Wednesday, February 27, 2008

EMAIL PROTOCOL for humans!

This is not about SMTP or POP or IMAP or STFU. This is about how I propose people should deal with emails:

- Your inbox is your to-do list. Everything that comes in should be viewed as a task that needs to be completed.
- A task is completed if:
- it doesn't require a response (ex: a message that just says "thanks" or a mass mailing)
- you have responded to it, and you know that you're responding to the right person
- Otherwise, the task is not completed, and it must fester in your inbox like a thorn in your side until you have dealt with it!
- Once a task is completed, it should be archived, or moved to a "trash" folder. (not deleted.)
- Your inbox should not be larger than, say, 30 emails. If there are more than about 30, you will lose track of some of them.
- Every day, you should read over your inbox and make sure that you're not holding anyone else up by not replying to these emails.

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