3 Methods to Contain Your Email
January 8, 2008 – 3:07 pm
How many of us are overwhelmed by email?
I was. To reduce this feeling and and practice slowing down and reducing my stress, my goal is to contain my email. Since last week I’ve checked personal email only twice a day and not at all on this past Saturday and Sunday. Considering I am a recovering crackberry addict, I’m pleased with my results. Now the hard part. What do I do with all my emails? Each time I’m at my inbox, I achieve inbox zero. That means there’s nothing in the inbox when I click “log off.” Here’s how: 1. A process for dealing with emails ~ Do something with every email. You have four choices.
- Respond.
- Delete.
- Delegate.
- Delay.
Start at the top of your inbox and handle each email. If I can respond to the email in under two minutes, I do it right then. If not, I move it to a “delay” process that is essentially a daily tickler file. I realize this system will not work for all of you. It is purely my own, and I do not recommend it. Create whatever system works for you. Maybe David Allen’s system works or your Grandma’s does. Create it. Use it. Stick to it. If I can’t respond to the email in two minutes, I delay it until I have time to answer it. Sometimes that means I must make answering that email one of my two Most Important Tasks (MITs) of the day. Like yesterday I spent about 20 minutes responding to our lawyer’s questions about our new contract. 2. The five sentence response ~ How many emails do you receive that you feel will require thought, deliberation and at least an hour to respond to? I’ve been there. Email is one form of communication. You are not obligated to respond with a short story to anyone’s email. Frankly, if you do believe that is required, your response merits a phone call. How old school! You say. How 70s! Believe me, people are relieved to actually talk to another human being. Instead, practice the five sentence email response. That’s it. Respond to every email in five sentences or less. Don’t waste your time or anybody else’s either. If I can’t say what I need to say in five sentences, I need to be making that phone call. 3. Don’t incur what you don’t have to ~ I’ve stopped all those email reminders. From Google, Facebook, online banks, all of them. Turned them off. I’ve also started unsubscribing from newsletters. Makes deleting emails short and sweet. In this game of life, it’s all about attention. Without attention, we have little time. I can say that containing my email has been one of the most productive and edifying choices I’ve ever made in my life. It may prove to be so for you, too. Good luck. May the force be with you.