Email can be a great communication tool, and we rely heavily on it in the modern workplace. If you are like me, your inbox never rests and is continually updating with new messages. So what's the problem?
Email can put us in an entirely reactive posture. It tempts us to confuse "busyness" with "productivity.” No wonder one of the most common workplace complaints is "I am too busy." The fact is that most people are conscientious and desire to respond to every email that is sent directly to them. We aim to be friendly and want to serve those we work with, so we respond to email constantly during the work day, and even in front of the television at night, just so that we can get "caught up." The problem with this approach is that it forces us to use company time reacting as opposed to using our talent to do something productive. Worse, it means our work is stealing time away from our spouse and kids after hours. Both of these strategies leave us depleted, frustrated, and stressed because we know we should be using our time more effectively on all fronts.
I have to confess that what I just described is often my normal. Not only does this make me angry, but it makes me want to change. So here are a few behaviors that I am working on. Michael Hyatt has really shaped my thinking on this matter so please check out his blog and podcast for more on self-improvement, leadership, and productivity. He has become a fabulous "virtual mentor" and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for what follows.
Zero in-box
I have become intentional emptying my in-box each day. At first I thought this was impossible, but at Hyatt’s suggestion, I pursued it nonetheless. This has helped me regain focus with my wife and kids at night and has also contributed to less "email stress." I probably average around 10 emails still in the in-box by midweek, but those serve as reminders for actions to take later. By week's end I am typically five or less. The goal is still zero, however, and I am working to get there. I will.
Tell your email what to do
In order to get to a zero in-box, you need to tell your email what to do. Hyatt recommends that you respond immediately to every email that can be answered in under two-minutes. Further, he recommends filing most under an "archive" file that can be referred to later. This step was rather drastic for me, so I still have approximately 20 files I utilize. I used to have 50 plus, which was totally ineffective. The point here is find a system that works for you and then put it into practice. The most important goal, in my opinion, is to work towards the zero in-box goal. Therefore, use whatever filing strategy you are comfortable with to get there.
Delete to your heart’s content
I used to file just about every email. This is a terrible email management strategy. It is absolutely vital to delete emails that require no action and aren't needed for future reference. Believe it or not, this encompasses a lot of the email we receive. Like the two ideas above, this is also a work in progress for me. I recently realized how poor I was at this earlier in my career (I have an embarrassing amount of email project folders from 2010 and 2011). This brings me to the other key point about deleting emails, get rid of emails from 2014 and behind. You don't need them. Seriously. I have to tell myself this in the mirror each morning, but you really don't need them. Sure there are exceptions, which is why I still have a few folders outside of the "archive" folder, but they're few and far between.
Final Word
This is only a starting point to managing email. Regardless of where you are at with email management, it is vital to become intentional in how you manage email because otherwise email will begin to manage you. As I mentioned at the outset, this inevitability leads to frustration, fatigue, and more stress, which we should all avoid at all costs.
Recent Comments