Can Assigning Value to Email Reduce Your Stress?

I recently read an article entitled "The Problem Isn't Information Overload" by David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done. In it, Mr. Allen helps to narrow the definition of what truly causes us stress when our email inbox begins to overflow. He argues that it is not a matter of information overload, but one of being faced with too many decisions about the potential value of the information contained in each email.
The great take away for me was the need for developing a means for users to quickly discern the potential value of a communication, without having to read the entire communication, so that they could categorize the message into a value bucket. Those value buckets being something along the lines of:

1. I need to take action on this now.
2. I will need to take action on this in the future by a specific date/time.
3. There is some relevant reference material worth saving, file it away.
4. I can easily find this information myself should I need it in the future so it is okay to delete.
5. This has no value to me, delete it now.

Do you have other value buckets? If so, please share them with the community.
What is the minimum information you would need about an email to assign it a value bucket?
You can read David Allen's full article here.

8 Tips for Climbing Out of Your Inbox

The March issue of Entrepreneur magazine featured an article by business coach, trainer and author, Joe Robinson, on how email is making us stupid. In the article I found a nice side-bar on ways to limit disruptions caused by email. Many of these have been shared before, but it is always worth a reminder to help us stay focused on completing tasks rather than just passing the ball.

8 Tips

1. Turn off all visual and sound alerts that announce new mail.
2. Check e-mail two to four times a day at designated times and never more often than every 45 minutes.
3. Don't let e-mail be the default communication device. Communicating by phone or face-to-face saves time and builds relationships.
4. Respond immediately only to urgent issues. Just because a message can be delivered instantly does not mean you must reply instantly.
5. Severely restrict use of the reply-all function.
6. Put "no reply necessary" in the subject line when you can. No one knows when an e-conversation is over without an explicit signal.
7. Resist your reply reflex. Don't send e-mails that say "Got it" or "Thanks.
8. Use automatic out-of-office messages to carve out focused work time, such as: "I'm on deadline with a project and will be back online after 4 p.m.

New Stats
The article also contained some new statistics I had not previously encountered. Intel estimates cost of lost productivity due to email overload to be $1billion/year for large companies. RescueTime says average office employee checks email 50 times per day and instant messages 77 times per day. E-policy Institute estimates email volume is growing at 66% per year.

To read the full article at Entrepreneur.com, click here.

About the author: Joe Robinson, a business coach and trainer, is the author of Work to Live and the audio CD The Email Overload Survival Kit.