Email diet

About two years ago, I started an email diet. I was never close to email bankruptcy, but the constant flow of more than 100 messages a day was just too distracting and time consuming.

Lots of blog posts, even books, have been written about email productivity. I read quite a few of them and tried out different approaches. What follows aren’t my original ideas, but a combination of various tips and methods that work for me. Maybe they are helpful to you.

To begin with, let’s see how to reduce the volume of emails.

Unsubscribe all newsletters
Once I started to monitor my inbox-traffic, I was amazed how many newsletters I received. Emails from record labels, mailorders and other companies were flooding my inbox constantly.

I unsubscribed to almost all of those newsletters as soon as I got one. Within a few weeks, the quantity of emails in my inbox dropped by more than a half. For some newsletters that I wanted to keep, I’ve set up a gmail account, which I visit once a week or so, when I’m in the mood for distraction.

I would also recommend to disable all unnecessary notifications from facebook, twitter or other websites. Those services already have a huge potential to disrupt and distract you all day long, so try at least to keep your inbox clean of those.

Use good spam filters
This one is pretty obvious: get a good spam filter. If you’re on a Mac, I highly recommend Spam Sieve. Once trained, it’s incredible accurate and filters more than 95% of all spam mails. $30 well spent.

Write less. Be precise.
Every email you write potentially triggers a reply. If you want to receive less emails, send less emails. It’s that easy.

This is even more important, if you work with people in the music industry. Send one email to a record label person and you receive 10 more mails. I’m not kidding, I’m not even exaggerating. In this business, people seem to love the CC and “reply all”-functions. Every email includes at least 5 other people (bosses, colleagues, band members) and almost all of them will reply to anything. In 2007, one project we were working on generated 1764 (one thousand seven hundred sixty-four!) emails. Last year, a similar project with the same people resulted in 869 messages. Still crazy, but 50% less. I’m sure that this significant decrease also had to do with my email behavior. Unlike two years earlier, I didn’t reply immediately, but waited a few hours with my response. I then summarized topics and questions, and included less people in the recipient list. But maybe even more important than all that: I was more precise. I didn’t just sent less emails, but I made their content shorter and more to the point. If possible, I tried to ask questions that could be answered with a short sentence, maybe even just a a yes or no.

Now that less emails are arriving in your inbox, here are a few tips how to deal with them:

Inbox Zero
You might have heard about this approach, it’s pretty popular. Merlin Mann of 43folders.com is an avid advocate of this method, so I recommend to check out his articles if this sounds like something you might want to try.

To start with Inbox Zero, make a new folder in your email client and move the content of your inbox to that folder. Yes, all 859 emails. Select all and drag them to your new folder. Now look at the blank space that is your inbox and breathe deeply. Do you feel it?

Not having to look at a crowded inbox all the time was a big relief for me. No more “open loops” as David Allen (whose GTD-system is actually the inspiration for Inbox Zero) would say. Try it for yourself.

Moving your emails to a temporary folder was the easy part. Keeping your inbox clean, however, is a bit more difficult at first. You need to form a habit: Every time you check your emails and new messages pop up, decide right away what to do with them. A lot of emails can be deleted right after you read them. Or, if you want to keep them, because you might need that information later on, move them to your archive. If it only takes less than 2 minutes to reply, do so. If someone else should take care of it, delegate it. Most emails can quickly be processed like that within a few minutes.

However, if an incoming email demands a more elaborate response, or if you need to gather some information before answering, don’t let it sit in your inbox. Instead move it to a dedicated folder (see below for more).

These are the basics. For more tips, visit inboxzero.com

Easy filing system
For a while, the inbox zero strategy worked well for me. But then I left a few emails in my inbox. It was still pretty empty with those handful message. Even when there was a dozen, it still looked nice and clean. Not so much a few days later, when I already had to use the scroll wheel to see all the messages in my inbox… Don’t let that happen to you. If you go for inbox zero, try to aim for 0. Not 5. Not 10. Once you get sloppy with the processing part, the floodgates are open.

