We’ve all been there: you turn your phone or computer on in the morning and PING a wave of emails drops in to your inbox.
It’s fine if it’s one, or two, maybe even ten.
But considering that the average office worker receives over 100 emails a day, that’s a lot of information to take in and action.
It’s enough to stress you out, isn’t it?
I know I’ve felt overwhelmed by emails in the past; I’d continually scan my inbox to make sure I hadn’t missed anything important. How do you effectively, and efficiently, separate the need-to-knows from the wish-I-hadn’t-subscribeds?
Well, good news: I’ve found a game-changing way remain in control of my inbox.
And I’d like to share this new way of working with you.
In one of his excellent podcasts, Micheal Hyatt talk about how he became an “email ninja”. I took his advice, and — honestly — I’ve never looked back.
I now feel more on top of my email. It’s taking me less time to read and respond; I’m more organised on the whole and I’ve let go of the fear of overlooking urgent client messages.
I am now the master of my inbox.
And you can be too. Here’s how:
1. Touch it once
Phones, tablets, laptops, desktops — they’re all great, and are now invaluable ways of connecting with clients wherever you are in the world.
But there’s a flip side.
Super connectivity now means we can check our email every second, if we want to.
And that not only means our inbox follows us around, but that we can spend precious time reading and re-reading the same email; procrastinating on the action we need to take.
My new rule? Touch it once. Avoid scanning time and time again through your in-bound emails.
If there’s something to delete: delete it.
If you need to reply, then go ahead. But be smart with how you do it…
2. Be strategic with how, when, and why you action an email
Every email, no matter its content, requires action.
It may be as simple as hitting ‘delete’, or it may demand a well-thought-out reply.
Either way, if you don’t act upon every email that comes through then it’s all going to pile up, swamping you in correspondence.
So what’s the answer? For each email in your inbox: take action.
Delete what isn’t necessary — such as spam or unwanted marketing.
And action what’s asked of you, be it from a client or colleague or personal contact.
But you don’t need to action it immediately. That kind of pressure is likely to add stress to your already busy day; so cut yourself some slack!
I like the two minute rule: if the action is something you can do in less than two minutes, then do it.
If not, then schedule it into your ‘to do’ list.
I use our bespoke CRM Engine system, which really helps me prioritise and plan the tasks I still need to perform.
3. Archive messages — don’t even file them!
Then once you’ve actioned an email: archive it.
Clear it from your inbox.
This may feel unsettling at first, because an empty inbox staring back at you is not something we are used to seeing. But it’s a great way of clearing your email — and your mind.
But what about filing it, you ask? Yeah, I used to do that too. But what I do now is much more satisfying.
Let’s face it: filing systems can get complicated and sloppy.
Does an email from client ‘x’ about project ‘y’ belong in the client folder, or the project folder?
Who really knows?
Before you know it you’re spending more time deciding which file to drop an email in to, than you even spent responding to the message in the first place!
So keep it simple: archive it.
These days, email platforms are all designed to help you quickly and easily search through your archives, to retrieve any messages you need to review.
So, trust me: you’ll feel way more organised if everything is in one place.
Now it’s your turn: how will you master your inbox?
So that’s it folks; that’s how I’ve redesigned my email approach and made my working life way more manageable as a result.
If you want, follow these three simple rules and you can go home each day with an empty email inbox and total peace of mind; knowing every message has been dealt with.Do you have any “email ninja” tricks you think I’d benefit from knowing? Get in touch — I’d love to hear from you.
Austin Distel