Google mail has worked very well for me in this regard…it allows me to “tag” items, so they are “tagged” for their context (@phone,@, etc) AND for Project, etc.

I receive emails from different constituencies, since I function in a couple of very distinct roles. So these first get filtered into 1 of 2 “inboxes”, unless another filter syphons it off as not needing my attention, like newsletters and such–but like others, many of those I’m converting to “feeds”,

When I review each inbox, I tag by project AND by context if there is an actionable item that I’ll need to schedule and get it OUT of the inbox. That is the only way I can function without overwhelm. To me, having stuff in my inbox is like a pile of random papers on my desk!

It has worked like a charm. I use google apps synch also, so all of this translates into folders in my outlook..so I sort in Google, but task list/calendar in outlook.(because you can drag an email to tasks/calendar). Sounds like double work, but it uses each for their strengths.

However creating subfolders and filing by various contexts is a plan for insanity when trying to find something. I’m trying to figure out how to convert away from that, but struggling.

If I move an actionable email out of my inbox, I also note it on my days todo list or drop a note in your inbox, otherwise I kept scanning my mail folders to make sure I didn’t drop anything. Seems like an extra step but it actually works out fine for me.

@Elizabeth:
1. Setting response time expectation is a very wise step to reduce stress and unthoughtful response. However, in some organisations this is impossible (unacceptable), as some important role holders expect (demand) “immediate” response. This shall be a good organisation working culture.

2. Moving emails to different folders does free the inbox quickly but causes stress to the mind as it scatters responsibility (worries to later look) over several folders. I would vote for #6 in the post. The drawback of that it does not indicate when and how important is to reply/take care of the starred (flagged) emails.
Gmail offers labels and colours. One can use those to define priorities and a collection of follow-up actions (call back, reply, print, initiate meeting, etc), inline with GTD principles.
MS Outlook also offers the function ‘Follow Up’ with colours and deadlines, has an address book to find out telephone numbers, a calendar function to initiate meetings if necessary, Task lists, and even news reading function. There is no special intention to market MS Outlook, just some info, as it is being used by the majority of organisations.

Another helpful thing I’ve done is to use the Filters function in Gmail: I send all my newsletters, etc. directly to my Read/Review folder and bypass the Inbox. Then I read them when I have the time. It’s really helped me in processing my inbox, because I found myself constantly distracted down tangents and reading through the various newsletters instead of just putting them in read/review and continuing to process.

@Katy – using an RSS feed for newsletters, is there a way to archive stuff to refer to later? One of the reasons I am loath to give up my email newsletters is that I often get Someday/Maybe ideas from them and stick them in a SomedayMaybe folder in my email.

As to #4, I have found that the opposite strategy of moving from the top to the bottom can actually be most efficient. If there are multiple replies to the same e-mail you can read the whole e-mail string at once.

A few more tips:
Immediately delete or file e-mails into folders such as “To Read” or “Client A Archive” before opening any e-mail. This dramatically reduces your inbox.

Set e-mail expectations to avoid overload: If you consistently respond to e-mail in about 24 hours, you will reduce the number of people who send last-minute requests through e-mail and the number of frantic follow ups when you don’t respond within two seconds!

To Schedule Brilliance!
Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Good tips though, especially the one about using Hot keys/keyboard shortcuts.

I find dealing with the most recent email first is also useful because you can read all the thread replies in one go and just delete the earlier messages.

Organise your inbox view so that your subject header appears before from.

I process my inbox a number of times during the day. I don’t sit on it. Invariably this means that a thread of emails can develop grouping these and viewing the last email is more efficient than simply looking at the oldest email and working up through the list.