Part of what kept me from cleaning my inbox on every session was my way of archiving. There was a folder for emails related to our design studio, another one for our record label, a folder for all private messages. These folders had subfolders for project A, task B, person C… All in all I used up to 30 folders.

It took me quite some time to realized that this is totally useless. Filing thousands of emails takes way more time and mental energy than occasionally searching for a specific message. The search function is so good and fast, you don’t need to tuck away your emails in nice, little boxes. Make filing as easy as possible, it shouldn’t be an obstacle to keep your inbox clean. Just throw everything on a big pile. But don’t let that pile sit in your inbox, keep it somewhere behind doors.

Right now, I have only 5 folders in my mail app. One is called “archive”, that’s the huge pile of all emails that I keep for reference. Another folder is called “respond”, were I store all emails that I need or want to answer at a later point of time. In “action” I temporary collect all emails that require some action on my part (e.g. sending out a CD that someone ordered). Then there is “print”, were I collect all receipts that need to be printed for tax and accounting issues. I do that once every three month, when our accountant visits us. The fourth folder is were Spam Sieve puts emails that are detected as spam. I review that folder about once a week to check if Spam Sieve was wrong (which happens very rarely). In addition I use smart folders, which aren’t really folders but saved search queries.

Using templates
Especially when we were more active with our music label, I got a lot of questions about how to pay for a record, where to send demos etc. I realized I was writing the same emails over and over again. After typing our bank account or address for the hundredth time, I saved a .txt-file with these text modules. That worked alright, but was a bit cumbersome. So I did a little research and found out about Mail Template, an add-on for Apple Mail that lets you answer with pre-written messages. Gmail has a similar feature, called “Canned Responses” (Settings > Labs).

Last, not least: Turn off auto-check
I don’t know about you, but I can’t ignore an incoming email. Once the mail icon starts to bounce, I have to look at it. That’s why I turned out auto-check. It’s too distracting.

Now I check emails manually, because I don’t want any emails to disrupt my flow. Ideally, I would like to do that only 3 – 4 times a day. But I’m prone to procrastination, so sometimes I switch to my email program, hit the “check”-button and hope that something arrives to keep me from doing more important work. Shutting down the program after processing all incoming emails helps a bit.

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Please remember that there is nothing like a one-size-fits-all solution for email management. Requirements, situations and preferences vary from person to person. These are some methods that work for me. They might not work for you. But I recommend to try these (and other) techniques to find out what suits you best.

29/06/2010
16:06

A smoothie a day keeps the doctor away

Mix it!

My immune system was never the most robust. And a chemo therapy I had to undergo when i was in my late teens probably made it worse. I usually catch a cold very quickly, about twice a year I get sick for a few days. Nothing serious, just three or four days I spent in bed with snuffles, coughs and a good TV series.

Since more than a year, there wasn’t a day I felt even slightly sick. We had the coldest and longest winter since a decade and the swine flu was circulating – enough occasions for my immune system to break down. But it didn’t.

Maybe I was just lucky, but of course I rather like to believe that I had something to do with it.

About a year ago, I started to review my diet. I became more aware of what I drank and ate, I learned a bit about healthy nutrition and did some self-experiments on how my body reacts to certain kinds of food.

Changing your diet can be pretty tough. But there’s one thing I found pretty easy to establish – and I believe it has a significant effect on my health:

Drinking a smoothie everyday.

Everybody knows that fruits are good for yourself. Still, most of us don’t eat much of them. I like the taste of apples, bananas, berries… but I never ate enough on a regular basis. Somehow eating fruits doesn’t appeal to me that much. Drinking fruits however works perfectly for me. I enjoy sipping my daily dosis of blended fruits. I recommend trying it for yourself. It’s a great way to start the day or a good boost in the afternoon.

Smoothies seem to become quite popular in Germany, judging from the many new brands that pop up in the super market shelves. But you don’t have to buy a 2 euro bottle everyday. If you have a mixer, you can make your own smoothies. There are tons of recipies on the internet, but making them is so easy and foolproof, you can experiment everyday with new ingredients and mixtures (that’s what makes it fun).

