Turning email into actions: My Outlook system

I am getting through the a primer on the Getting Things Done system a little bit at a time. This is my method for ensuring that I thoroughly absorb the new system or methodology I am learning, adapt it to meet my needs and incorporate it into my worldview. If I tried to do this in big chunks, it would overwhelm me, so I keep chiseling away at it a little bit at a time, and the change becomes cumulative. (This is the same approach I am taking to learning Buddhism, by the way.)

The first idea I incorporated from GTD was carrying a small Moleskine notebook that I could use to immediately record actions, needs, appointments, notes and other little bits of information so they wouldn’t get lost in the morass that is my brain. (Thanks to the Creating Passionate Users blog for the idea, which I immediately adapted to my own needs.) By the way, carrying a Moleskine notebook with you everywhere you go is sure to make you feel very literary, even if all you’re recording is your need to buy flourescent lightbulbs.

My notebook represents one Action List, mostly personal actions. My goal is to check off one per day. But the bulk of my work-related to do’s are stored in my Outlook Tasks list (see my post about how I use Outlook’s Tasks list to organize all of my actions). Inspired by GTD, I have worked out a system that helps me transform my emails into my actions using Outlook.

When an email comes into my Inbox, I read the email only once and then I take one of the following 4 actions:

1. Delete it.
2. File it — I use Outlook’s rules as much as possible to do the filing for me.*
3. Do it, if it will take under 2 minutes to complete.
4. Flag it and send it to the Waiting List.

*I use one of Outlook’s Search Folders — the Unread Mail folder — to read all my emails, so even though they are pre-filed, I don’t have to dig through all the folders to find the new messages. The Unread Mail folder is like a virtual Inbox, except once you’ve read something, it disappears. Cool! (I really hope the Search Folders remain in Outlook 2007, or my whole system will be compromised.)

I use Outlook’s flags to create a Waiting List where I can park every email I get that is waiting on some kind of action. The flags are different colors, and each color has a specific meaning:

• Red is for emails that require a high-priority action be added to my Action List.
• Blue is for emails that require a medium-priority action be added to my Action List.
• Yellow is for emails that require a low-priority action be added to my Action List.
• Green is for emails that require a response from someone else before I can take an action.
• Orange is for emails containing information that I will need for a scheduled meeting.
• Purple is for emails containing information that I will need soon but I am not sure when.

If an action really needs to be done that day, I will skip the flagging and turn it into an action when I read the email, with a due date of today, so it will my immediately appear on my to-do list.

Another one of Outlook’s Search folders — For Follow Up — organizes all of my tagged emails into one place. I sort the flags by color, so the highest-priority (red) items are at the top of the list. Once a day, usually first thing in the morning , I go through the Waiting List and turn the red, blue and yellow items into actions on my Tasks list.

The next thing I do is open my Action List and pick the 3 Most Important Things I need to do that day. I assign them as due that day. That way, my day’s to-do list is short and sweet when I view it next to my Calendar on the Outlook Today screen. If I get through all 3 tasks and still have time, I can return to my Tasks List and work on upcoming actions in any order I like.

When I work in Outlook, I usually have the Outlook Today screen open so I can keep referring to my calendar and to-do list. (I understand that in Outlook 2007, Outlook Today will be the default screen, making things even easier.) On the left, under Favorite Folders, there are only 3 items: Inbox, Unread Mail and For Follow Up. Everything I need, available at a glance — this system keeps getting leaner and meaner the more I work on it.

Another point I am trying to make with this post is that you can make software work for your personal organizational system, whatever it is. You don’t need software specially designed to support your system. As long as I work where I do, I am going to be using Outlook, so I just made its features work for me. If you use another email or PIM program, you can probably do the same with it. It takes some time to learn the software well so you can put it to work, but it’s time well spent.