I don't really track anything. I look at my email and if I don't know what an email is I'll pop it open, though a lot of work related emails are just automated messages or softcopies of something that I printed out at the same time so I don't even bother reading those.

If there's something I need to do I either write a note down on a scrap-of-paper/notepad/sticky-note or just you know, do it.

I am in fact hilariously unorganized but it's pretty unimportant because I'm not sure how having a bunch of folders for stuff is supposed to keep me from forgetting to do things.

if youre in some kind of support, helpdesk, customerservice, projectmanagement, development scenario and you have it set up correctly, emails are mostly notifications that something happened in the tracking system. customers/employees only EVER email the abstraction layer, not personnel directly. you can either reply to the email and it gets automatically sorted by the software, or you can interact directly in the software itself. so in helpdesk software like enchant, a ticket stays open or held until it is closed. closing the ticket removes the entire conversation from visibility. a reply restores its visibility. if i move a normal email to a folder, and a person sends a replies to it, the conversation becomes fragmented. team inboxes delineate conversations and let you move the entire conversation including future replies. they also force standard practice on a team, so each person doesnt project manage differently. this gives you more transparency, and lets you read each others conversations so everyone can stay on the same page regarding trends or events.

talking to the developers, thats not exactly how they intended the software to be used, and internally they close tickets aggressively and move longer term tasks to project management tracking in trello.

on the gmail front, their tabs or whatever are a lifesaver. i only check the primary and update tabs daily, the rest is pseudo-junkmail.

tldr: to answer your question simply. if i get an email asking for something or that i need to act on, and it didnt come FROM some type of tracking/pm/ticketing software, i forward it to the appropriate software so it is added to the todo list. if youre on a team using task software like https://glip.com/ for instance, you add the task directly in the software, you dont email the person.

I actually mean personal email, like trying to organize plans with my sister. My friends and family are somewhat resistant to task tracking software.

i star things that need a second look. but again those are mostly from automated systems or companies.

human<>human communication is almost always through messaging apps.

producthunt had this today https://www.producthunt.com/tech/owlie

So you don't need to actually use email and that's why you can get away with not being able to organise it?

if i had conversations in email regularly I would not sort them into folders. i dont sort IM conversations into folders.

no matter what, i rely on search. if i need to find something in facebook messenger, i use search. gmail, search. outlook, search.

if an email is important, i star it. if i need to plan with mother and sister, i send a message to a family IM group.

virtually every message i send is 1) through a routing abstraction layer on one of the two ends 2) instant messaging 3) social forum. direct email to email chitchat isnt a regular practice, but that doesnt mean i dont use email. email for me functions as a 1)compatibility layer between otherwise isolated systems 2) old school notification tray

> that doesnt mean i dont use email. email for me functions as a 1)compatibility layer between otherwise isolated systems 2) old school notification tray

So you don't actually use email as a communication system, in case you misunderstood my meaning. I'd be interested to see whether this is generally true for people who argue that they don't need to worry about what's in their inbox.

i dont sort any of my communication, on any platform, into hierarchical absolute folders. i search.

if i did hold conversations directly through email<>email, that would not change my lack of folders. i could see using gmail tags more aggressively.

the closest thing i have to folders are saved, predefined search queries based on parameters and conditions. the contents of those sort automatically based on metadata, some of which i apply by hand.