The Black Hole
Do you have an efficient way to keep your e-mails organized and your inbox empty on a regular basis? Many people have trouble prioritizing their emails and along the way emails sometimes get lost amongst the ever piling new one’s (which can lead to some unpleasant consequences). If you are reading this and nodding, it’s time to rethink your processing methods!
Believe it or not, it truly is possible to keep your inbox organized, the key lies in evaluating, prioritizing, labeling, and organizing emails into folders.
We have all had those times when we have opened an email and weren’t sure what to do with it and up leaving it for later. That is how emails accumulate.
Try some of the below approaches to help you gain more control over your emails, keep up with due dates, and improve your response time.
Where to store what information
Something I recently found to be beneficial is to sort out your emails initially into two categories:
Reference information: these are emails that contain information that is not required to complete an action but rather, information you need to archive for reference should you need it again one day. (Which over the years I have learnt I do not need half of the emails I store)
Action information: these are emails that you need in order to complete an action.
Come up with a system to archive your reference information and label or create folders for them for easy access later when searching for these emails.
Silence is Golden
It’s almost impossible to get anything done when you allow for constant disruptions from people stopping by your office, constant phone calls, and of course, instant messages. It is critical that one sets aside some designated time per day for emails. It is alright to scan your e-mail several times during the day for emails requesting immediate attention. (Those usually come from the boss)
One thought to get in the habit of doing this would be to create a re-occurring calendar appointment in order to set aside some time and show this time frame as “busy”. It is only natural that this will take some time to incorporate in your day-to-day life, but over time will turn into a habit. Don’t lose hope just because you didn’t stick to it the first time round. This habit will become religion once you see the value in it and find how organized and efficient you have become.
Somebody’s Gotta Do it
Coming up with a method to handle emails isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do. A tactic I learnt to approach this is to start from the good old top and work your way down. Resist the temptation to jump around in no specific sequence. This usually results in loss in focus and concentration. Rather, try sorting them out by the order in which you want to process and categorize them. I personally prefer filtering emails by the person it’s coming from, however, others prefer filtering by date or subject.
Apply the 4 D’s principle
While going through your inbox, decide what you want to do with every message by applying one of the following choices to it:
- Delete it
- Do it
- Delegate it
- Defer it
Using the 4 D’s model can, based on stats, allow you to process up to 100 emails per hour. All you need now is to designate that time of day for it.
Over half of the emails one typically receives throughout the day can be deleted or archived. The other half can usually be delegated, completed (in a few minutes) or deferred to your to-do list.
Do you have another effective way you deal with your inbox? We would love to hear it!
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