Email got your head spinning? Is there a nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach every time you see the bold number in parentheses next to “Inbox”? Do you dread the annoying ding of an email notification that occurs 10 times every 5 seconds? How will you ever organize the 2000+ emails glaring at you in bold text, unread?
According to Harvard Business Review, the average professional sends and receives 120 emails per day, spending approximately 2.6 hours per day reading and answering them. Professionals tend to check their email 15 times per day, or every 37 minutes. Research shows this interruption can take people over 23 minutes to focus their minds back on the tasks they were working on.
So just how can we manage our inbox while keeping our sanity together and being productive in our jobs?
Before we discuss the magic steps of disappearing emails, we must come face to face with one blatant truth: Not all emails are created equal.
Say what??
The law of the vital few, aka The Pareto Principle, can be applied to this situation as, typically, 20% of our emails will take up 80% of our focus. Let me give you another example: the clothes I own fill both my side of the closet and half of my husband’s, much to his dismay, but 80% of the time, I’ll grab the same 5 or 6 outfits each week. So, in the case of emails, identify which email is going to take some time to complete and which can be done immediately. Quickly handle those 80% immediate ones and get them out of your sight.
But what about the rest?
That’s where the following steps come into play. Obviously, emails require answers and we can’t ignore them forever, waiting for the off chance that they just might disappear on their own. Good luck with that.
First, turn off notifications, both sound and pop-up shorts. These cause us to lose several seconds of focus as well from the task we are working on.
Second, schedule time to check your email inbox. For you Type A, ultra-organized, don’t want to leave a single email sitting untouched people, this may be hard for you. It may be uncomfortable when you’re used to being on top of everything and are known for quick responses. Resist the temptation. Set up reminders if you need to but stick to a schedule for inbox review. Once every couple of hours, or if you have high traffic email, once an hour. That’s it.
Third, stop creating folders for every topic that comes about. The search functions in email platforms are amazing. They will find what you need, regardless of what folder it’s in. Instead, set up 3 folders.
Yes, you heard me right. Only 3 folders.
- Actions: For emails that require your follow up or tasks needing to be completed.
- Responses: For emails you are waiting on a response for.
- Archive: For emails you are finished with, but don’t want to completely delete.
Fourth, when you check your Inbox on your scheduled time slot of the day, as outlined above, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I need this email? If not, delete it.
- Can I respond to it in less than a minute? If yes, do it, then either send it to your Archive folder or delete it.
- Is this going to take me some time and effort? If yes, drag it to your Actions folder. Once you finish going through your Inbox, and have moved every email to its proper place, then go back to your Actions folder and address those requests.
Hoarding email is another mindset we need to break away from. We treat our responses as gold, as though we’re supposed to save them forever, or we may need to draw upon them as a CYA…yeah, we all cover our A$es at some point in time. However, not all emails have to be saved. That’s why the Delete function and folder are there. Don’t be afraid to use it. You got this.
Getting into the habit of scheduling time to review emails and moving emails from your Inbox, leaving zero behind, will greatly enhance your efficiency and organization. You won’t be trying hard to remember if you’ve already addressed an email you left in your inbox. You won’t stress over realizing you never got around to taking care of one you meant to several days ago. Remember that nauseous feeling we talked about earlier? Wait! What nauseous feeling?!
Following these steps doesn’t mean you have to answer every email when you do check your Inbox at your scheduled times during the day. It just means you need to make it your goal to address the email in some way once you do read it so that you know what action needs to come next. Even those emails you put into your Actions folder can be scheduled to respond to at a later time and/or date.
And one extra tip: For you professionals who send repetitive responses via email. Save yourselves some time and set up a template. Standard messages, such as advising appointment times, or sending invitations, can easily be set up in a template thru your email platform for all your recurring messages. What was once a ten-second typed response is now a two-second click.
Remember, the outcome you want is more productivity and less interruptions. These steps will help you achieve that by tackling your email in a reduced number of dedicated moments, increasing your focus and efficiency. As research shows, it’s time to put hours back into our week.
Control your email. Control your life. Win-win.
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