notes-organization-lauraStacksSixDs

"SET UP RULES: THE SIX D’S?. When it comes to email, Laura Stack, the “Productivity Pro,” lives by what she calls the Six Ds:

1. DISCARD. Just delete stuff.

2. DELEGATE. Decide if this is really something you need to do.

3. DO.

Do it quickly — answer e-mails that will take two minutes or less right away.

Do it later — create a system for turning e-mails that require action into To Do tasks. “This is a foundation piece. You don’t want to file it, it’s like putting it in a drawer. You’ll forget about it,” she said. “So what do people do? They leave it in their inbox. This is the number one problem. People are using their inboxes like To Do lists. And once you get past one screen, you just can’t process it anymore.”

4. DATE. Give yourself a deadline for taking action.

5. DRAWER. File away stuff you’ve taken action on but may want to refer to.

6. DETER. “Unsubscribe from things,” she said. “I am a freak about unsubscribing right away. You want to cut back on the things that come into the inbox in the first place. There’s so much volume. Prevention is key.” " -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2014/08/12/in-two-weeks-i-went-from-23768-emails-in-my-inbox-to-zero-heres-how/

this article also mentions the need for a "followup" folder