Here’s one of my favourites:

Read More »

09/06/2010
11:01

A perfect couple

iPad on Eames table

I started writing an article about my first experiences with the iPad, but since Christophe, with whom I shared an iPad in the last weeks, already posted his thoughts on the device, there’s not much to add.

When I finished reading Christophe’s articles, something dawned on me. I was sitting on the couch, the iPad in my hand, looking at the small table in front of me. I never thought about it before, but in this moment, i noticed how much the iPad and the table have in common, and how perfectly they fit together.

The table was designed 60 years prior to the iPad by Charles and Ray Eames. But look how well both products look together. It’s not just the general minimalistic design approach of both – even the curved shape of the iPad is similar to the table top and the aspect ratios are almost the same!

iPad & Occasional Table LTR

iPad on Eames Wire-Base Table

But the similarities don’t stop with the looks. Here’s how the American manufacturer describes their tables:

“The lightweight Eames wire-base tables are practical and versatile in homes, reception areas, lounges—anywhere you need a small surface that makes a big statement… The table’s compact size and light weight make it easy to move to wherever you need a small, attractive surface.”

Exchange “table” with “iPad” and you could put that text on the Apple website.

I also like to think of the iPad as a surface. A canvas that becomes anything you put on it. A magazine, a notebook, a calendar, a music instrument…

01/06/2010
12:23

RSVP#1 with Peter Kirn

The first RSVP event went better than I hoped. The location was great, about 30 people showed up and Peter Kirn gave a very interesting, perfectly delivered presentation. There were some questions from the audience afterwards and about half of the people stayed even longer for further discussions and chit-chats in smaller groups. We are very happy about this, because we want RSVP to be not just about inspiring lectures, but also an environment to exchange ideas (when we thought about what the acronym could stand for, we also came up with “Resolute Sharing, Vibrant Palavering”).

The origins of RSVP go back to an idea we’ve had for quite some time: a “Stammtisch” (regular’s table) for curious people interested in design, technology and culture. At first we imagined a closed circle of 10 to 20 people, friends and acquaintances, which meet on a regular basis. On every meeting, someone would present something as a conversation starter. It could be a project he or she is working on or anything else which is of interest to that person.

When Michael talked to Peter about his plans to come to Germany, we instantly knew that this was the perfect opportunity to start a series like this. But instead of the Stammtisch idea, we decided for an open and flexible format. Although we want to keep it small and simple, everybody is welcomed. We would love to see regulars, but at the same time we look forward to see new faces. We also may change locations often, to keep it more interesting for ourselves and our guests.

While we don’t have any concrete plans yet for the next event, we hope to announce something soon. If you have any suggestions for speakers or locations, please let us know.

Thanks to everybody who attended RSVP#1, props to the frappant-crew and last not least a very big thank-you to Peter.

More photos

23/05/2010
15:08

2023406814 hours

I really don’t have time for this…

20/05/2010
11:09

Office space

Yesterday we started cleaning up and restructuring our office. Today I’ve read this piece on A List Apart, which made me think even more about creating different zones and the effect they have on your work and productivity. 

The article explains that objects usually have a “habit field” or an “affordance”:

“Typewriters afford writing. Watercolors afford painting. Books afford reading. Because there’s a physical limitation to what we can do with these objects, their habit fields come pre-defined and don’t change easily.”

The personal computer however has changed this. It’s not just multifunctional (a table can be used for different activities as well), but enables and even seduces us into multitasking. Not only you can watch videos, work, play, shop and communicate on your computer – you can do all this at once, or at least switching between these activities within seconds.

“Thanks to the computer’s ability to multitask, sometimes these habit fields actually become oriented around the act of switching programs!”

Jack Cheng, the author of this article, tries to avoid these pitfalls by having a “distraction chair”:

“I try to reserve my work desk for actual work—writing, designing, and coding—and when I feel the inclination to read Twitter or check e-mail, I move to the lounge chair. At first, it may seem like a nuisance to get up and move every time, but that’s exactly the point.”

We have always thought about a place in our office that is free of the distractions of computers: “The analog room” – no computers, just paper, pencils, scissors, glue… A place to discuss, scribble, prototype and think. However, Cheng‘s approach to create a place for distraction (so you are less distracted on our work desk) is very interesting too.

