How to Reclaim Your Inbox
We all know that we spend a lot--- and I mean a lot -- of time reading, sorting, and responding to email. But what's it really costing us to do that without some sort of strategy for managing our inbox?
Even if getting to inbox zero isn't realistic for you, it's important to set out a game plan for dealing with emails. Because without some sort of plan in place, you'll continue to fall back on bad email habits that waste time, steal focus, and keep you from achieving meaningful goals.
Part of the problem is that for most of us, checking email is actually a compulsive behavior. Because of the way our mind learns things, we're actually conditioned to check for new emails.
And checking emails can also be a form of procrastination as well.
Say it's 3:45 pm and you've hit a lull between completing one project and starting another, more complex one. Checking for new emails before diving back in can be a welcome distraction from what might seem like a daunting task. And it's an acceptable distraction at work (unlike say, looking at cute cat videos).
But once we're down that rabbit hole, it's hard to come back out. It takes brainpower--- that would otherwise be dedicated to starting the new project -- to determine which emails require a response, which are purely FYI, and which could be simply deleted. And sometimes a 'quick response' is anything but.
Before you know it, the remainder of the day has been swallowed up by your inbox.
Instead of checking emails compulsively, resolve to be mindful about how and when you check your emails.
Start by turning off email notifications and, instead, block out specific periods throughout the day dedicated to checking and responding to emails. This way, you're not constantly tempted to switch gears and check emails just because a little notification pops up and tells you to.
And instead of checking email as a way to procrastinate before starting a new task or project, try taking a brisk, five-minute walk around the office (or around the block if you work from home). It'll get your blood flowing and you won't get sucked down the inbox rabbit hole.
Let's talk about the true cost of non-urgent, unimportant emails. If we're not careful, we can end up spending untold hours reviewing, responding to, and filing emails that just plain don't matter.
The experts at Inc. magazine break it down nicely:
"The average office worker spends 2.5 hours a day reading and responding to an average of 200 emails, of which approximately 144 (mostly CCs and BCCs) aren't relevant to their job.
Since the average office worker spends 2.5 hours a day doing email, that's around 1.8 hours spent on those irrelevant emails, which comes out to a whopping 10 years spent on useless emails which would be 23 percent of a 45-year career."
Unsubscribe, Mute & Delete
How many newsletters hit your inbox that you'll never read, despite your best intentions? It's time to let go of the nagging guilt that comes with ignoring or deleting these inbox nuisances. It's time to unsubscribe!
Dedicate a 15-minute window to unsubscribe to all the newsletters you'll never read. If you're worried you'll miss something important, set a reminder in your calendar to reassess that particular resource at a later date. You can always subscribe again if needed.
Use technology to your benefit. There are lots of inbox tools that make it easier to manage the barrage of emails that flood in each day. For example, Google's Gmail has a feature that allows you to mute a conversation that's not relevant to you.
To mute, just open the conversation, click 'more' from the drop-down menu, and choose 'mute.' The conversation will be archived and any new messages in the conversation won't appear in your inbox. You can always search your archives later if you need to refer to something in the conversation.
And don't be shy about hitting that delete button for all those cc's and bcc's that just don't matter. Put it this way, if the choice is between higher productivity and sifting through unimportant, non-urgent inbox clutter, which would you choose?
If you're concerned that you'll miss something, delegate the task of reading the email and summarizing the conversation for you if there's anything relevant included.
The initial time upfront spent creating a mindful plan for managing your inbox more efficiently will pay off in spades down the line.
What could you accomplish in 10 years with the reclaimed time you used to spend pouring over emails that just don't matter?
The experts at The Business Builders can deliver productivity-boosting workshops and consulting services to you and your team so you can focus on the important stuff and get more done. We're happy to share more productivity hacks with you--- why not give us a call today? We'd love to talk!
Even if getting to inbox zero isn't realistic for you, it's important to set out a game plan for dealing with emails. Because without some sort of plan in place, you'll continue to fall back on bad email habits that waste time, steal focus, and keep you from achieving meaningful goals.
The Problem With Bad Email Habits
Part of the problem is that for most of us, checking email is actually a compulsive behavior. Because of the way our mind learns things, we're actually conditioned to check for new emails.
And checking emails can also be a form of procrastination as well.
Say it's 3:45 pm and you've hit a lull between completing one project and starting another, more complex one. Checking for new emails before diving back in can be a welcome distraction from what might seem like a daunting task. And it's an acceptable distraction at work (unlike say, looking at cute cat videos).
But once we're down that rabbit hole, it's hard to come back out. It takes brainpower--- that would otherwise be dedicated to starting the new project -- to determine which emails require a response, which are purely FYI, and which could be simply deleted. And sometimes a 'quick response' is anything but.
Before you know it, the remainder of the day has been swallowed up by your inbox.
Practice E-Mindfulness
Instead of checking emails compulsively, resolve to be mindful about how and when you check your emails.
Start by turning off email notifications and, instead, block out specific periods throughout the day dedicated to checking and responding to emails. This way, you're not constantly tempted to switch gears and check emails just because a little notification pops up and tells you to.
And instead of checking email as a way to procrastinate before starting a new task or project, try taking a brisk, five-minute walk around the office (or around the block if you work from home). It'll get your blood flowing and you won't get sucked down the inbox rabbit hole.
The 10-Year Time Suck
Let's talk about the true cost of non-urgent, unimportant emails. If we're not careful, we can end up spending untold hours reviewing, responding to, and filing emails that just plain don't matter.
The experts at Inc. magazine break it down nicely:
"The average office worker spends 2.5 hours a day reading and responding to an average of 200 emails, of which approximately 144 (mostly CCs and BCCs) aren't relevant to their job.
Since the average office worker spends 2.5 hours a day doing email, that's around 1.8 hours spent on those irrelevant emails, which comes out to a whopping 10 years spent on useless emails which would be 23 percent of a 45-year career."
Woah.
The good news is that when we're mindful about how we manage emails, we can reclaim that time to use towards accomplishing what really matters to us.
Unsubscribe, Mute & Delete
How many newsletters hit your inbox that you'll never read, despite your best intentions? It's time to let go of the nagging guilt that comes with ignoring or deleting these inbox nuisances. It's time to unsubscribe!
Dedicate a 15-minute window to unsubscribe to all the newsletters you'll never read. If you're worried you'll miss something important, set a reminder in your calendar to reassess that particular resource at a later date. You can always subscribe again if needed.
Use technology to your benefit. There are lots of inbox tools that make it easier to manage the barrage of emails that flood in each day. For example, Google's Gmail has a feature that allows you to mute a conversation that's not relevant to you.
To mute, just open the conversation, click 'more' from the drop-down menu, and choose 'mute.' The conversation will be archived and any new messages in the conversation won't appear in your inbox. You can always search your archives later if you need to refer to something in the conversation.
And don't be shy about hitting that delete button for all those cc's and bcc's that just don't matter. Put it this way, if the choice is between higher productivity and sifting through unimportant, non-urgent inbox clutter, which would you choose?
If you're concerned that you'll miss something, delegate the task of reading the email and summarizing the conversation for you if there's anything relevant included.
Reclaiming Your Inbox
The initial time upfront spent creating a mindful plan for managing your inbox more efficiently will pay off in spades down the line.
What could you accomplish in 10 years with the reclaimed time you used to spend pouring over emails that just don't matter?
The experts at The Business Builders can deliver productivity-boosting workshops and consulting services to you and your team so you can focus on the important stuff and get more done. We're happy to share more productivity hacks with you--- why not give us a call today? We'd love to talk!