Why should I use a single folder for storing emails?

Thanks again to those who have been sending in their questions - please keep them coming either via email or post them on the Outlook Email Productivity Support Facebook page.

This week, I’ll answer:

I am a “folder person”. Does this mean you don’t recommend using folders in emails?

That’s correct – I don’t recommend that you use lots of folders to store your emails. My recommendation is to use one single folder to store all your email. I call this the Filing Cabinet; some call it their Done or Completed or Archive folder - whatever makes the most sense for you is fine.

If you have traditionally filed everything strategically into a hierarchy of folders based on client or project or subject matter, this may be a difficult concept to embrace. It can take a little while to get to the point where you really trust your ability to find that needle in the haystack but learning to use the Search functionality that is available in your software will make this so much easier and quicker than the methods you have been using for many years to date.

With the technology-based tools available to us today, searching is definitely the most efficient way to find what you’re looking for. In fact, IBM did a study where they found that people who searched for messages found them more quickly than those who found them via folder-based filing systems by about 15 seconds on average, and that didn’t even take into account the additional decisions you have to make when filing the messages in the first place.

Hick’s Law is a simple idea that says that the more choices you have, the longer it will take them to reach a decision. When you have a large number of email folders, it can take as much as 5 times longer to decide which folder to store an email in than if you’re using just one single folder, and that’s just the thinking time, before you even touch it to move it to that chosen folder. And then how much scrolling up and down your folder list do in a day? And have you ever dragged and dropped an email into the wrong folder by accident?

You’re definitely going to want to get good at searching and there are some basic search principles that will help you find what you’re looking for even faster. And if you want suggestions and tips for crafting more efficient searches to find your emails even faster, we cover that in the Science of Writing Effective Email course. This program is available ‘on demand’ - start at any time and progress at your own speed with coaching support from me as needed. Click here to learn more