I’m forever trying to keep my inbox squared away. Julian puts together 9 steps to a more productive email system here. His second rule, is my favorite:
Set up rules to sort out incoming emails
Apart from spam, there’s bacn. This is a new term for e-mail you want, but not right now and describes the middle class of e-mail, such as notifications of new followers on Twitter or the Google alert for your name.
I set up some rules in Mail.app that push those e-mails right out of my Inbox into a special “Bacn” folder — so I can quickly skim through them if I’ve got some spare time and don’t know what to do. Bacn is out of the way.
.jpg)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I actually purchased a email spam software that checks for spam and then sorts everything else into two piles, urgent and not urgent. It really saves a lot of time.
I haven’t heard the term “bacn” before, but it’s pretty descriptive of one of my biggest problems in handling my email.
I use Eudora as my primary email client and have hundreds of filters in place as well as several dozen in-boxes, so I can deal with high-priority email first and eventually work my way down the pile and deal with the “bacn” when I have the time and energy.
You’re right that the “bacn” email is wanted, but usually isn’t a high- or medium-priority.
Thanks for the chuckle and for a name I can call those emails.
Act on your dream!
JD
I use Thunderbird and can quickly create filters to automatically send bacn to different inbox folders. Some go into a general folder, others to their own. The idea is that the only thing that goes directly to my main inbox is the meat that I need straight away. Like John I get round to the bacn if and when I have time or when I need to research a particular topic – there are thousands of emails I have not yet read and when I have time I will do some unsubscribing. As it is these unwanted messages are out of sight and not bothering me.