![]() You could use broad categories titled "Action Items," "Waiting," "Reference," and "Archives." If you're able to stay on top of your folders – particularly "Action" and "Waiting" folders – you could use them as an informal To-Do List for the day. Organizing EmailĬan you imagine having an inbox with nothing in it? It almost sounds too good to be true!Īlthough a completely empty inbox (also called "inbox zero") might be unrealistic for many of us, keeping our main inbox cleared can make us more organized, and help eliminate stress.įirst, set up a simple filing system to help manage your mail. Consider filing it in a "To Read" folder, and tackle it when you have time. These are those "FYI" emails from the corporate office or from team members who want to keep us "in the loop." If you see your name in the "cc" field instead of the "To" field, chances are it's an FYI email. ![]() ![]() Many of us also get lots of internal notifications. Most email programs allow you to highlight, flag, or star messages that need a response, so utilize this handy feature whenever you can. ![]() The idea behind this is that if it takes less than two minutes to action, it takes longer to read and then store the task away "to do later" than it would to just take care of the task now.įor emails that will take longer than two minutes to read or respond to, schedule time on your calendar, or add this as an action on your To-Do List, to do later. When you read email, you can waste hours if you don't use this time intelligently.įirst, try using the "Two-Minute Rule" (a concept from David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done ) when you read your mail – if the email will take less than two minutes to read and reply to, then take care of it right now, even if it's not a high priority. As with all of these strategies, use your judgment, based on your circumstances. If you're concerned that your colleagues, boss, or clients will be annoyed or confused that you're not responding to their email quickly, explain that you only check email at certain times, and that they can call you or use instant messaging if the matter is really urgent.Ĭlearly, in some roles, you will have to check email on a regular basis, especially if your business uses email as its main communication tool. Our article, Is This a Morning Task? will help you identify when you're feeling least energetic, so that you can schedule time appropriately. You can also reserve time to read and respond to email after a long period of focused work, or at the time of day when your energy and creativity are at their lowest (this means that you can do higher value work at other times). If you can't do this, at least make sure that you turn off audible and visual alerts. EMAIL NEWSLETTER EXPERT SOFTWAREHere, it helps to set your email software to "receive" messages only at certain times, so that you're not distracted by incoming messages. For instance, you may decide that you'll only check your email first thing in the morning, before lunch, and at the end of the day. One strategy you can use is to check email only at set points during the day. However, the constant interruption and distraction that comes from multitasking in this way can dramatically lower your productivity, and disrupt your ability to enter a state of flow when working on high value projects. Checking EmailĬhecking your email regularly during the day can be an effective way to keep your inbox at manageable levels. ![]() EMAIL NEWSLETTER EXPERT HOW TOSo use your own best judgment when you think about how to manage your email. Keep in mind that these strategies may not work for everyone. ![]()
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