Andrew M. Seward – MBA, PMP

Solution to eliminating waste and efficiently managing your mail through automation and advanced GMail Features:  As a Lean practitioner I was noticing how much TIME I was spending managing my email after I started open networking.  I discovered I was wasting lots of time, not only with the volume of mail but also the distractions caused by the frequency of messages I was receiving.  Most importantly I missed some important emails lost amongst the other items.  Many people suggest multiple email accounts.  However, I like one way to do things that works and to refine it.  So I’d like to provide a potential solution to a problem that I’ve developed to this problem that I’m sure many people using social networking on Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter and other Social Media to are struggling with – how to efficiently manage your email.

• If you are not using Social Networking to support your job search, develop your personal brand/reputation, or to grow your business  you should be!
• If managing your email is not a challenge then your not doing enough of it or your perhaps already applying these tips.
• Perhaps your limiting your networking because of the volume of mail it can create.

First let me say that I love GMail and I highly recommend it, I’m sure many of the same features I will describe are also available at Yahoo, AIM and other sites but when I was choosing GMail was the best and it keeps getting better!!  Gmail’s interface does take a bit of getting used to, and if you find the “conversation and label” format trying you can always use and IMAP desktop client line Thunderbird to view your mail in a more traditional email interface and still get all benefits I describe.  Note you don’t need to switch your email!  You can forward or retrieve your messages from almost any other account and configure the “Send as Feature”of gmail or your desktop client to send mail as another email address.  In my case I have 6 other emails feeding my Gmail.

The efficient use of managing your time and the volume of emails you are probably receiving is in the use of advanced features.  Google offers an guide to being being a GMail Ninja in this guide on how to “become a Gmail Ninja” and handy reference sheet.  Lots of others have given advice on how manage your email subscriptions at the various social networking sites so I will focus on configuring GMail, here are a few of my favorites as you strive to earn your Master Black Belt!

• Spam Filtering – Built into Gmail is an oustanding SMAP filter which in my experience has a VERY low rate of capturing email I want to receive.
• Filters - Manager your time, Use filters to automate some mail handling tasks, unclutter your inbox, controlling what emails get sent to your BlackBerry, Palm or other Smart Phone/PDA, helping you mangage your time by blocking activities so you can focus  Some examples of how you can “file” and organize your email using Labels and Filters.
  • Label and File social networking invite requests and responses.
  • Label and File ezines, newsletters, and other related communications.
  • Label and File  you  Digests.
  • Label and File subscriptions – Job Boards, Discussion Digests.
• +emails: with GMail you can create as many virtual emails as you want and when registering online you can specify a +id (e.g. say was signing up for an service that promises to you SEO placement, free trail service etc.  Rather than creating a disposable email use a +email.  Something  sewarda+newservicename@gmail.com and then if you get spammed you know who the culprit is and it is also easy to block the related spam but jut defining a filter to delete mail from that address.
• Autoresponders – “canned responses” – if you combine the +email, forwarding and filtering you can have a very powerful system.
  • If you have your own hosted domain set up an email for open netowrking (i.e. yourname.opennetworker@yoursite.com)
  • forward to yourid+opennetworker@gmail.com
  • setup auto responder so any mail from yourid+opennetowrker@gmail.com that will reply with a message like “Thank you for connecting with me.  I’m excited about open networking and leveraging the powers of our networks,  etc….)
  • WOW!! – whish I thought of this before I joined opennetworker.com you can use keywords but its not as efficient.
  • lots of other possibilities
• Alerts: You can set up filters to trigger text alerts by sending to your phone’s email address for texting so your notified of important mail.  (e.g. you might be waiting for a response from a few companies while your on vacation but don’t want to check your mail every day. (set up a filter on @company name in the email and then have an alert sent so you can find a place to log in and look.

Just  a few examples of how you can apply some Lean Thinking to help manager your email- Please share your own power tips.

Many people have come to me over the years looking to develop an understanding of Lean fundamentals. There are a number of great books on the subject. Some of my favorites are The Toyota Way, Lean Thinking, and to really understand that Lean is a system supported by leader standard work Creating a Lean Culture. However, one of the best resources I’ve found is a Video Series by James P. Womack (author of Lean Thinking and The Machine that Changed the World). This video series is hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense on their Defense Acquisition University web site.

While the videos are not the glossy productions we have become used to expectings.  Its just Womak sitting at a desk talking, he presents the concepts in a simple, straightforward and understandable way.  Even if your an experience Lean Master I highly recommend watching and hearing the message directly from the man most people credit with the resugence and revival of Lean thinking in America.  (Remembering of course that that the Japanese took most of the concepts from us during the post WWII period)

Update:  one of my readers provided this link to another collection of Womack Videos on you tube. http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5497097/14459933 these are also excelent but I really like the orginal ones I shared from 2005 they are less formal and in my opinion more engaging.