If you’re like
most people, you feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the amount of email you
receive. You would rather spend time on high-impact projects instead of digging
through your inbox.
But as we advance in our creative careers and add responsibility
to our jobs, the amount of email (and texts, and calls, and meeting invites) we
receive is likely only to increase. Getting on top of your communications—and
staying ahead—requires subtle, yet important shifts in your mindset and
strategies.
Mainly, those who feel overwhelmed by email usually work from
the assumption that if someone sends them something, they absolutely must read
it and respond. However, effective people tackle email differently. Here’s how:
They
always add value.
Before you send
a reply, ask yourself: are you responding just to reply, to show you’re paying
attention, or just to say “thanks?” If so, you’re typically wasting time that
could be spent producing something of value and only encouraging people to
respond, thus adding more email to your inbox.
They
prioritize replies.
Give yourself
freedom to delete messages that don’t require a response and/or from strangers.
If you don’t have the time to complete your essential job functions, answering
miscellaneous emails needs to fall off your to-do list. This saves you time by
avoiding typing up the reply and reclaiming the mental space it takes to think
about how to respond to random messages where the appropriate answer is unclear.
They
save articles and videos for later.
From a video to
a podcast to a survey, effective people know that a quick run through your
inbox can turn into an hour or more lost productivity if you start following
email rabbit holes. Put a time limit on how long you can spend going through
your email. (Many of my clients set an alarm.) Wait to watch videos, read that
article, or do other learning until you have some time set aside for such
activities by keeping a “to watch/read” later list or folder or by using a
service like Pocket.
When you are in your inbox, you should only be doing one thing: answering
emails.
They aim
for a 24-hour turnaround.
If you reply
within about 24 hours, you’re still being professional and many issues get
sorted out without you. Recognize when the pressure to reply is real and
required for things to get done, and when it is all in your head to “appear”
responsive. Your career will be made on your ability to get things done, not
your ability to answer emails immediately.
They use
standard responses.
Text expanders
are tremendously useful tools that you can use to quickly reply to emails that
need a simple standard response (some text expanders for OSX are available here, here, and here). Text expanders, which are simple to use and
inexpensive, allow you to type a two- or three- letter abbreviation that will
expand to phrases like “Thanks! All the best, Elizabeth” or “I’ll take a look
at the material and get back to you soon. Regards, Elizabeth.” You can also
have entire paragraphs of text show up for commonly needed responses. This can
cut down answering time from minutes to seconds.
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Your career will be
made on your ability to get things done, not your ability to answer emails
immediately.
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They make answering tough emails an item on their to-do list.
Most of us work best when focusing on a single task for 45
minutes at a time and taking a short break afterward. For those emails that
really do need you to reply but require some extra time, make them into a to-do
item for later in the day. That way, you can quickly clean out your inbox
(focusing on a single task) and then later come back to the messages that need
20 minutes or more for a thoughtful reply (again, a single task).
When
possible, they bypass email all together.
If you find
that the response would end up being too long by email, pop over to someone’s
desk for a face-to-face chat or give them a call. A five-minute conversation
can straighten out an issue that could have led to an extended email debate
that would have disrupted an entire day. Particularly when emotions,
miscommunication, and/or complex coordination are involved, consider transferring the discussion from email to another mode of discourse.
How
about you?
How do you keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed by input?
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