IBM conducted a study of 345 long-time email users to see whether it's more efficient to organize email into folders or simply search for an email when you need it. These email users conducted over 85,000 refinding actions - scrolling, searching, and filing of email into folders.
For a while I have been leaving my email in my inbox, deleting those emails I don't want, following my daughters' example. I do admit though, that it somehow feels wrong to have thousands of emails in my inbox.
Here's what IBM research found:
"There are direct technical implications of our results. Search was both efficient and led to more successful retrieval, in part supporting the search-based approach of clients like Gmail."
So there you have it. It's more efficient to leave your inbox chaotic and search when you need something. So stop twitching and save yourself some time! If paper files were so easy!
More on efficient computer use:
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