If you spend your workday in front of a computer, more than likely you are spending more time than you would like sorting and responding to email. Time spent managing your inbox can greatly decrease your productivity, especially when that time could be used building or servicing your client base. With a couple of minor changes you can take control of your inbox and no longer be slave to it.
Email is a business communication channel, not a fulltime job according to the book “Slay the E-mail Monster”, by Lynn Coffman and Michael Valentine. Email seems to so easily take over our day but with some simple management methods, as suggested by Coffman and Valentine, you can regain control.
• Process then prioritize – Can that email be handled in two minutes or less? If so, handle it then. If not, file it for action or follow-up at a later time.
• Keep your inbox empty – How many times have you re-read an email because it’s sitting in your inbox for days? By filing your emails you reduce redundancy and save time. It may only be a few seconds, but think about how that adds up over time.
• Send out less email – For every five emails you send, you receive three in return. 60% of all emails require a response, so what better way to reduce incoming email than to send out less?
• Delete, delete, delete – Do you really need to save that Staples coupon for the free picnic basket set? Enough said.
• Unsubscribe from lists – This is especially important if you’ve changed job roles or have previous employees’ emails forwarding to you. Again, spending a few seconds to unsubscribe saves you from having to review and process all of those future emails.
It may seem like a daunting task to initially tackle your inbox but the results are worth it. Once you have the foundation in place, the process comes naturally and you will notice your response times are quicker, productivity is improved and you have finally broken free from the all-consuming e-mail monster. Most importantly, you will have more time to devote to building and servicing your client base.
Mythos Technology is an IT consulting and management firm. For more information, please visit www.mythostech.com or call (951) 813-2672.