All humility aside, my usage of labels and filters in GMail is way better than yours.

Like many people with keyboard jobs, I find myself inundated with email (I get hundreds a day.) After being overwhelmed for a while, I discovered some GMail tips that helped a great deal with my conceptual understanding and practical usage of labels and filters. Then, I discovered Getting Things Done, and that put the final touches on my philosophy of using GMail as a productivity tool.

First, a strict rule that's not up for debate: do not create a separate label for every mailing-list or sender you care about. Use search instead ("to:foo-list", "from:bossman"). Most GMailers realize this, but a lot of people either don't realize it, or they just fall into the old folder-paradigm habit. Do you have a crapload of labels that correspond almost 1-to-1 for mailing lists? If so, you're forsaking one of the central tenets that makes GMail really useful.

Second, you'll need to have a basic understanding of GTD. It is near-blasphemy to sum it up in a nutshell, since the GTD system is so packed with useful techniques for streamlining your work process... but I'll do it anyway.

• Everything you need to look at goes into a "stuff" bucket. You look into this bucket when you're ready to work on stuff.


• For each item in "stuff", decide what the very next tangible action required is.


• If you can do it in 120 seconds or less, do it now.


• If you can't do it in 120 seconds or less, you put it in a "next" bucket to process later.


• If you're waiting on something, put it in a "waiting" bucket.


• Items that take more than one tangible action to complete are "projects". Keep them in a "projects" bucket.


• Projects you're not sure about doing in the near-term go into a "maybe" bucket

Again, this is a very high-level glance at GTD, and there are many subtleties, but that's the gist for the context of the current discussion.

I use GMail labels as buckets. Here are my buckets. (My buckets. Let me show you them.)

• _maybe


• _next


• _projects


• _stuff


• _waiting

Also, certain items in my buckets may have another (optional) label/tag, which infers a physical context for the task. Remember, you may have multiple labels apply to a single item in GMail.

• @agenda (Items to be brought up with people in the context of a discussion / meeting.)


• @errand (Things I can only do when I'm out and about.)


• @home (Things around the house, like "take out the trash fortheloveofgod it is starting to smell".)


• @large (Things I need a long interrupted block of time to do effectively, like a non-trivial chunk of code.)


• @phone (Tasks requiring phone-talking. I hate these, but it's nice to drill down on them all at once when I have the opportunity.)

These are prefixed with _ and @ so they are listed first (and grouped) in my Labels list. Other "non-bucket" labels follow below them.

After distinct bucket-labels and context-labels are defined, you can add some Filter action to the mix. Here's a generic version of my current filter list:

# Filters for applying the _stuff label. These are all items I need
# to at least look at once in order to decide if they are worthy of
# a _next label.

Matches: (to:eater OR cc:eater) -{subject:"chat with" OR to:(eater+next) OR to:(eater+waiting) OR to:(eater+projects)}
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_stuff"

Matches: listid:myteam
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_stuff"

Matches: listid:myproject
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_stuff"

Matches: to:(other-important-list)
Do this: Apply label "_stuff"

# Bigshots also get a Star (in addition to the _stuff lable) just to
# be sure I don't miss their emails.

Matches: from:(myboss OR mydirector OR otherbigshot)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Star it, Apply label "_stuff"

# Things I really like to read get a _review label. They don't
# belong in _stuff since it's not critical I act on any of it.

Matches: to:(yiff-discuss)
Do this: Apply label "_review"

Matches: to:(right-wing-fascism-discuss)
Do this: Apply label "_review"

# I send notes to myself via command line, like "gtd.sh -n
# 'do foo'"... this just sends an empty email to me with
# "do foo" in the Subject. Depending on the item, I want to
# apply an appropriate label. I use GMail's "plus syntax":
# anything addressed to eater+next@gmail.com is delivered to
# eater@gmail.com, but I may filter "to:eater+next" uniquely.

Matches: to:(eater+next)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_next"

Matches: to:(eater+projects)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_projects"

Matches: to:(eater+waiting)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "_waiting"

# Some super-spammy lists shouldn't even go into my Inbox, but I still
# want them available for searching.

Matches: to:(spammy-list)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "lame_notify"

Matches: to:(other-spammy-list)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "lame_notify"

To summarize, anything that I need to explicitly deal with (or at least look at to determine if it needs dealing with) gets a _stuff label automatically. Since I always have a terminal window open, I can use a little bit of ugly shell-script to add items, which get the appropriate label automatically. This is almost always just for adding next actions, like: gtd -n 'schedule meeting with whatshisface re widgets'. This generates an email to eater+next@gmail.com, which goes to eater@gmail.com, which the to:eater+next filter tags with a _next label.

Got it? Okay, so here's my typical daily work cycle:

• Item arrives in _stuff label, which I check reguarly throughout the day.


• Many things I handle right away, like reply to some simple question, or delegate a task to somewhere more appropriate. (Remove label _stuff.)


