How I manage my time

Mon, Jun 22, 2009 Posted By:Eric Friedman

A few people recently have inquired about how I manage my time and process lists of items that need some action. I have a simple yet elegant solution after trying project management systems, to-do lists, texting to-do lists, GTD methodology, and various other notes and features of bloated office and web based solutions.

I manage everything via Email.

Yeah, very anticlimactic I know. I use two primary email inbox’s; Gmail and Outlook. Gmail gets about 5 accounts worth of mail and Outlook gets two accounts and is primarily for work. Gmail gets some work related emails that I manage various accounts for various reasons through gmail.com address or other emails.

The way I handle and process items that need processing is to simply tag anything that needs a follow up, action taken, response written, report pulled, or anything else is to simply tag it “to-answer”. In outlook it gets a flag (default is red).

I have made folders, different tags, used colors – nothing works but a simple system that I can sort through at any time. This way, when an item comes in and needs “processing” I can know if it get get done now, or it will be left in the “queue” for later.

Trust me when I say I have used every project management system out there. Its a big part of what I do to checkout the latest email inbox solutions, sorting magic, priority management, and analytics systems and nothing has come close to the efficiency of tagging things for follow up. I hope to try a better solution one day – but so far I have not found one.

The magic comes in the fact that I label and use descriptive keywords in emails I send and rely heavily on great search. Gmail solves this by living in the cloud. Outlook 2007 has a less cripled search than 2003, which has worked to date. I keep all my email so I have a trail of everything, and lose less items with it all living in one inbox “stream” vs. scattered around folders.

Action items can be scanned and some sit for a week or so before they get handled. Others are in place to make sure I do not drop the ball on something and others do not either. They are visual reminders that someone else has the ball, and should follow up soon – something I can ping them on if an action item stays in the “to-answer” pile too long.

So that is my system. Its powerful search + simple tagging.

I would love to know what you use as I know there is always room for improvement.

This post was written by:

Eric Friedman - who has written 671 posts on Eric Friedman – Marketing.fm.

Directof of Client Services at Foursquare - formerly the analyst at Union Square Ventures, blogger at www.marketing.fm You should follow me on twitter @EricFriedman

Contact the author

View Comments to “How I manage my time”

Stuartfoster Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 am

Interesting…I wish I could organize my stuff in gmail. Unfortunately I have way to many accounts to aggregate them all there. Hopefully when I revamp my website I can update to utilize the Gmail system. Until then I'm stuck my craptastic Godaddy system.

zackmansfield Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Xobni for searching within Outlook (and for easy access to attachments) is an everyday utility for me, as I also use email as the primary organizing tool.

Fraser Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:54 pm

I use the same technique – although I have it all funnel into a single gmail inbox.

The secret is the combination of two things: that we already live in our inbox and check frequently; and that tagging is a low-friction way to stay organized.

It works very well and has been for 18 months.

EricFriedman Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:58 pm

One inbox coming in late summer for me once we switch to google apps – hopefully by august/sept.

adamiss Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 pm

I've done a pretty good job of keeping most of my important work email sorted through Outlook, and Xobni has been a fantastic addition for me. very excited for Xobni to make it to Gmail, and hopefully my office figures out exchange a little better, and I can integrate my Gmail with outlook.

EricFriedman Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm

That is my goal as well. I have to checkout Xobni for gmail – I uninstalled
it when it kept crashing Outlook.

mishiko Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 pm

I use similar method in Outlook.

- All things to be dealt with are in my inbox, then migrate over to their relevant folders: Project Name, Admin, Contacts, Freelancers etc.

- In Admin, I keep important info such as logins/passwords for FTP etc.

- If I have important notes that are completed, I EMAIL them back to myself and add accurate description as subject line (ie. Production Meeting June 13, 2009 members:xx,xy)

- Ongoing things are automatically saved in DRAFTS folder, this is where I keep my daily to do lists, unprocessed meeting notes, etc.

EricFriedman Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am

That seems like a good system.

For me all passwords and important docs go into something called PassPack which is actually great (although slower at first) knowing everything is stored and accessible.

RobertatGist Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

Hi Eric-
Would love to get your thoughts on Gist as it works with Gmail currently. Just set up your beta account and look forward to your thoughts.
Thanks!
Robert

EricFriedman Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

Hi Robert,

I would love to check it out – I will sign in and see how it goes.

~Eric

John Milner Says:
June 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Eric, would you mind expanding a bit on the labels and workflow you use? I primarily use gmail for everything and have primarily used labels as a way to 1) go back and find information and 2) hide emails as they come in that are less important till I have time to process those labels. but not as part of my workflow (normally i use super stars and a zero inbox strategy for that)

I seem to be caught between using remember the milk for tasks (with the gmail pulgin) and gmail for email. However, i often times end up forgetting about the tasks i have in RTM. So I am interested to see what your workflow in terms of labels used and process you have found to best suit you. thanks.

