Good morning and Happy February!
Many often ask me to share how I seem to get so much done and still have family time, me time, and yes, I sleep!
One thing that makes me feel organized and not so overwhelmed is ensuring my email does not get out of control. Psychologically, seeing 152 unread messages can make you feel like you have more to do than you actually do. (By the way, I could have used the number 1,152 unread emails, as I have seen many people with an enormous amount of unread emails!)
You will find it amazing to feel the difference it makes with an organized inbox!
First, I think of my inbox as a “to-do” list. Thus, the only items I keep in my inbox are things that have an action item to be completed. Everything else gets deleted or filed away. Going through junk mail is quick and easy. Click all emails that you know are junk and delete. (If you are familiar with setting rules in your inbox, this will help direct them to another folder and you won’t have to see them in your inbox.)
When I log in to my email for the day, the first thing I do is delete any junk mail that I don’t want or need. Emails that have “sale” information that I would like to review, I leave them in my inbox as a “to-do”.
Years ago I learned to take a “power 15” with my desk. Having a busy email box will be additional stress and not allow you to focus and deal with urgent situations to the best of your ability.
I take 15 minutes and I answer every quick email that doesn’t require “leg work” to answer. I quickly go through items that need a simple acknowledgment and items that need an answer I know off the top of my head.
Perhaps you are feeling “How can I do that when my customer has indicated URGENT in the subject line?” Remember, you are going to address this, but not during your “power 15” routine. They are important however; you need to give them the time and focus when you have a clear head so they can be addressed appropriately.
During your “power 15” exercise, take the time to clear out what you can quick. Once your “power 15” is done, take the time now to go through and handle the bigger and more urgent requests.
Try this routine for a week. Then see if your emails feel less overwhelming to you. How many more emails did you handle before your workday ended?
Finally, don’t forget to unsubscribe to email companies that you signed up for but don’t want to get five emails a day from them! Or two a week. It takes less than one minute to scroll to the bottom and unsubscribe. Or you can drag all of these to a folder to do later; perhaps unsubscribe bi-annually.
Hoping that this might help a few of you!
Natasha,
Tula Xii Founder
