Email is a fantastic means of communication. It’s universal, quick and easy; which is why it’s become the favoured place for much of life’s incoming and outgoing information. Email is also a victim of its own success. Sending an email is so easy that these days we often feel like we get too many.
So, how can you avoid the feeling of email overload?
Tame the auto-check
Setting your email to check every few minutes means setting yourself up for a hundred distractions a day. If your auto-check is set to check so frequently, why not try resetting it to check every hour or two?
In addition to minimising distractions, less frequent checking is likely to improve your attentiveness when you do come to check your email. If you check your email every few hours, you can reasonably devote a fair chunk of time to the task so that you can properly read, respond and act on emails.
If you’ve ever sent a hot-headed reply after being interrupted by an email, or perhaps forgotten a bright idea because your email ding sounded, you’ll appreciate the concept of setting aside special ‘email time’.
The best part? The few hours in-between email checks equals distraction free “let’s eat some serious work” time!
If you can’t or don’t want to change your auto-check habits, why not consider turning your email software off every now and again. You might find this approach useful at times when you really need to avoid distractions.
Get yourself a system
A simple system for processing incoming emails will do more to manage your inbox and reduce clutter than anything else. The crucial point: it needs to work for you. That means devising it yourself.
Some swear by the ‘inbox-zero’ approach of acting on, filing or deleting every incoming email until there are none left. That may work for you, but be careful it doesn’t become an obsession.
Others use their inbox as, well, an inbox. The inbox is essentially a to do list – everything that stays in the inbox requires an action, everything else should be deleted or filed away.
Merlin Mann – a popular business writer and speaker – claims it’s all in the verbs. He uses a system for processing incoming emails that’s based on five key verbs: delete, delegate, respond, defer, do. According to Mann, every singe email – without exception – should be vigourously processed using one of the aforementioned actions.
Mann’s verbs work for him, but what’s your system? They crucial point is to define a process, and a set of actions for processing all incoming emails. No stone should be left unturned.
Two become one
An action-based system such as the one described above really does work wonders. The most important thing is to find an approach that works for you. With that said, it’s important not to get too bogged down by the system. That’s why you should take the two tips above and use them together.
Using an action-based processing system in conjunction with fixed-interval email checking means you can periodically stop what you’re doing (the real work bits), get your email sorted efficiently and effectively, and then get back to work.
It’s quick and easy… just like email should be.