EricFriedman Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

Hi John,

How is the Google Reader Tiered organization coming along?

My work flow used to be to add things to something like RTM or even Google
tasks, but I would never open the to-do lists to see them. If something was
not in my attention stream it just simply didn't exist. It was a pain to go
back to those items as well.

I simply label EVERYTHING that needs a follow-up, reply, action item, or
other as “to-answer”. It could easily be named “action” or something like
that as well. I made the labels fire engine red in gmail, then search
“label:to-answer” or just click the “to-answer” label on the left hand side.

This brings up my action items and I can easily see how many items exist in
this “to-answer inbox” and know how I am doing on them. If I come across
one that needs work from someone else, I move onto the next one. After
awhile they all get processed.

The same system exists within outlook, but using Flags. Things I have to
read later get flagged, or need some action – same thing.

Let me know if this helps.

John Milner Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Eric,
The google reader organization is working well, thanks again, i've definitely added some tiers (about 7) but mostly to manage data that comes in the flow, as you mentioned, I've moved to pulling a lot of data into rss that i get from other sources for the times I'm disconnected, and for an increase in differing topics that i'm now following, but that's another story.

My problem with consolidating everything is that I do love RTM, its easy to Jott or twitter into. Plus RTM has great sorting and workflow processes and the gmail integration is good. That said, i do find it easy to skim over those tasks (i guess email reminders might help). It might be just as easy to email myself an action item, but RTM seems to handle that well.

Thanks for describing your workflow here. I keep much of my workflow in gmail in a similar manner, i just tend to keep in the inbox rather than file the messages. Although, i think i might give it a try and keeping the messages in the inbox (for most action items).

On another note, did you happen to check out the Luther Rice Society roadshow GW was doing in NYC earlier this year?

EricFriedman Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am

7 Tiers! that is incredible.

I did not see the LRS roadshow – do you have a link for more info?

One side note: I plan on switching everything to gmail (and Google apps) later this summer so it will be even easier to have one inbox.

Ben Harris Says:
July 6th, 2009 at 7:25 am

my advice is not to open something you aren't in a position to action immediately. If you open and then move stuff around you waste a hell of a lot of time in a day. Best to turn off alerts etc and just focus on emails when you can get the related tasks completed right then.

Also agree that Xobni is awesome!
Had Gist for aa few weeks but not had time to get it working with my outlook as yet so it is full of twitter followers info that isn't of much value to me

EricFriedman Says:
July 6th, 2009 at 9:49 am

I am of the kind that needs to open everything – if there was a way to avoid
that I would try it. I am trying Gist now as well for Gmail and having a
similar experience.

I have no alerts and VERY limited filters – its all one inbox.

huangqin Says:
July 16th, 2009 at 5:54 am

Ugg Persephone Sandal

Ugg Skimmer

Stuartfoster Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:09 am
Interesting…I wish I could organize my stuff in gmail. Unfortunately I have way to many accounts to aggregate them all there. Hopefully when I revamp my website I can update to utilize the Gmail system. Until then I'm stuck my craptastic Godaddy system.
zackmansfield Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Xobni for searching within Outlook (and for easy access to attachments) is an everyday utility for me, as I also use email as the primary organizing tool.
Fraser Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I use the same technique – although I have it all funnel into a single gmail inbox.

The secret is the combination of two things: that we already live in our inbox and check frequently; and that tagging is a low-friction way to stay organized.

It works very well and has been for 18 months.
EricFriedman Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:58 pm
One inbox coming in late summer for me once we switch to google apps – hopefully by august/sept.
adamiss Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I've done a pretty good job of keeping most of my important work email sorted through Outlook, and Xobni has been a fantastic addition for me. very excited for Xobni to make it to Gmail, and hopefully my office figures out exchange a little better, and I can integrate my Gmail with outlook.
EricFriedman Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
That is my goal as well. I have to checkout Xobni for gmail – I uninstalled
it when it kept crashing Outlook.
mishiko Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
I use similar method in Outlook.

- All things to be dealt with are in my inbox, then migrate over to their relevant folders: Project Name, Admin, Contacts, Freelancers etc.

- In Admin, I keep important info such as logins/passwords for FTP etc.

- If I have important notes that are completed, I EMAIL them back to myself and add accurate description as subject line (ie. Production Meeting June 13, 2009 members:xx,xy)

- Ongoing things are automatically saved in DRAFTS folder, this is where I keep my daily to do lists, unprocessed meeting notes, etc.
EricFriedman Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am
That seems like a good system.

