How to write good titles for the “subject” of your email
With the growing need to search for emails (my email archive for the past 12 years is over 10gigs and growing exponentially), it is essential that we all start to use the subject headings in emails as descriptive fields that will describe the content we are using in a “cool” and long term understandable way.
I’ve started using tags in the titles to help make things more finadable prior to archiving. I’ve also started just copying and pasting the contact details of people right into the subject line of emails with the tag “vcard” so I can easily search and find them later on.
I’d like to know other bits of advice people are deploying so that email is as quick and simple to archive (without having to take my hands off the keyboard to use the mouse aka drag and drop into folders)?
~ by dfflanders on June 22, 2010.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: email bestpractive subject titles archive search tags organise productivity GTD
David F. Flanders 
The thing that really gets me is when (ie almost always) someone replying migrates the topic but doesn’t bother to change the subject.
As far as actual subjects, I just try to be accurate, no special tricks. But I’m on a Mac, so have Spotlight to help me find things (not as good in 10.6 in some ways)…
I have to admit that I take advantage of Outlook’s subject modification feature for some of the emails I receive. The addition of extra tags to the subject line indicating the status of an ongoing discussion/negotiation is helpful.
Excellent idea. Googlemail tries to do a similar thing, but I get confused by how it tries to helpfully organise emails as a conversation.
Also I wish subject fields were compulsory – empty subj lines are soinfuriating!
thanks for the tips
can you explain more about how to write great title of e-mail
still confuse
I have to admit that I take advantage of Outlook’s subject modification feature for some of the emails I receive. The addition of extra tags to the subject line indicating the status of an ongoing discussion/negotiation is helpful.
+1