Email is the bane of my existence most days. My phone is continually dinging and Outlook is beckoning me with it’s alluring come hither “check me” tone. Quite honestly, I wasn’t getting anything done because of email. It was hindering my productivity to the point I couldn’t function.
I get a lot of email. There are days press releases number 200 hundred and up in my inbox. I was having to dig through those to get to emails that needed my attention on a daily basis. Let’s just say I missed some plum assignments and a few deadlines. Something I’m not proud of.
I’ve applied a few tricks of the trade that work for me and I hope will work helping you pinch more time out in your day.
1. Don’t check email in the morning. I’ve not read Julie Morgensterns book “Never Check Email In The Morning”, however I get what she’s saying. If it’s truly urgent, someone will pick up the phone and call you.
By not checking your email first thing, you’ll be able review your to-do list and prepare yourself for the day by prioritizing your tasks.
2. Don’t check email every time it dings. That’s a bad habit to fall into and one that’s not only hard to break, but also an easy trap to fall back into. Believe me, I speak from experience.
3. Check your email at set times. I check my email at 8:30am, 10:30am, 12:30 pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm. I can generally deal with what needs handling and be done in less than five minutes. Yes, you heard me correctly, five minutes.
If an email needs more attention than two minutes? I put it on my schedule in order to devote my full attention to it and give it the time it deserves.
4. How do I go through my email in under five minutes? Filters. All of my email is filtered by different types of criteria. If it’s from a PR firm it goes into assorted files for PR. If I receive an email for social media business products, I have a folder set up, so on and so forth. By automatically processing these messages, I’m able to deal with items that need attention and during set times, I go through my filtered mail. It’s all scheduled.
A lot of people are using Google Apps or Gmail for their email. This post by LifeHacks is fantastic, sharing 20 Ways to use Gmail Filters.
5. Close your inbox. Does that frighten you? Cold turkey frightens us all. That’s the problem with being as connected as we are today. Too many distractions hinder our productivity, destroy our focus and waste our time.
6. Manage expectations. We’ve all had the co-worker/business associate who sends an email and if you’ve not responded within two minutes, are either calling or pinging you on IM to check if you’ve received it. Even worse? They are coming to your cube and interrupting your flow to ask if you’ve got the email they sent regarding the company picnic.
I’ve been there and it makes me stabby. It’s also been known to cause me to lose complete train of thought. My time has been wasted, as well as the company I’m working with, because I can’t focus on the project at hand.
I’m a firm believer in saving time during the day so I’m more productive while working. While I’ve not covered all of my tips for managing email, I’ve started everyone off on the right foot. Little steps can generate large blocks of time, increasing your productivity and easing your stress levels.
How do you save time with your email? Tell me below.
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