#1. Try to limit the amount you go to Triage to just three-five times each day.
Get in the habit of replying and/or assigning items each morning, afternoon and before you leave your desk for the day. By doing this, it allows you to clear out your new items faster. And if you're not constantly coming back to Triage throughout the day, you won't be distracted from the work that needs your attention.
You can assign an email or note as a To-do to yourself, or to someone else on your team.
#2. Just like adding an email to a folder or tagging an email, add the email to a timeline.
Intuit Practice Management powered by Karbon likens tags and folders to timelines. You can add the email to a contact timeline or if the email relates to work, add that email to work or create new work directly from that email.
If you're not sure if you should add an email to a piece of work, ask yourself these 3 questions:
Does the email contain an attachment?
Are there several steps you need to take with this email?
Will the email conversation eventually end up into a larger project/job/work?
If the answer is yes to one or more of the above, add the email to a work item. The attached file will be stored on the details tab of the work item, and you can document the items you need to complete by creating tasks.
Handy tip: You can copy text from the email and paste it directly into a task.
#3. Add new contacts as you go.
If you receive an email from someone new, add them as a contact. You can do this directly from the email. By adding new contacts and email address, you can be assured that any emails to and from them will automatically be stored on the contact timelines.
Don’t forget to link contacts to organizations if needed.
And if you’d like to add this email to the organization timeline, you can do so using the email information tray, or by clicking on the email options menu (the three dots "...") to “Add to contact”.
#4. Use comments to @ mention your colleague on an email rather than forwarding.
You can bring your colleague(s) into an email conversation by @ mentioning them in a comment. It allows you to have an internal conversation with your team members without the risk of your external clients seeing the conversation. Great for asking quick questions, providing an FYI or requesting approval for a draft reply.
#5. Send notes to colleagues instead of email.
Instead of sending an email to someone internally, you should @mention them in a note. Not only will this notify your team member in their Triage, but the conversation will also be stored properly on the Work or Contact timeline you are discussing. Your teammate will also have more context to work from when they read the message.
Further reading:
The five broken rules of email etiquette.