I know it’s email training, but what is the Stack Method™?

The Stack Method™ is a simple, easy to follow process designed for email productivity - meaning reducing time spent managing your email, as well as smarter email processing. It’s able to be implemented with any email platform, and no software is needed.

What Makes The Stack Method™ different from other programs?

Simply put, the Stack Method™ was designed more comprehensively than other email productivity programs. Most other programs recommend sorting emails by urgency or time-based responses. In the Stack class, you’ll learn how to view your messages as actions, and prioritize across those actions, changing the framework for email management entirely.

How long does it take to complete the class?

The online videos take about an hour to view, but they can be paused and replayed as many times as you like. The in-person training is about two hours of content and another hour for set-up support. At the end of either the in-person or online session, you’ll be able to get your inbox down to zero and implement the full process.

Does the process really work?

Yes!

Do you offer corporate training in The Stack Method™?

Yes, if you’d like to discuss training for your team or organization, please contact us. We’ve helped organizations across the world implement the Stack Method™.

How much time will I save by implementing The Stack Method™?

That would depend on how many emails you receive per day and how long you spend dealing with them currently. The average coroporate user who masters the Stack Method estimates saving over 250 hours a year. Better still, they say that it improves productivity across all their work areas.

What other productivity training do you offer?

We offer training in designing and facilitating efficient meetings and proactive project management. We also offer consulting in file management and strategic planning. View other services.

What's the difference between the "Reply" and "Review, CC" folders?

The "Reply," folder is for emails that require a response. Frequently these are emails asking a question, requesting approval, or otherwise requiring some kind of feedback.

The "Review, CC," folder is for emails that do not require a response, but have information that you should read. Things like company newsletters or announcements typically fit into this folder.

What's the difference between the "Delegate" and "Forward" folders?

The "Delegate," folder is for tasks that you need to delegate to someone else. Not every person will need this folder as not every position includes delegation, so if you don't delegate as a part of your job, you probably don't need this folder.

"Forward," is a folder for information that you need to forward on - not necessarily tasks to delegate, but information that needs to be shared. We also recommend using the "Forward," folder for forwarding information on to different systems, for example, to a printer, fax machine, or filing system. Using an asterisk at the end of the "Forward," folder so that it's labeled "Forward_,"_provides a small reminder that this folder is for forwarding to other systems, not just other people.

What's the difference between a "DO" and “DO 5+”?

A “DO” task is anything you have to do yourself (for example, write a report). A “DO 5+” task is one that you have identified as needing more than 5 minutes to complete. You will identify these while scanning the emails in your inbox during your daily stacking session.

Why wouldn't you just label the conversation "Remind" without the bcc step?

When you BCC yourself, you get a copy of the email request you sent out with the date and time stamped on it. This way, if you need to follow up again, you can track how many times you send the request. Having this trail be shown in the course of the email can also create the added pressure needed to generate a response. Labels don't offer this.

Additionally, if you only label the conversation and do not BCC yourself, you don't have the new, unread email sitting with all your other unaddressed emails at the beginning of your next Stack Session. Emails that are just labeled can more easily be lost amongst other labeled and read emails, so BCC-ing yourself is actually the first step to the process of following-up as a whole - it creates the new, unread email trigger to remind you.

How often would you resend a Remind email to yourself?

As many times as needed to get a response - or to be able to sufficiently prove to a superior that you have adequately followed up via email and need to find some other way to escalate your request.

Does this mean that after you have completed the Stacking process and gone through all your action folders, the folder (say, the Reply folder) will be empty?

Not necessarily. When you review your action folders, the first thing you do is prioritize what emails you want to respond to that day. For some emails, it may not be a priority to respond that day because you may be waiting for more information before you can respond, or you have other priorities that are more time-relevant, etc..

However, since you prioritized the emails you are getting to that day, and since you prioritize the emails in your action folders with every Stack Session, you can rest assured that you have already reviewed everything and made the determination of its priority. So anything left in your folders is something you have decided is not a priority for that day. This gives you significant peace of mind, even though your folders may not be emptied.

I have many ongoing active conversation threads every day. What do I do with those?

Apply the Stack Method Process as you normally would - sort all your emails to action folders, and prioritize and batch process within those folders. After you've done this, you work out of your inbox for the rest of the day.

If you Stack at the beginning of the day, this means that for the rest of the day you will be working out of your inbox, and all those active conversations can be treated more like on-going conversations. The benefit of having Stacked your inbox at the beginning of the day is that you know that you've already reviewed and prioritized everything in your inbox, so you have the peace of mind needed to focus on those active conversations for the rest of the day because you've already prioritized and dealt with all your other email responsibilities.

Sometimes there’s one particular email in a huge thread that I need to reply to. How do you recommend addressing just one email in a huge thread?

There are a few different ways to address this:

1. Forward just that email to yourself so that it appears in your inbox as a standalone email. Then you can sort it accordingly instead of carrying that whole thread with it.

2. Schedule time to your calendar with a copy of the message itself and relevant contact(s). You can also star the particular email in the thread so that it's easy to find.

3. Offload the email out of your inbox and put it in a task list. Write down the task you need to take in order to respond to the email and any relevant contact information so you don't lose it.