My solution is to have two folders (inbox and archives). Everything that comes in gets archived (via a rule) and as I deal with each email in the inbox I delete it. Whatever is left over is stuff needing to be actioned. Simple and effective. If somethings not done I don’t have to go digging for it - it’s staring me in the face in my inbox.

hot dang outlook + google desktop have worked wonders for my email.

i wish i could quickly tag my email messages though, and that gdesktop could search on these tags. for now i still have several subfolders for my projects (i do web work for several clients) that mirror my Real Life file cabinet.

mac users ymmv (too lazy to see if google desktop even exists in the mac world, but i’m sure there’s something similar)

“Next Actions” and “Waiting For” email folders are my HOMIES! that plus my NA list on my smartphone/PC make up the bulk of my GTD

the rest is me avoiding procrastination, even when i know my NAs are clearly defined ;-)

j.

I loved in the Edgework podcast with Keith Robinson, how Keith says that he’s way of managing email is to simply respond immediately as it comes. He deals with it instantly.

Things that need further reviewing or actions go into his system, but all the rest he seems to take as “less than 2 minute” actions.

I like to keep my email inbox empty. I have simple filing system as described. Everything gets filed immediately into folders that match up with my project list. There’s a ‘ZZcold’ folder for completed projects and few more administrative buckets.

Follow up items get flagged then filed like any other message. There’s a simple smart mailbox of all flagged items for easy access. The action also gets quick added to OmniFocus.

For messages that need action but not filing, they are flagged and thrown into the ‘111temp’folder.

I also BCC myself on all messages, and items that need a response go into the ‘111waiting’ folder where they sit until my weekly review.

Here’s a picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lfb/769658603/