Tag: work flow

Conquer Email Overload:  Do This, Not That

A coaching client asked for email suggestions last week, so I thought I would share with all of you! email

I’ve been researching a lot about email this week, in preparation for writing this article.

There are the “don’t open your email in the morning” people, who work on their chosen work for a few hours when they get to the office, and then check their email.

There are the “check your email all the time on your smart phone or device” people who do just that, too.

I’ve read about the “zero inbox” movement, but I don’t agree with it.  It uses sophisticated filters to move messages to folders, but folders don’t work for everyone, and just moving email around doesn’t actually complete the work.

There may be people like me, somewhere in the middle: I work virtually. I wake up and check emails just to make sure there are no schedule changes for the day or major crises to handle, then step away from it as I get my family and self and home ready for the day.  Then I step back to it when I can focus on working through what is in my various in-boxes.

Here are some strategies to help you conquer your own email overload!

  1. Do: Recognize that Email is our work, or at least part of it.  We cannot forgo email to do our work, at least not all the time.
  2. Do: Focus on Flow.  Work has flow, and email is part of your work.  So emails need to flow, too: Into your in-box, through your work process, and back out again, responded to or forwarded, then filed in a folder or trashed.
  3. Do: Be grateful for email.  I would never be able to do as much as I do, or communicate as fully with as many people, if I didn’t have email.
  4. Do: Decide when and how to handle your email.  Don’t be a victim of your email!  You. Decide.
  5. Do: Block time to process your emails.  And I mean to read, act and file them.  Here is my process, determine for yourself what types of emails get your attention first, second and third!
    • Log in, then delete everything you can, like all the ads or obsolete newsletters.  Better yet, un-subscribe from mailings lists you no longer need (I’m going to try something called Unroll.me).
    • Check for client correspondence, especially about today (usually important and urgent), which will impact my appointment schedule.
    • Check for presentation correspondence (important, not typically urgent).
    • If there are multiple replies to a conversation, read the most recent reply, which should hold everyone’s responses to date, and file or delete the rest.
    • Mark as urgent (a Star on outlook) the most important messages.
    • Move non-urgent reading items to their own folder, to be read later.  And carve out time every day or a couple of times a week to specifically read through that folder content.
    • Now that you have cleared the email clutter, go back and tackle the emails designated as urgent.
    • A couple of times a day, I also check my personal email, and my facebook messages, too, as FB is the chosen communication method for some of my clients.
  6. Do Not leave your in-box open all day, or have your devices set to send automatic notifications for new email.  DO limit your email-checking to fewer and more purposeful moments during the day.  I’ve changed my settings, and am working on the closing the in-box, too.  Remember, You. Decide.
  7. Do Not send an email message now to say that you will send an email message later.  Set an autoresponder, if you must, with an “email received” message.  “Respond immediately to your email” is one of the least useful tips I read this week in my research.

Take a deep breath, friend.  Think a little differently about your email.  Then get to work!

Prioritize Your Tasks And Get Them Done!

Our Daily To-Do lists can overwhelm us, so it is important to Prioritize our tasks.  We juggle many responsibilities, each with it’s own set of to-do’s.   To avoid planning more 001that we can actually, feasibly accomplish in one day, here are a couple of tools that I employ –

  1. Put the Three Things that absolutely have to get done today at the top of your list.  At many times during the day,  I stop and ask “Is that what I really want / need to be doing at this moment?”  (preempting mindless email checking or web surfing!).
  2. Spend 5 minutes, and move non-essential tasks to    a different day’s list.   Divvy up your to-do’s into:
    1. Today
    2. This week
    3. Next week
    4. Someday
  3. Time allotments.  Once you have today’s To-Do list, allot time estimates for tasks.  This helps me plan my work flow and determine if I can really get through everything.
    1. Time allotments let me decide how long to dedicate to a task.  I could easily spend all day writing my blog, but there are lots of other things that need done, too. I block out a couple of hours to get it done well, then I move onto something else.  Conversely, some tasks really only take 5 minutes.  So get them done!
    2. If the time allotment for a task is just too big, break the task into smaller pieces.  For example, re-vamping my website is a time-consuming task.  But this week, I can complete the first couple of steps, “Review site and determine what stays / goes”, and “check out links recommended for templates / hosting”.
  4. Put your tasks in order of intended completion.  Order them as you like:
    1. Shortest to longest.  Complete the quick and easy tasks first, to motivate yourself and clear the way for the more time-consuming tasks.
    2. Order of importance: Get the Three Things done first, so you are sure they get       done.
    3. Work for others first, and then yourself.  If you have timely work that matters to others, complete those tasks first so the other people can get started on their tasks.
    4. Prioritizing to the Revenue Line (from Julie Morgenstern).  I own a business, and businesses are supposed to make money.  I can order my day based on income – make the bank deposit, complete the client hours, teach the class, book more client appointments and classes, etc.  When all of those are complete, THEN I can look at non-essential tasks like website research.
  5. Stop wasting time and energy on Avoidance and Dread.  Pick a day, Man Up (I have sons) and do the 2 or 3 noisome tasks you’ve been avoiding.  Allot the time, set a timer, get them done, then move on.  “Avoiding something” is still an action, and drains our energy.  Just do it.
  6. Be Kind to Yourself.  I will not vaguely suggest you “Should make time for You”, because being told that just irks me.  But add a few things to your daily To-Dos that are kind to You, that give you strength to complete your tasks.  The top of my To-Do list every day reads “Proverbs 14:15 says, ‘A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.”.  Also at the top is a list of tasks I complete  every day to live a better life.   They’re habits, but I like the reminders: “Take vitamins”, “exercise”, “read Scripture”, my household tasks for my home hour, etc.

So, the next time the Daily To-Do List gets a little out of hand, try one of these ideas to help you focus in and Prioritize what you really need to do today!