spam – Dealing with it and stemming the tide.
- Tools and Techniques
- Save Everything So You Can Delete More – a controversial approach to dealing with email that could free you, save your time, and save your … assets.
- How many email addresses do you need? – Three. At least. Really.
- Choosing an Email Program – What to look for. Where to look.
- Choosing an ISP – What to look for. Where to look.
- Email Accounts, Free or Not? – In many cases, not. But still, another useful tool in the taming email arsenal.
- Dealing With the Email You Get
- Email is never urgent. Really. – and realizing that can set you free.
- Do I Have New Mail? Do I Have New Mail? Do I … – Do you REALLY need to know? Now? And Now? How about Now?
- The Art of Plowing Through – One simple technique, that if applied consistantly can tame 80% of your unmanaged inbox.
- Save The Lists! – What to do about mailing lists that promise archives, but then don’t deliver.
- The Most Under-used Key on Your Keyboard – hint: it’s not Insert.
- Is a Response Really Required? – polite only goes so far.
- How Many More Email Addresses Do You Need? – An email address is a powerful management tool to be applied liberally.
- Chill Out – Don’t feed the Trolls
- Chill Out Some More – Accept the inevitable
- Rules
- Rules to Live By – Rules are the single most powerful tool at your disposal. Invest a little education here.
- The Golden Rule – If I could have only one message rule, this would be it.
- Communicating Effectively
- Subjects are Everything – Well, almost everything. Why this is so critically important.
- Use Plain Format – Substance Over Style – focus on the message, not how “pretty” it looks.
- Attachments are Evil, and Over-used – and more work, slower and can cause your mail to not be delivered. Enough?
- Plain & Short, Simple & Sweet – Your life story has it’s place, just not in my inbox.
- Count to 10, 100, to 1000 if you have to. – a quick reply in the heat of the moment? A horrifically bad idea.
- Email, IM & Phone – Choosing the right tool for the job.
- Email is Not Your Todo List – The wrong tool for the job.
- Definitions
Something missing? You have a burning issue relating to email management you’d like me to address? Drop me a line.