Comments on: How the delete key is your best friend http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/ Tips and add-ons to make Apple Mail / Mail.app even better Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:13:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Six tricks to get your email organised http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-18083 Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Six tricks to get your email organised Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:17:29 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-18083 [...] Some of them will be familiar to Hawk Wings readers like how the delete key is your best friend and reducing the frequency of your email checks. [...] [...] Some of them will be familiar to Hawk Wings readers like how the delete key is your best friend and reducing the frequency of your email checks. [...]

]]> By: Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Can Mail.app cope with heavy loads? http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-13070 Hawk Wings » Blog Archive » Can Mail.app cope with heavy loads? Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:59:25 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-13070 [...] My advice is not much good. I only have about 35,000 emails spread over four IMAP accounts and about ten mailboxes (see further, “How the delete key is your best friend”). That’s chicken feed by Dave’s standards. [...] [...] My advice is not much good. I only have about 35,000 emails spread over four IMAP accounts and about ten mailboxes (see further, “How the delete key is your best friend”). That’s chicken feed by Dave’s standards. [...]

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-9143 Tim Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:19:49 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-9143 Hi Tom. Thanks for your long and thoughtful comment. I find that it is always good policy to agree with Dan :) That tip about setting the Trask to a long period before deletion is a good one. Even the best judgements about what's valuable can be upset by life's odd turns of event. Hi Tom.

Thanks for your long and thoughtful comment. I find that it is always good policy to agree with Dan :)

That tip about setting the Trask to a long period before deletion is a good one. Even the best judgements about what’s valuable can be upset by life’s odd turns of event.

]]> By: Tom Moore http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-9015 Tom Moore Sat, 08 Jul 2006 16:37:37 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-9015 As hard drives have expanded seemingly without limit (especially in the frame of reference of text email), I've come to agree with Dan Warne. If the goal is to minimize the number of times you handle each piece of mail, and if folders are under suspicion of getting in the way in these days of fast search on multiple keywords, moving things from the inbox to another folder is not accomplished anything and it taking up time. For me the right compromise has been as follows: 1. I use the inbox as my ToDo list and my Delegation followup list, and my Deferred action list. I've been using flags to mark mail for action and followup, but after I get done responding, deleting/junking, or filing in a dossier, what's left is a core of stuff that "won't go away until I deal with it", and it is all flagged. I'm about to start drawing additional distinctions and setting calendar action items for some items with Mail Act-on and MailTags. 2. To help clear the inbox, I set my trash to empty only messages older than one month, so I can toss stuff I *might* need in there without anxiety, and pull it out if things change soon. Otherwise, it gets ditched automatically. Usually, something I can remember a month later is well-defined enough to request another copy, if necessary. 3. When I do act or respond to something or get confirmation that it has been successfully delegated, I stow it or trash it, depending on whether it seems like a resource for future reference. 4. I try to stay on top of my inbox daily, but weekly, I go through it and clean up by making the thorough scan that hasn't happened all week. I may accumulate 300-500 emails that haven't been dealt with, and I usually can whack that back to about 100 that I'm holding for future action or followup, by ditching, doing, dealing, delegating, dossiering (?), or if necessary deferring them another week. On my aging eMac home computer, I don't bother with filing things in folders anymore, except that I clear the entire inbox out to an archive folder every few months, to keep Mail from having to deal with more than about 1000 messages in the inbox. Sometimes I set up a smart folder that picks out certain email groups. Perhaps I'll eventually make this move on my work computer when I'm comfortable with MailTags? Tom Moore As hard drives have expanded seemingly without limit (especially in the frame of reference of text email), I’ve come to agree with Dan Warne. If the goal is to minimize the number of times you handle each piece of mail, and if folders are under suspicion of getting in the way in these days of fast search on multiple keywords, moving things from the inbox to another folder is not accomplished anything and it taking up time.

For me the right compromise has been as follows:

1. I use the inbox as my ToDo list and my Delegation followup list, and my Deferred action list. I’ve been using flags to mark mail for action and followup, but after I get done responding, deleting/junking, or filing in a dossier, what’s left is a core of stuff that “won’t go away until I deal with it”, and it is all flagged. I’m about to start drawing additional distinctions and setting calendar action items for some items with Mail Act-on and MailTags.

2. To help clear the inbox, I set my trash to empty only messages older than one month, so I can toss stuff I *might* need in there without anxiety, and pull it out if things change soon. Otherwise, it gets ditched automatically. Usually, something I can remember a month later is well-defined enough to request another copy, if necessary.

3. When I do act or respond to something or get confirmation that it has been successfully delegated, I stow it or trash it, depending on whether it seems like a resource for future reference.

4. I try to stay on top of my inbox daily, but weekly, I go through it and clean up by making the thorough scan that hasn’t happened all week. I may accumulate 300-500 emails that haven’t been dealt with, and I usually can whack that back to about 100 that I’m holding for future action or followup, by ditching, doing, dealing, delegating, dossiering (?), or if necessary deferring them another week.

On my aging eMac home computer, I don’t bother with filing things in folders anymore, except that I clear the entire inbox out to an archive folder every few months, to keep Mail from having to deal with more than about 1000 messages in the inbox. Sometimes I set up a smart folder that picks out certain email groups. Perhaps I’ll eventually make this move on my work computer when I’m comfortable with MailTags?

Tom Moore

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8748 Tim Wed, 05 Jul 2006 06:16:00 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8748 I must say that I am a fan of deleting - it's the same kind of efficiency that keeps by desk clear. On the other hand, I am extremely to grateful to people like you who don't delete and are thus able to answer just about any query I put to them. Thanks :) I must say that I am a fan of deleting - it’s the same kind of efficiency that keeps by desk clear.

On the other hand, I am extremely to grateful to people like you who don’t delete and are thus able to answer just about any query I put to them. Thanks :)

]]> By: Dan Warne http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8746 Dan Warne Wed, 05 Jul 2006 06:02:09 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8746 I don't get why some people think it's so hyper-efficient to go through email and delete stuff. Desktop search makes email archives exceptionally useful over time. I'd be lost without my many-gigabytes of email that can give me an answer to just about any work related question in some shape or form (or at least a hint towards the answer... the manager in charge of XYZ123 ... who most recently sent out an announcement about product BCD987...) To me deleting stuff is wasted time and energy. I don’t get why some people think it’s so hyper-efficient to go through email and delete stuff. Desktop search makes email archives exceptionally useful over time. I’d be lost without my many-gigabytes of email that can give me an answer to just about any work related question in some shape or form (or at least a hint towards the answer… the manager in charge of XYZ123 … who most recently sent out an announcement about product BCD987…)

To me deleting stuff is wasted time and energy.

]]> By: Tim http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8423 Tim Sun, 02 Jul 2006 14:18:08 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8423 ;-) ;-)

]]> By: sjk http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8282 sjk Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:07:23 +0000 http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/06/30/how-the-delete-key-is-your-best-friend/#comment-8282 <blockquote>It’s not what you are thinking. He doesn’t recommend switching to Ubuntu.</blockquote> Stop humoring me, Tim. :-)

It’s not what you are thinking. He doesn’t recommend switching to Ubuntu.

Stop humoring me, Tim. :-)

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