Control
Your Email Inbox
Coach:
Yara
Nielsenshultz
Time
is the coin of your life.
It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine
how it will be spent. Be careful lest you
let other people spend it for you.
Carl Sandburg
If
you're like many working women, you feel overwhelmed
by email. I know I used to. I kept my inbox open all
day, checking whenever a message came in. Sometimes
I replied right away; other times, I ignored the message
but assigned it a reminder that popped up every day
so I'd remember what I didn't have time to do. When
my computer crashed and I lost all those messages,
you know how I felt? Relieved! What a great excuse
to start fresh.
And
start fresh I did, with new habits and a clean inbox,
which, for the most part, has stayed clean ever since.
How did I do it? Here are some techniques.
First,
empty your inbox. There are many reasons to do so:
-
A
full inbox is stressful to look at
-
It’s easy to forget or lose critical action
items
-
It takes longer to reply to incoming email
-
It takes longer to find specific messages
-
Large inboxes are more likely to crash
And
no, emptying your inbox is not impossible. The hard
part is cleaning it out the first time. Once it’s
empty, it only takes a few minutes each day to keep
it empty. Remember, your inbox is not storage. It’s
a place to temporarily store a message until you do
something else with it (file it, delete it, respond
to it, etc). Would you leave all your bill notices
in your mailbox at home till the due date? No. You
take them out and put them in a safe place until you
pay your bills. Do the same with your email.
Cleaning
doesn’t mean doing
Cleaning out your inbox doesn’t mean you have
to do all the work outlined in each email. Instead,
cleaning your inbox means putting the messages in
the appropriate places. Create folders and file them.
Use
the 2-minute rule
If it takes two minutes or less to complete an action
called for in an email, do it immediately. If it takes
more than 2 minutes, write it on your to-do list,
then file or delete the message.
Use
paper lists to track necessary replies
Do you have several emails to respond to? Grab a notepad
and note who you need to respond to, message by message.
Delete or file each email after you’ve noted
it on your notepad. Then reply to each email on your
list.
Close
your email program
I myself have been guilty of leaving my email open
all day. It's been the hardest habit for me to break.
Nevertheless, it's one of the most important. Checking
email every time a message comes in breaks your train
of thought and makes you less efficient in your other
projects. There are numerous ways you can close your
email and still be responsive.
-
Check
your email three times a day.
-
Wait
one hour after you get to work to open email. Spend
that hour working on your most important project.
-
Check
email at 10 minutes before each hour for only 10
minutes.
-
Save
email for your “low energy” periods
during the day. Save your high energy for really
important projects or tasks.
-
Set an email pattern based on your working style
and demand for your time. Check email at pre-scheduled
times based on this pattern.
Don’t
use email as your to-do list
Email is not designed to be a to-do list. Use a planner,
task list, or whatever system works for you. But keep
your inbox for its intended purpose: temporarily storing
messages until you file them or delete them.
Stop
and think: Is it worth $1.00?
Imagine that you were charged $1.00 for every email
you received. How would you feel about some of the
emails you get each day? What would you do to get
people to stop sending you email? Think about it,
and then try some of your ideas. Also consider the
messages YOU send. Imagine that your recipients had
to pay $1.00 for every message they receive. Would
they appreciate the messages you send? If yes, go
ahead and send. If no, find a different way to get
that information to them … or reconsider whether
it’s even necessary.
By
cleaning out your inbox and keeping it clean, you
will find that you spend less time overall on email.
You'll also be more efficient and productive, not
only on email but also on your other projects. You
don't have to wait for your computer to crash, either.
Start by scheduling a couple of uninterrupted hours
to clean it out. Then put the techniques outlined
here into action immediately, and enjoy the results.
ACTION
STEPS
1.
Schedule two to three hours (more if your inbox is
particularly full) of uninterrupted time that you
can use to empty your inbox. Focus on that task.
2. Make a commitment to yourself to keep your inbox
clean by using some of the techniques outlined above.
3. Get into the habit of closing your email program
and responding to messages at scheduled times that
YOU control.
See
WomensMedia's
Latest Articles.
|