Kickfannie TimeMatters
by Terry Monaghan for Kickfannie Operations
Is an empty inbox even possible?
“Your email inbox is a perfectly organized collection of every body else’s agenda…” Brendan Burchard
Did you know that studies indicate most of us in business are spending up to 3 hours a day just trying to deal with incoming email? This time doesn't include doing any of the work associated – it is just the time we spend trying to get through the inbox. And if your email pushes through to your BlackBerry or iPhone it can be even worse!
3 hours a day equates to over 19-1/2 weeks a year - just trying to get through the inbox. No wonder it seems to be so overwhelming
When was the last time you had a meeting or lunch or coffee with a business colleague without one or both of you being interrupted by the buzz of a message coming through to your favorite device?
I don't know about you, but I think this is just insane. I remember when I first heard those statistics. I realized that I was not spending any where near that amount of time dealing with my email, and I didn't think I was the only one. I went on a hunt to identify what others were doing to manage this, and found we all had something in common.
It's no big secret – each source I read about had established a process and protocol that was used to manage email. This process and protocol has just a few parts to it. And, if you implement even one of the steps, you will see an immediate result.
How do you manage it? What are some of the filters you can apply to wrestle it back under control?
Here is one six step process you might want to try:
1. Establish protocols. When will you check your email? How quickly will you respond to incoming email? Make no mistake, if you don't establish your own protocol, one will be established for you by default. The default is what we now have - 3 hours a day (or more) treating email as if it were some form of instant message, and allowing ourselves to be continually interrupted by incoming messages.
2. Set up some rules to divert email you don't need to see immediately. I have rules that move newsletters into reading folders, and other rules that move messages sent to a particular email account (yes, I have more than one) into its own folder. So what actually ends up in my inbox is already somewhat sorted.
3. Turn off the feature that automatically checks for email every 5-10-15 minutes. (That is the push.) Instead, pull the email in to the inbox at the time you set to check your email.
4. Turn off that shadow popup (or sound) that notifies you of new mail. Studies indicate we get interrupted, on average, every 6-8 minutes throughout the day. And, it takes us up to 10 minutes to re-focus on the task we were working on when the interruption occurred. That math doesn't work. So, eliminate the interruption, and preserve your focus.
5. Process your inbox systematically. I like to think of the inbox as a place where items land and the only appropriate action is to sort. The inbox is not a place for things to live. The goal is an empty inbox at the end of each sort. Here are some sorting criteria that work well:
• Read and delete (you don't have to do anything else)
• Read and respond (simple acknowledgment or one line response)
• Read and schedule for future action (including delegating)
• Read and file
I said six steps - so what is the last one?
Stop treating email as if it were instant messaging. We have developed a culture that treats email as if it all required an instant response. Stop. You can put an automatic response on your email that alerts people to your rules and protocols. This will manage their expectations regarding when you will respond and can give them a way to contact you if something needs to be dealt with quicker. Trust me, they won't get upset, and you won't receive five more emails asking why you didn't respond to the first one.
This is what you can expect: As I write this, I average around 250-300 incoming emails every day. I check the email generally twice a day - in the morning, and towards the end of the day. Each time, I spend no more than 30 minutes (and usually quite a bit less time) sorting, responding and scheduling action. Then, I turn it off till the next time.
A few years ago, I took a vacation to Ireland with my brother and sister. Every hotel we checked into had computer access. My brother and sister were checking their email every single day. I didn't. I was on vacation and I was just going to be on vacation.
Instead, I had already scheduled my first day back as a catch up day. I came home to 894 new emails in the inbox (many others had been diverted). After two hours, every single one had been read, sorted, and scheduled appropriately. And I was caught up on what had been happening while I was away.
Give it a try. It works every single time.
About the Contributor
Terry's clients find themselves working on what is most fulfilling and what really matters in moving things forward rather than what they previously thought they "had to do." The things you hoped to get to someday become the things you work on today.
With over 30 years of business and entrepreneurial experience, Terry's unique technology has dramatically increased the productivity of Fortune 100 executives and entrepreneurs in a variety of industries. As a Keynote Speaker with the Tony Robbins Power Team, Washington, DC, Terry inspired audiences in our Nation’s capital to “Eliminate the Overwhelm!” To learn more about Time Triage™ check out Terry’s website at www.timetriage.com
Submit Questions for Terry to answer at TimeMatters@kickfannie.com