• If it requires more than 2 minutes to work the very next action, I Apply Label _next, and remove label _stuff.


• If it requires action from someone else, I apply label _waiting and remove label _stuff.


• If I'm in a specific context, like near a phone and have some free time, I search for items labelled _next with context label @phone.


• Similarly, I have a Calendar reminder set to text-msg me at 9PM nightly. This is my cue to search _next + @home. ("Oh yeah! The trash needs to be taken out!")

Once a week, I do a weekly review. It looks like this:

• Review _waiting items. If somebody has let a task go stale in their court, I bump the thread and remind them.


• Review _projects items. Do I have a new next action (_next) for any of them?


• Review _maybe items. Should any of these become actual _project items yet?

I've been working this system for the better part of a year. I rarely, if ever, miss an email I should deal with. When I defer something to someone else, I know exactly who it's defered to, and the last time there was action on it. I know exactly who to follow up with. For any given context (at home, near a phone, running errands) I know exactly what I should be doing (reviewing errands I know "Oh right, I need to pick up some Scotch.", or near the phone,
I know "Oh, need to call my insurance company about my address change".) This maps nicely to an email-driven job.

I'm more productive. I know exactly what's on my plate at any given time. I can evaluate potential new comittments without fear of over-comitting. I don't let people down by not responding to their e-mail. I don't defer things and let them go stale. I am a corporate ninja.

This is only a cursory overview of GTD; I recommend you read David Allen's book, Getting Things Done.

Further caveats and suggestions.

It takes four or five big tries to really implement GTD effectively. I'm on my fifth, and I'm just now really getting the hang of it.

There are lots of little utilities to implement GTD workflows via software--even a Firefox extension that works directly with GMail. Avoid them, they all suck. (I don't want to hear your personal story about foobar's software util that works really great. Good for you. It still sucks.) Try it with only filters and labels for a while... it's really easy enough. Sometimes those add-on efficiency tools just get in the way, making you less efficient. Simpler is better here.

To complete the corporate-chic-trendy persona, I carry a Moleskine notebook in my back pocket to jot notes in, along with a short stack of index cards in a binder clip for writing down next actions (one per card.) This is for when I'm not in front of my laptop or workstation. When I get back to my desk, I quickly transcribe my paper notes into my GMail-bucket system. You can use your Crackberry for this, but I find the Luddite method to be quicker and less prone to dangerous gadget-creep.

I still clear out my Inbox regularly, but it's something I do quickly--once every day or two--and entirely at my own leisure. I know that nothing critical (that is, personally actionable) is in there, so it's all just information I can either read or ignore without ill effect on my personal obligations. (For critical things, my _stuff label view is my real inbox.)

Use Calendar text-message reminders to assist. I mentioned my weekday 9PM @home context reminder, but it's also useful for blocking out your weekly-review time, and other things you might otherwise use a tickler file ("43 folders" system) to implement.

This is the page Comcast displays when you enter an invalid username and/or password:

The page cannot be displayed The page you are looking for cannot 
be displayed because an invalid method (HTTP verb) was used to attempt 
access.

Please try the following:

    * Contact the Web site administrator if you believe that this 
      request should be allowed.
    * Make sure that the Web site address displayed in the address 
      bar of your browser is spelled and formatted correctly.

HTTP Error 405 - The HTTP verb used to access this page is not allowed.
Internet Information Services (IIS)

Technical Information (for support personnel)

    * Go to Microsoft Product Support Services and perform a title 
      search for the words HTTP and 405.
    * Open IIS Help, which is accessible in IIS Manager (inetmgr), and 
      search for topics titled Setting Application Mappings, Securing 
      Your Site with Web Site Permissions, and About Custom Error 
      Messages.

I didn't even realize that's what it was, until I noticed the URL had "&errorMessage=Invalid%20User%20Name%20or%20Password" in it. You'd think someone working there would be somewhat "good with computers". Oh, sweet feathery jesus.

This has been going on for at least a week... and probably longer.

I'm pretty happy about The Clintons being stomped by Barack Obama. Obama is a compelling candidate, and if he's nominated, I could actually see myself voting for a Democrat this year.

The GOP has one shot at beating him. Obama's voting record isn't very appealing, in contrast to his moving speeches and his current image as iconoclast to the established Democrat beurocracy.

Republicans need to move back to their roots. If only they had a candidate like this:

• Never voted to raise taxes.
  
• Never voted for an unbalanced budget.
  
• Never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
  
• Never voted to raise congressional pay.
  
• Never taken a government-paid junket.
  
• Never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
  
• Voted against the Patriot Act.
  
• Voted against regulating the Internet.
  
• Voted against the Iraq war.
  
• Does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
  
• Returns a portion of his annual office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Yep. If only they could find somebody like that to restore the party, they would stand a good chance of restoring the faith of the country, and winning this election. Could anybody fit that description? Sure, it's pretty unlikely; people with those kind of principals don't exist in politics any more.

