The disparity between managing email and managing MS Teams often goes unnoticed, yet companies are paying a hefty price for overlooking it.

Consider Teams as your virtual neighborhood and Outlook as the broader world encompassing your neighborhood. While you can invite external parties to your Teams neighborhood, the invitation process is selective. In contrast, Outlook operates on a “come one, come all” basis; anyone with your email address can join the party. Despite spam protection acting as a gated complex, it’s challenging to distinguish between neighbors, well-meaning visitors, and manipulative marketers seeking your attention.

In general, most communications in Teams are internal, which doesn’t diminish their importance but underscores a difference in focus compared to customer interactions, particularly in sales and customer service.

Now, envision assigning a monetary value to each email in your inbox. While some emails enhance...

There could be several reasons why lean leaders might be hesitant to upgrade email management practices. Here are a few possible factors:

1. Lack of awareness: Lean leaders may not be aware of the available options for upgrading email management practices. They may be accustomed to traditional email systems and not realize the potential benefits of adopting new tools or approaches.
   
   
2. Time and resource constraints: Implementing changes to email management practices requires time and resources. Lean leaders may be focused on other improvement initiatives or prioritizing other areas for optimization within their organizations. They might perceive email management as a lower priority or not worth the investment of time and resources.
   
   
3. Resistance to change: Change can be challenging for individuals and organizations. Lean leaders may face resistance from employees who are comfortable with existing email practices or reluctant to learn new tools and processes. Overcoming resistance to change...

What Are the Right Buckets For Email And Does It Really Matter?

 From watching this YouTube video, BEST Way to Organize Gmail, it would be easy to believe the author’s argument that email generally falls into three categories: Follow-up; Awaiting response; Need to read.

Perhaps they do, but you could just as well organize them by:

• Sender or source, such as: Client; Team; Project
• Timeframe, such as: Today; This week; This month
• Status or stage, such as: To Do; In Progress; Done

 While dividing emails into buckets can be helpful for managing your workload and staying organized, it's important to recognize that simply creating buckets is not a substitute for taking real action on your emails. In other words, creating the right buckets is just the first step towards being productive with your email.

In all the examples above, the buckets or folders are based on a factor other than the urgency and importance of the task it represents. Dividing emails into the categories...

Executive Summary: Email overload is a common issue that affects productivity and causes stress for many professionals. In today’s fast-paced business environment, managing email effectively is essential to ensure efficient communication, collaboration, and information sharing. LeanMail is a comprehensive email management solution designed to help users optimize their email workflow and minimize the impact of email overload. This white paper provides an overview of the key features and benefits of LeanMail and demonstrates how it can help users achieve better email management and boost productivity. 

Introduction: Email is one of the most widely used communication tools in business today. However, it is also one of the biggest sources of distraction and time-wasting. Managing email effectively can be a challenge, particularly when the volume of emails received each day is high. To address this challenge, LeanMail provides a comprehensive solution that allows...

You’d think with all the complaining one hears about email that someone would ask for help in managing their inbox.  But they don’t. There are several reasons why people don’t search for or are uninterested in a solution for managing their email better.  Here are five of them. 

1. Habits and Comfort: Some people may have been using Outlook for years and are comfortable with the way it works, making them resistant to change.
   
   
2. Lack of Awareness: Many people may not be aware of alternative email management methods or tools that could improve their workflow in Outlook.
   
   
3. Underestimation of the Problem: Some individuals may not fully realize the impact that poor email management can have on their productivity, so they don’t feel the need to change their approach.
   
   
4. Fear of Change: Adopting a new method for managing email can be intimidating, especially for those who are already overwhelmed by their inbox.
   
   
5. Overreliance on Default Tools:...

Many people blame their inability to respond in a timely manner on the demands of their job. But the truth is that the real reason they’re struggling is because they’re not managing their email well. 

One of the biggest culprits is Outlook, the most widely used email client in the world. Despite its popularity, Outlook is not designed for the way we work today. It’s cluttered, hard to navigate, and does not provide the tools we need to manage our email efficiently. As a result, people spend hours a day sifting through their inbox, trying to find the information they need. 

This is where LeanMail comes in. We’ve developed a method for managing email that is based on the principles of Lean Thinking. Our method is designed to help you reduce the amount of time you spend managing your email, so you can focus on the things that matter. 

Our software, LeanMail, is specifically designed for Outlook users. It provides a simple and elegant solution to...

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that being productive means getting a lot of email done. Many of us spend hours every day responding to emails, sorting through our inbox, and sending out quick replies just to clear the backlog. But what if all that time spent on email is actually making us less productive in the long run? 

The truth is, not all emails are created equal. Some are easy to deal with and require a quick response, while others require more thought and consideration. The problem is that we often prioritize the easy emails over the important ones, thinking that we’re being productive by clearing our inbox as quickly as possible. 

The reality is that focusing on the easy emails is a form of procrastination. It’s easier to deal with the emails that require a quick response than to tackle the more complex ones that require more time and effort. But by doing so, we’re neglecting the emails that are actually important and need...

Getting to inbox zero every day is more than just a simple email management task; it has several psychological benefits that can greatly improve your overall well-being and productivity. By reaching inbox zero every day, you can:

1. Maintain motivation: Reaching inbox zero every day can help you maintain your motivation and enthusiasm for email management, making it easier to sustain the habit over time.
2. Reduced Stress: An overflowing inbox can cause stress and anxiety, but having an empty inbox every day can help reduce that stress and allow you to focus on other tasks.
3. Improved Focus: When your inbox is empty, you can focus on the tasks at hand without being distracted by incoming emails.
4. Increased Sense of Control: By processing emails and getting to inbox zero, you are taking control of your inbox and demonstrating mastery over your email communication. This can help you feel more in control and less overwhelmed.
5. Better Time Management: By processing emails daily, you can ensure...

If you are a fan of the methodology espoused by David Allen in his book “Getting Things Done” (GTD), you may find that you will appreciate the approach and functionality of LeanMail (LM). GTD is a system for managing tasks and projects that emphasizes the importance of breaking down large tasks into smaller, actionable steps, and focusing on the most important and urgent tasks first. 

LeanMail is a email management system that is built around similar principles of GTD. It aims to help users prioritize and process their emails according to importance and urgency, using techniques like “touching” an email only once, using labels and filters to organize messages, and setting aside dedicated time to review and respond to messages. By using LeanMail’s software and methodology, you can achieve a higher level of organization and efficiency in your inbox, reducing stress and allowing you to focus on more important tasks. 

Additionally, LeanMail also...

Meta tagging emails, or using labels and tags to categorize and organize messages, can be more effective than filing them away in folders for several reasons:

1. Increased flexibility: Meta tagging allows you to assign multiple labels and tags to a single message, making it easier to find and access relevant information. This is especially useful if you’re searching for a message that pertains to multiple projects or topics.
2. Improved searchability: When you use metatags, you can search for messages using specific keywords or phrases, making it easier to find the information you need. This is much more efficient than manually searching through a series of folders.
3. Greater scalability: As the number of messages in your inbox grows, it can become increasingly difficult to manage and organize them in folders. With meta tagging, you can continue to add new labels and tags as needed, making it easier to scale your organization system as your email volume...