Tips and Tools for Effective Email Management
What did we do before email? There are few other things that have revolutionized our world on every level. Do you even remember what life was like before email? It many cases it runs our lives. We plug in every chance we get - mostly out of fear that if we don't, we'll be so swamped that we won't be able to come up for air. We check it on our cell phones, our blackberries, and have you ever been over to a family member or friend's house and asked if you could check your email? There must be a better way so that it doesn't end up running our lives!
[caption id="attachment_442" align="alignleft" width="206" caption="Image via OfficeArrow"]
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The best way to think about email is to treat it like any other organizational system. It needs to be kept simple, clean & managed. Think about your paper files... your items are of no value to you if you can't access them for your use... in fact, research states that 80% of what is filed is never looked at again. Look at your "inbox" for your email system - if it has more than a dozen emails in it could you really find what you need? If you file an email do you know what you need to do and by when?
Ping! You just got another email... what now? Here are a few quick tips to help you take back control from the technology!
1. Avoid email for first hour of the day
Yep, you read it right... if possible, don't plug in right away. Instead, train yourself to focus on your most pertinent, highest level thinking project or task. Guaranteed, it'll be the most productive hour of your day.
2. Set assigned times to plug in
This way, you control your email, versus IT controlling you. Try 3-4 times per day. If something is critical or considered an emergency, your phone will ring.
3. Set up your filing system
Set your files up so that they work for you... for example: 3 folders labeled "action, review, waiting". Or have your folders listed by topic to keep all correspondence together for each area.
Without your "e-filing" system, your brain has to do double the work by re-checking your in-box to make sure that you got to all of your actionable emails weeded out amongst the new ones coming in. It only takes a few minutes to really think through which emails need to be kept and which file they should end up in.
A good reminder if you get stuck is to follow the F.A.T. system.... File, Act, or Toss. There are no other categories. Remember, 80% of what is filed won't be looked at again, so do yourself a favor and don't keep what you don't need. The reality is that sooner or later you'll have to go through your emails and weed them out, which always takes more time and energy later versus when it's in front of you.
4. Utilize technology to work for you
Use "away message", signatures, filters, rules, colors & flags. There are many quick tools that are easy to use that will essentially do the sorting and purging for you before you even get to your in-box.
A few quick applications of these include:
Set Rules and Filters
Try setting rules & filters to sort emails from specific people and email addresses. For example, all email from newsgroups or newsletters that you subscribe to can be automatically weeded out by creating a "rule" around it when it's coming in based on the email address. This eliminates these items from clogging up your inbox and allows you to read them when you have a few free minutes. After a few weeks, if you find that you haven't gotten to these, you might reconsider what you are subscribing to and cut if off at the source!
Set Colors
Colors simply require you to think about what colors make the most sense or appeal to you for incoming emails. For instance, many people choose blue for anything they are BCC'd or CC'd on. This way, they know it's not a direct email to them and falls lower on their priority when checking emails. Also, you can use red for emails from your boss, orange for emails from your project partners and green for email from your mother!
Set Flags
Flags can be used for follow-up actions on emails. For example, say that you have 5 minutes to plug in before you head to a meeting. You see that you have a few emails that require research follow-up. Instead of leaving them sit, flag 'em! This will help you do 2 things. First, it lets you see at a glance what is coming up & what you need to get done given the time you have in your day, and second, it will help you better manage your time because you are turning your emails into action items, which then become integrated into your day as a planned task, versus an unknown.
Remember that incorporating new systems in our life is a process, which requires flexibility and patience. It's like trying to cross your arms the opposite way than you normally would - it feels different and you have to stop and think about it. That is what a new system is like. It's not automatic and it requires you to stop and think. When life changes, so must our systems!
Source: OfficeArrow
