Has Your Inbox turned into an Interruption Hotline?
Did you know that your inbox may be what is keeping you from the success you deserve?
All day long your brain shuffles through the emails it has seen and tries its best to hold onto the information, making you less effective and productive all day long. Add those mind games to the amount of times you continue to check your email, and you have lost hours of productive time in your day.With a few quick tips though, you can control your inbox and become twice as efficient and effective…today!Here is a simple game plan for your inbox:
- Deal with email at set times. Limit yourself to checking emails 3-5 times a day at set times:
a. Upon arrival at the office.b. Mid morning.c. After lunch.d. Afternoon.e. End of day.
- Turn off email notifications.
- Treat your inbox like your U.S. Mail box and keep it empty!
- Delete whatever you can immediately! While some email can be answered quickly, others should be deleted quickly and still others should be filed for a more appropriate time.
- If you can deal with it in less than 3 minutes, do it now. Remember that you may be able to deal with it more quickly by picking up the phone or walking around the corner, so decide which one is more efficient.
- Delegate if appropriate.
- Delay if necessary. If it is an email that is going to take a while, you should simply dispose of it by adding it to your task list (or calendar) and then saving it into the appropriate file.
Keep in mind that you may have to set aside a longer amount of time in the beginning to simply delete, add folders and organize, but once that is complete, these 7 tips will lead you to a balanced, successful day!