Poll

How do you manage your e-mail?

I keep everything.
18 (40.9%)
I hardly ever delete e-mails.
16 (36.4%)
I only keep what seems "important."
5 (11.4%)
I delete e-mails once the topic/issue is resolved.
4 (9.1%)
I'm not really sure what to do with all of these e-mails.
1 (2.3%)

Total Members Voted: 44

Author Topic: E-mail Management  (Read 5673 times)

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Caroline Naveen

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E-mail Management
« on: Feb 04, 2014, 10:57 pm »
Okay, so here is something that I have not seen on the form before....being a stage manager = a lot of e-mail messages. How do you know what to keep and what to delete? It's not a fun experience to suddenly really need an e-mail you deleted a while ago, and it's also not fun to have your e-mail take forever to load or crash because of the size/magnitude of your inbox. What do you recommend for keeping inboxes organized and relevant?

bkrst275

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #1 on: Feb 04, 2014, 11:55 pm »
I simply keep everything because I never know what I might need or when I'll need it. I haven't run into issues yet with searching, though, but I do understand that concern. One of these days, I'll get around to organizing my inbox into folders.

lsears

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #2 on: Feb 05, 2014, 10:30 am »
I keep most show related emails but they go into file folders almost immediately, including one called PENDING.  My inbox is not a to-do list or a filing cabinet.  If there is info I need in an email or a task to do then it gets moved to my actual to-do list or show notebook, I want to be able to see everything at once, not sort though emails to be sure I have dealt with all issues for the day, especially when internet access in rehearsal halls is notoriously fickle.  If there is a lengthy email with pertinent info then I'll print it and keep the hard copy on hand.  If I'm working somewhere where I can't print emails sometimes I copy/paste the info into a Word document that stays open on my desktop.  There are many more suggestions for email management on the website uncluttered.com just do a search for the topic.

In terms of keep vs delete I keep things for the purposes of a paper trail.

KMC

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #3 on: Feb 05, 2014, 10:47 am »
There's no reason to delete substantive emails.  Storage is incredibly cheap and becoming cheaper by the day; I'm fairly certain the amount of storage I have on my personal gmail is outpacing the rate at which I'm using it.

Organize?  Yes.  Delete? No.
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

MatthewShiner

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #4 on: Feb 05, 2014, 11:31 am »
One of the first things I do on a new show is set up a show specific email . . .

PSM.TITLEOFSHOWHERE@Gmail.com (for example)
SHOWTITLE.PSM@Gmail.com (for example)

this keeps all shows emails in one location as opposed to mixed into one large pile.

I then set up labels that pretty much match my production book

Calendar
Daily Call
Production Reports
Performance Reports

Scenic
Lights
Sound

etc

plus

Actor Correspondence
Director Correspondence
Producer Correspondence

On closing of the show . . . I forward all emails to my main email . . . and a vacation response.

End of the day, by just breaking up shows into different emails does a lot to keep my life organized.

 
« Last Edit: Feb 05, 2014, 11:37 am by MatthewShiner »
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

nick_tochelli

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #5 on: Feb 05, 2014, 02:51 pm »
Keep. Everything.

Organize it by show once it's over, but keep it all. It's sort of like taxes. You never know when you might be audited. In this case, you never know when an actor/producer decides to file a lawsuit and your emails may be subpoenaed. Its an extreme example of course, but if anything comes up in conflict and you get an email about it....you should keep it.

KMC

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #6 on: Feb 05, 2014, 02:59 pm »
In this case, you never know when an actor/producer decides to file a lawsuit and your emails may be subpoenaed. Its an extreme example of course, but if anything comes up in conflict and you get an email about it....you should keep it.

It's not as extreme as you might think.  At a previous place of employ I was tapped by corporate legal for emails on a particular subject in effort to clear the company of any wrongdoing.

Injuries, contractual/labor disputes, harassment, discrimination, etc... - it can and does happen.
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

MatthewShiner

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #7 on: Feb 05, 2014, 07:58 pm »
Or . . . delete everything at the end of the show, and make that common practice . . . that way you couldn't be held accountable for anything . . . although it may clear you of any wrong doing -  I guess if it depends if you have something to hide or not.
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

KMC

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #8 on: Feb 05, 2014, 09:28 pm »
I'd argue that any email correspondence on a show you're hired to do belongs to the theatre - though that subject is probably about as clear as mud, especially if the producer is not providing you with a computer and company email address (which they most likely not doing). 

Ultimately the SM is on the front line of middle management and yes, his/her primary responsibility is often seen as getting the show up and maintaining it, but an equally important responsibility in the eyes of those signing your check (even if unseen by others) is limiting risk exposure.  Deleting emails for the entire run of a show doesn't serve that end, unless of course everyone is hiding something - but my comments are assuming that everyone is acting in good faith.
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

Jonas_A

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #9 on: Feb 05, 2014, 10:08 pm »
Keep it all. But keep it neat.
Nobody else has mentioned that you should find an e-mail program that suits your needs and system. I personally love Gmail and am infinitely thankful that my uni uses it; if you use a Gmail account, start getting familiar with stars, labels and folders. All will help manage it, and make finding useful things far quicker and easier. Outlook (the program) is similarly excellent, but few people seem to have it these days. I assume licences are expensive... Outlook.com (note the difference; web-based and free) is about as much fun as shooting yourself in the foot. And about as effective.

Find a program you like, create a system you trust and follow it religiously. It doesn't have to be super-complicated; anything from "Production e-mails" through to MatthewShiner's folders is suitable as long as you can navigate it efficiently and can file stuff quickly and accurately. David Allen makes a great point in his book "Getting Things Done" that a system has to be simple and even kinda fun to use, and should be flexible enough to accommodate anything you could have to file; aim for this rather than a strictly-regimented system whereby you have 8,000 folders (example only) and go slightly neurotic filing e-mails into it. The biggest key to success isn't whether it's a complicated system or not, but whether you trust it to keep all of your data in check. If you can trust it to the point where you aren't wondering "Now, where did the e-mail from the PM re bump-in go...?", it's perfect.


There's no reason to delete substantive emails.  Storage is incredibly cheap and becoming cheaper by the day; I'm fairly certain the amount of storage I have on my personal gmail is outpacing the rate at which I'm using it....
Same situation for me. I sometimes wonder what it would take for me to collect data faster than Google expands my mailbox capacity...

VilleSM

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Re: E-mail Management
« Reply #10 on: Apr 13, 2014, 06:04 pm »
I keep and archive EVERYTHING. Every single e-mail that comes along in the process of putting up and maintaining shows gets archived in my Gmail. If you can, I would also suggest downloading everything into a folder and keeping it with any other show files - OR printing, dating, and signing each one (very tedious) and keeping it with your book.

I just went through and deleted show e-mails from my junior year of college - five years later - because (a) most people barely remember that show happened and (b) I think 5 years is just about the limit for people caring to file lawsuits.
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