Prerequisite: Inbox Zero

Diplomatic Security imposes an IT lockdown on computers connected to OpenNet–that is, you can’t install software, you can’t use a non-DoS owned device on computers, and there is no reasonable expectation of privacy on any official machine. Most GTD ideas, including Inbox Zero, require additional software or websites that don’t render well in IE6. In this post, I’ll guide you through how I manage to keep my inbox empty while keeping tasks moving.

First things first, you need to get some Personal Folders to create your filing system. Different posts will have different setups, but in general you have a .pst file on your personal partition of your network drive. Generally, at the bottom of your folder list in Outlook, an option will come up for data file management. Go ahead and make sure your profile is ‘added’ and you’ll be set to go. The idea is to keep to a minimum the number of folders you have so you don’t waste all of your time sorting emails.

I use five main folders:

  1. Archive – Here’s where I put all emails that aren’t immediately deleted. 95% of my email ends up here (I’ll discuss why below). Items in Archive will likely be deleted upon PCS.
  2. EER - I find keeping a folder where all those ‘atta boy emails can go saves me a ton of time come April, and it’s also a good place to send emails to yourself.
  3. Pending – These are emails that I need to take action on, but I can’t do it immediately. Once done in here, they’ll either go to Archive or Save.
  4. Save - This is similar to Archive, but it is filled with emails that need to follow me from place to place. Old EER folders go in here, as do other key guidance emails. Over the past three years, I’ve put only 60 emails in here.
  5. Waiting – This is entirely populated by emails that are pending other peoples’ action. Most come directly from my sent mail (via mail rules. More below).

Now that you’re set up, you need to learn how to process email. Most email falls in one of three categories: Information, Action Required, Trash. If the email is just FYI, your action is reading it and then getting rid of it. I generally read it and then put it into Archive, where I’ll be able to reference it for the rest of my time at post.

If there’s an action required, you need to decide how complicated that action is. Most of the time, it’s just a reply email. Try to take care of those quickly. If it’s more involved or you’re going to need clearances, drop it into your Pending folder and figure out where that goes in your day. You’d be surprised at the amount of email that can go straight to the trash.

There are, obviously, exceptions to the five-folder rule. If you have special projects (e.g. a visit or a annual report), it may be easier to keep those in heirarchical folder. But when you’re done, decide if that folder goes in its entirety into Archives or Save.

Now that you’re on your way to master processing, there are a few built-in shortcuts to autofile your correspondence. They work best if you work at the same workstation every day, but you can make them portable if you travel alot (or are at FSI).

The first are using mail rules and tags to sort your outgoing mail.  I’ve used a modified version of this Lifehacker tip to auto-sort: My sets are for sent items sent by me that contain [w] go to the Waiting folder, [a] goes to Archive, [s] to Save, etc. This way I can keep my “Sent Items” folder manageable by periodically deleting it in its entirety.

Next, I use this tip (scroll down to “Configure Move and Copy toolbar” to set up the keystroke “Alt-1″ to move my email from the Inbox to Archive. The rest are used infrequently enough to be used manually. Forego the “Copy” for just “Move” to save yourself clutter.

Now that my inbox and sent mail are empty, no one will ever get a response from me that my mailbox is full. I also have a good grasp on what I need to get done each day, and a daily target of getting to zero. Packing out with IRM becomes really easy, as you just have them copy your Save and EER folders and post management can decide what to do with your Archive folder.

 

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