5 tips for increasing productivity using Apple Mail
Here are some tips for making an efficient workflow out of email on your Mac.
Get rid of mail quickly, without thinking.
At my first job we had an incredibly complex filing system for paper documents. It was a bank and so no-body thought twice about the system’s efficiency. Once our part of the process was complete, documents would be filed away by name in this structure. Filing took the best part of three days a month and we spent a lot of time labeling new folders. If someone wanted something it was trivial to lookup exactly where it was and give it to them. The issue was that rarely did anyone ask to see the originals again.
A new colleague suggested a method where we took all the documents at the end of the month and dumped them into a folder. At the end of the quarter, we just started a new folder. We went from three days to about 10 seconds. If someone asked to see a document we just went to the right month or quarter.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take that long to look up documents using the new system. Maybe 5 minutes instead of 2 minutes. Net win. I learned a lot from that one change.
I used to have huge filing systems in my mail client: by client, by topic, by duedate, by whatever. It was confusing: was a mail in the folder about the person, about the project, or was it in the by duedate box. Confusion reigned. No longer. Now I just have one folder called Filed. When mail is dealt with it gets moved from Inbox to Filed. Each month, I archive the month’s email from Filed and move it to an archive directory. Takes about 20 seconds.
I keep those folders broken down by month but I really don’t need to — that’s just a layover from my earlier days. Search is a lot better than back in the early nineties and I use it find everything.
Removing stuff from the cloud keeps my exchange mailbox slim. I have found that if I’m traveling I rarely need to refer to mail more than a month old. Since the mailbox is slim (less than a hundred megs), I find that this configuration also helps me avoid syncing problems.
Keyboard shortcuts for the win
If you don’t use MsgFiler, go right now and download a copy. You can find it on the App Store. MsgFiler has to be one of the best things to happen to mail. Once installed you invoke MsgFiler using Apple-9 and then type the name of the mailbox. Press enter to move mail there. Simple really. Works with multiple mails and really helps a man clear out an inbox.
Tame those attachments
For those working in odd environments where attachments suddenly don’t work, you should install Attachment Tamer. Get it at http://lokiware.info/Attachment-Tamer … Attachment Tamer is the most important add-on for Mail for any user in an Exchange environment. There is no argument here: use it or regret it.
Three-pane view
Some people like to retain a three-pane view. Check out Letterbox . Don’t personally use this one but could see how it can help people transferring over from other systems.
Send Mail
By default Mail has a crazy shortcut for sending mail. There’s no reason it should be so hard. I set up a custom shortcut by going into System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts and clicking on Application Shortcuts. Hit the + button to add a new shortcut, define it for Mail. In the Menu Title box type Send. Then capture the shortcut you want to use. I personally use Shift-Apple-Return. Fastest way to send I know.
