Message processing took a bit longer today than last week. I felt sluggish, but more so, I felt directionless.

A Process for Processing

I think I need to create a step-by-step list on how to process my email because I tend to start processing one kind of message but then shift gears along the way because I come across a message that requires a different action.

For example, I’ll start out selecting messages that can be deleted straightaway, but I stop short when I encounter a message that needs to be flagged for filtering.

Here’s an initial list:

• Finance (label & archive)
• Delete
• To Read (label & archive)
• Filter (Requires additional management — label & archive)

It’s rather simple, but I think it should help me to process messages more effectively. I’ve added this list to Checkvist so that I can easily check items off as I process messages from now on.

Down, not out

Though I’m actually further away from my goal of spending 10 minutes per week on email than I was last week, total email processing time is still well under 30 minutes. There were also more messages this week than there were last week so that surely affected processing time as well.

Today’s Stats

• Checked email: 1 time
• Time: 09:59:16
• Total messages: 200
  • Inbox: 52
  • Bulk: 132
  • Important: 1
• Management: 14
  • Incorrect Smart Label: 13
  • Unsubscribe: 0
  • Update filtering: 1
• Time per Message
  • Inbox: 09:02 (5.8 messages/minute)
  • Bulk: 10:10 (13 messages/minute)
  • Management (filters, etc.): 04:02
  • Total: 23:16
  • Average: 8.6 messages/minute