For me all passwords and important docs go into something called PassPack which is actually great (although slower at first) knowing everything is stored and accessible.
RobertatGist Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hi Eric-
Would love to get your thoughts on Gist as it works with Gmail currently. Just set up your beta account and look forward to your thoughts.
Thanks!
Robert
EricFriedman Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Hi Robert,

I would love to check it out – I will sign in and see how it goes.

~Eric
John Milner Says:
June 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Eric, would you mind expanding a bit on the labels and workflow you use? I primarily use gmail for everything and have primarily used labels as a way to 1) go back and find information and 2) hide emails as they come in that are less important till I have time to process those labels. but not as part of my workflow (normally i use super stars and a zero inbox strategy for that)

I seem to be caught between using remember the milk for tasks (with the gmail pulgin) and gmail for email. However, i often times end up forgetting about the tasks i have in RTM. So I am interested to see what your workflow in terms of labels used and process you have found to best suit you. thanks.
EricFriedman Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Hi John,

How is the Google Reader Tiered organization coming along?

My work flow used to be to add things to something like RTM or even Google
tasks, but I would never open the to-do lists to see them. If something was
not in my attention stream it just simply didn't exist. It was a pain to go
back to those items as well.

I simply label EVERYTHING that needs a follow-up, reply, action item, or
other as “to-answer”. It could easily be named “action” or something like
that as well. I made the labels fire engine red in gmail, then search
“label:to-answer” or just click the “to-answer” label on the left hand side.

This brings up my action items and I can easily see how many items exist in
this “to-answer inbox” and know how I am doing on them. If I come across
one that needs work from someone else, I move onto the next one. After
awhile they all get processed.

The same system exists within outlook, but using Flags. Things I have to
read later get flagged, or need some action – same thing.

Let me know if this helps.
John Milner Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Eric,
The google reader organization is working well, thanks again, i've definitely added some tiers (about 7) but mostly to manage data that comes in the flow, as you mentioned, I've moved to pulling a lot of data into rss that i get from other sources for the times I'm disconnected, and for an increase in differing topics that i'm now following, but that's another story.

My problem with consolidating everything is that I do love RTM, its easy to Jott or twitter into. Plus RTM has great sorting and workflow processes and the gmail integration is good. That said, i do find it easy to skim over those tasks (i guess email reminders might help). It might be just as easy to email myself an action item, but RTM seems to handle that well.

Thanks for describing your workflow here. I keep much of my workflow in gmail in a similar manner, i just tend to keep in the inbox rather than file the messages. Although, i think i might give it a try and keeping the messages in the inbox (for most action items).

On another note, did you happen to check out the Luther Rice Society roadshow GW was doing in NYC earlier this year?
EricFriedman Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am
7 Tiers! that is incredible.

I did not see the LRS roadshow – do you have a link for more info?

One side note: I plan on switching everything to gmail (and Google apps) later this summer so it will be even easier to have one inbox.
Ben Harris Says:
July 6th, 2009 at 7:25 am
my advice is not to open something you aren't in a position to action immediately. If you open and then move stuff around you waste a hell of a lot of time in a day. Best to turn off alerts etc and just focus on emails when you can get the related tasks completed right then.

Also agree that Xobni is awesome!
Had Gist for aa few weeks but not had time to get it working with my outlook as yet so it is full of twitter followers info that isn't of much value to me
EricFriedman Says:
July 6th, 2009 at 9:49 am
I am of the kind that needs to open everything – if there was a way to avoid
that I would try it. I am trying Gist now as well for Gmail and having a
similar experience.

I have no alerts and VERY limited filters – its all one inbox.
huangqin Says:
July 16th, 2009 at 5:54 am
UGG

UGG sale

Cheap UGG Boots

Discount UGG Boots

Authentic UGG Boots

Genuine UGG Boots

Origianl UGG Boots

Women's Ugg

Men's Ugg

UGG Australia

UGG Store

UGG Official Store

UGG Shop

UGG Online Store

UGG Boots

UGG Boot

UGG Sandal

UGG Sandals

UGG Slipper

UGG Slippers

UGG Classic Cardy

UGG Classic Crochet

UGG Classic Mini

UGG Classic Short

UGG Classic Tall

UGG Nightfall

UGG Ultra Short

UGG Ultra Tall

UGG Tasmina

UGG Amelie Suede

UGG Gypsy Sandal

Ugg Matala Sandal

UGG Halendi Sandal

UGG Hammond Slipper

UGG Layback Slipper

Ugg Napoule Sandal

Ugg Persephone Sandal

Ugg Skimmer

Click here to cancel reply.

Eric Friedman – Marketing.fm