Email to-dos

I’ve always claimed to be an efficient multi-tasker, but the truth of the matter is I’m a simple soul with a mind full of clutter. I need reminders to do even everyday tasks.

I try to use my email inbox as a to-do list. However, due to the deluge of emails I receive, keeping that to-do list under control is quite tricky. When I receive an email, I want it out of sight until I actually have to deal with it. However, sadly, out of sight now usually means, out of mind, forever.

My solution? I set up reminders

FollowupThen.com is all about organising email. It allows me to put something out of mind, and then it pops back into my inbox again just when I have to do something with it. Magic.

What is FollowUpThen?

FollowUpThen.com is a productivity personal management tool. It jogs your memory through email. It’s a tool with only a couple of very simple steps that helps you get more done in less time. Not only is it simple to use, it is also free.

email remindersHow does this email organiser work?

Followupthen.com clears you inbox. It lets you send an unlimited number of email reminders for free. Essentially, it lets you get rid of emails from your inbox and have them come back in again at a specified future date.

All you have to do is send an email to followupthen.com for whenever you want your email to come back to your inbox. For example, this morning I got an email to renew an online subscription. The bill doesn’t have to be paid for a couple of weeks. I want that email out of my inbox until then, so I simply forward that email to 2weeks@followupthen.com and that’s it. I can delete the email from my inbox and it will magically pop back in two weeks time and I can pay the bill then.

How does followupthen.com go about organising email?

It’s a great tool to help you clean out your inbox and de-stress your email life. You can also use it to give someone else a task.

For example, I might send an email to a client reminding them that we need their web content by Wednesday of next week. So, I add wednesday@followupthen.com to the BCC of the email I send to the client. That email will then pop back into my inbox next Wednesday morning, reminding me to check on their progress. It’s as simple as that.

What does followupthen.com let me do?

Setting up a reminder is as easy as adding <insert time here>@followupthen.com in the To, CC or BCC box.

  • Remind yourself
    Got to do something next week or in three hours? Simply forward the email to Friday@followupthen.com or 3hours@followupthen.com and you’ll get a reminder.
  • Remind you and them
    If you want to remind yourself as well as another person to do something in one month, you can add the 1month@followupthen.com to the CC and both of you will get the reminder at the same time.
  • Remind you but not them
    For some of our web design clients, I add 1week@followupthen.com as a BCC and I get a reminder to follow up the email in case I haven’t heard back from them in a week. By adding 1week@followupthen.com to the BCC, the other person won’t know I’ve set up a reminder.
  • But I remembered!
    In the case you have a reminder set up for something you have already done, you can cancel it by emailing pending@followupthen.com. You’ll then receive an email with a list of all your scheduled reminders which you can cancel individually.
  • Need more time …
    Reminder emails come with a prompt as well as the original email. If you’re not quite ready for action, you have the option to postpone the reminder for a specific time.

Why does it work?

Followupthen.com works with any email service because it’s entirely email-based. It works with Web-based email services such as Gmail and Hotmail, desktop clients like Outlook and Thunderbird and on mobile phones. It puts your email in front of you when you need it.

It also uses simple language for scheduling reminders. You can, for example, email 2minutes@followupthen.com if you want to receive a reminder in two minutes, or 3years@followupthen.com if you really need to. Because this tool is designed to help you remember stuff, it doesn’t make you try and remember clever abbreviations, which I find challenging and counter-productive.

How to begin organising email reminders?

You have to set up and account to use the service, but the process isn’t painful and it’s pretty quick. Then you can simply start receiving those handy reminders when you need them.

FollowUpThen.com has solved my e-mail chaos for me. Organising email has never been easier and now I can get those tasks on my to-do list fully under control, and get web content from our lovely clients when we need it. Cheers to those clever people!