Do they?

I'm slightly ashamed...

85%DRUNKARD

(...that I didn't score better than this.)

Best Christmas present ever. (imdb.)

Go grab your Google Reader shared item feed and plug it into Readburner. Then add the feed of popular crap to your Reader account. Good times!

This man's critical analysis of our country's current state deserves as much exposure as it can get.



This is a politician I only 80% agree with on particular issues, but I can trust that his views are based on careful analysis of empirical observations that largely align with my own. That's rare in politics. The others on that stage are more worried about the day-to-day polling data[1] than any hard-thought personal conviction about what's best for the country.

If Ron Paul looked like Mitt Romney, he'd be elected in a heartbeat.

[1] I don't totally hate McCain, but the one-liner quip about burqas is a rather disgusting example of pandering to emotion. We don't need that sort of thing in politics.

Some nice words from Carl Rogers.

I have come to feel that the only learning which significantly influence behavior is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning.

Such self-discovered learning, truth that has been personally appropriated and assimilated in experience, cannot be directly communicated to another.

This sentiment has personal significance for myself, and is probably the best advice I could think to give someone else wanting to work in my field.

I have the utmost respect for formal education, but in my experience the best lessons are self-taught.

In contrast to popular sentiment, I sort of like sharing my Reader shared items feed (and reading the shared items from others.) If I know you--and chances are I do, as I have maybe a dozen non-bot subscribers--then you should invite me into your contact list. My username is obeyeater.

(Title inspiration goes to xkcd, of course.)

Army nostalgia alert.

I just discovered that Fort Benning has the graduation photos from each Ranger School class published online, going all the way back to 1951!

Mine was Ranger Class 2-99, photo taken on January 28th, 1999 (the "98" on the placard is a goof; I never noticed until this moment.) I'm in the third row from the back, second from the left.

I wish I was still that skinny.

Fun Wikipedia factoids:

Although there are no published, peer-reviewed scientific studies of the physical effects of the Ranger course, it is not uncommon for soldiers to lose 35-50 pounds. Military folk wisdom has it that Ranger School's physical toll is like years of natural aging; high levels of fight-or-flight stress hormones (adrenalin, noradrenalin, cortisol), along with standard sleep deprivation and continual physical strain, inhibit full physical and mental recovery throughout the course.

Common maladies during the course include weight loss, dehydration, trench foot, heatstroke, frostbite, chilblains, fractures, tissue tears (ligaments, tendons, muscles), swollen hands, feet, knees, nerve damage, loss of limb sensitivity, cellullitis, cuts, and insect, spider, and wildlife bites.

In addition to the physical damage suffered, students must also recover from a drastic metabolic change consequence of eating very little.

Ah, memories!

Phil Hendrie, the world's funniest washed-up radio hack, now has a Youtube channel.

(I wish he'd beg his old program director for his old show back.)

After a total of what was probably two or three non-contiguous hours of my life, I've finally figured out how the hammer strut engages the spring assembly when reassembling my Ruger Mark II. Thanks, Internet!

... but you probably don't care enough to find out.

Taxes can be quite deceptive. If you live in the United States, then you should take just a few moments to realize how much of your paycheck actually goes to support government programs.

Learn how tax brackets work. Know the exact percentage of your individual income that goes to the government. Here's a simplified tax bracket calculator.

Social security and medicare taxes are withheld in addition to the income tax you pay. Learn what percentage of your income goes toward this. For most people, this is over 7% of your gross income.

Of course, your employer also has to pay "their share" of your social security and medicare tax. This is yet another 7% of your gross income. (Take a moment to wonder if you'd get paid more if this wasn't the case, or if your company would be more likely to succeed with more capital investment. Or both.)

Don't forget about state income tax rates. What percentage do you pay?

And there is sales tax, of course. Make a ballpark guess at how much you spend in a year on taxable goods. How much of that goes to a state sales tax?

Home-owner? Then you should know what you owe every year in property tax.

You're not safe if you die, either, so don't assume your assets will go to supporting your loved ones... unless your loved ones are government programs. You should find out how much would go to the death tax in the event of your demise. (Hint: it's probably way higher than you think.)

Still with me? Fantastic. Take all your numbers together, and figure out what percentage of your paycheck goes directly--or indirectly--to support government programs. Take a magic marker and write that number in big numerals somewhere you'll see it every single day.

Think about it every time you spend money. Think about it every time you work a long shift. Think about it when you see a stupid (but expensive) government expenditure. Most importantly, think about it when you vote.

Of course, it's a little hard to get accurate figures. The United States tax code is 24MB of text, 3.4 million words, somewhere around 7500 pages. If that doesn't strike you as overcomplicated, obscene, and intentionally divisive, then you are fucking high.

So what's a better solution? I've got my own opinion. Do some research and form yours.

Don't be content! Chances are, you are effectively working through the end of Spring every year just to support United States government programs.