Do you ever find yourself (and your productivity) getting lost in an Email Maze?
I love email. Maybe it dates back to college and my excitement around getting mail. Maybe it’s because I love connections, information and the ease of staying in touch with my family. Whatever it is, it’s one of the first things I look forward to each day – opening up my email to see what landed there during the night.
But what happens to all my good intentions? Each morning I think, “I’ll just run though my email quickly and move on to my list of goals.” The next thing I know, I’ve perused websites, read offers, considered that newly launched program that is sure to “be gone in hours not days”, or just simply spent entirely too much time with email – lost in the maze.
Learning to navigate through email without getting lost, without loosing minutes and hours of valuable time, and without getting sidetracked down a dead end path – now that’s a worthy goal!
Here are some quick steps toward managing that maze.
- Stop Reading It. I know, novel approach, isn’t it?! =) That won’t work for me, but it might for some.
- Use the Rules Wizard in Outlook. It will literally sort through email for you, especially if you belong to several online forums.
- Scan email subject lines rapidly. Immediately place a check next to the mails you do not want to keep and delete them before you have time to second guess yourself.
- Read critical emails first. Reply to them immediately and save the rest for later. Get started with those goals and realize them!
- Set a maximum time to read email. Whatever remains after that set time either leave for later or delete.
- Evaluate your email. Unsubscribe from lists and people who do nothing but make offers, try to sell, and provide no value to you.
- Set up a side gmail account for new lists or “fluff” email newsletters. Set aside time to read that on Saturday morning, or a time that’s not set aside for productivity. Weed through this periodically and unsubscribe to what brings no value.
Want to use your time wisely and with intention?
Consider these steps, then implement what resonates with you…today.
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