In discussing the digital tools that he uses daily, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in this CNN Money article provides an interesting glimpse into how he organizes his workday, particularly with regard to two constant problems — email and paper:

I get about 100 e-mails a day. We apply filtering to keep it to that levelóe-mail comes straight to me from anyone I’ve ever corresponded with, . . .and anyone I know. And I always see a write-up from my assistant of any other e-mail, from companies that aren’t on my permission list or individuals I don’t know. That way I know what people are praising us for, what they are complaining about, and what they are asking.
We’re at the point now where the challenge isn’t how to communicate effectively with e-mail, it’s ensuring that you spend your time on the e-mail that matters most. I use tools like “in-box rules” and search folders to mark and group messages based on their content and importance.

As you might expect, paper is not a big part of Gates’ experience:

Paper is no longer a big part of my day. I get 90% of my news online, and when I go to a meeting and want to jot things down, I bring my Tablet PC. It’s fully synchronized with my office machine so I have all the files I need. It also has a note-taking piece of software called OneNote, so all my notes are in digital form.

And his one low-tech piece of office equipment:

The one low-tech piece of equipment still in my office is my whiteboard. I always have nice color pens, and it’s great for brainstorming when I’m with other people, and even sometimes by myself.

But there is one overused low-tech aspect of management that even Gates cannot avoid:

Days are often filled with meetings. It’s a nice luxury to get some time to go write up my thoughts or follow up on meetings during the day. But sometimes that doesn’t happen.