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Putting Emails In Folders Is a Waste of Time, Says IBM Study

Posted by timothy on from the perhaps-the-sorting-process-is-useful-though dept.

An anonymous reader writes "There are two types of office workers in the world — those who file their emails in folders, and those who use search. Well, it looks like the searchers are smarter. A 354-user study by IBM research found that users who just searched their inbox found emails slightly faster than users who had filed them by folder. Add the time spent filing and the searchers easily come out on top. Apparently the filers are using their inbox as a to-do list rather than wanting to categorize information to find it more easily."

4 of 434 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Except that... by Joce640k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yep. Scrollbars become unusable when one scrollbar pixel equals several pages of what's being scrolled.

    Plus...ummm, doesn't "search" work on folders too? Ooops!

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    No sig today...
  2. no way - wrong search terms leave things behind by rubycodez · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Project folders are superior, especially as time passes one can't remember proper keyword to bring up all relevant emails. Yes, I've used e-mail systems that were folderless and only search was possible, not quite as useful.

  3. IBM Uses Lotus Notes for Email by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're not what I'd call "Experts."

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    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  4. Re:Except that... by msauve · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apparently, IBM hasn't discovered the concept of filter, which can organize emails automatically. Hopefully, when they do, there won't be a new patent forthcoming.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law