Ideally we would need four “zones” in our office (and maybe every office should have those):

Production zone
Most of the work gets done here. Should be a quiet environment, equipped with good chairs, desks and powerful computers.

The analog room
A place for brainstorming, ideation and discussion. A big wall to hang post-its, a chalk/whiteboard to write on and a huge table with lots of papers, penciles, cutters and tapes, always at hand.

Distraction zone
A place for deliberate distraction, to relax for a few minutes, browse the net, read blog posts etc. A comfortable chair or couch, where you can sit down with an laptop or tablet computer, would suffice (of course you can also read a physical book or flip through magazines there).

Socializing area
A place to chat with co-workers and exchange ideas informally.

We have a decent room for our “production zone”, and the kitchen, where we cook for each other every day, serves as a great place to chit-chat (many of our best ideas were born there). Unfortunately the kitchen had to serve as our “analog room” as well, and we also don’t have a designated place for distraction and relaxation.

Hopefully this will change soon. Unfortunately we have to deal with a lot of constraints (space, money, other people who share the office with us), so it’s not easy to get all that done optimally. But I’m sure it is worth it.

19/05/2010
21:19

Interviewing a client

Jan Müller of Tocotronic and Das Bierbeben with a 7" from OHL

This fine young gentleman is Jan Müller, bass guitarist of the band Tocotronic. A few days ago, I published a pretty extensive, two-part interview with him about the design of cover artworks on spreeblick.com.

I have been working with Tocotronic on most of their cover artworks for the last three years. It’s not always an easy job. The band often has very precise ideas of how certain things should look like – and  in my mind some of those ideas are not the best solutions. The band always listens to those concerns – they are anything but arrogant and value opinions of others – but they are often very persistent about their concepts. Especially in the beginning of our collaboration, this was a bit frustrating sometimes.

With time, I’ve learned how the band works, thinks and feels. But I wish I’ve had done this interview a couple of years ago, before I started working with them. I would have understood many of their decisions sooner and better.

Of course we always talk with clients about their goals, ideas and perceptions. But maybe an interview like this would often be a better way to prepare for a job. It’s not only the two hours of intensive questioning that brings so much insight, but the even more time-consuming process of editing the material. Trying to filter the essence of all the things being said involves you very deeply in the matter.

This reminds me of a little anecdote about Otl Aicher (whose birthday is today!). When he was assigned to develop a corporate identity for door handle manufacturer FSB, he prescribed his client to publish a book about the company first. His argument: By editing a book, he gets to know the company and the company learns about itself – a necessity for developing a corporate identity. After the interview with Jan, i can understand this elaborate approach even better.

13/05/2010
07:01

Baby, we need to talk…

Research School for Versatile People

Together with our office pals two antennas, we are starting a series of events and talks. Our first guest is Peter Kirn, who will talk about music interfaces. Register here!

12/05/2010
18:18

Augmented board games

Augmented board game

Remember Scrabble? Here’s how you play it in 2010.

While the Scrabble iPad app is just a completely digitized version of the original board game, I would be more interested in hybrids.

Rolling dices, touching tokens, shuffling cards… the whole haptic experience with all the different materials and shapes is – at least for me – part of the appeal of board games. Calculating points, validating moves and monitoring the rules however can often disrupt the flow of the game. So why not let the computer do the math, while the players are tossing dices and dealing cards?

Will we see a new breed of board games, augmented by computers like mobile phones and tablets? Real hybrids interweaving digital and analog gaming elements?

11/05/2010
14:50

Digital scarcity

Some public libraries in Germany are now offering an online service. If you have a library pass, you can download an e-book or e-paper, which you can read on a computer and even an e-reader. (Getting the book from the website to your e-reader is a bit cumbersome though.)

The strange and funny thing, however, is this:

Not available

There is only 1 (one) digital copy available and if somebody already got it, sorry, you can‘t have it. You can, however, reserve this copy and download it once it has been „returned“ (which happens automatically when the DRM-file expires).

Another example where metaphors (and laws) from the analog world become oddities in the digital world.

30/04/2010
11:06