Take Control of Your Email !!

I know many people who have literally thousands of emails in their email Inbox. They open emails that they receive, and if not sure what to do immediately with them, close the email back to the inbox. They virtually "live" in their email Inbox and keep revisiting these collected emails, as well as reacting every time a new email arrives. Not very productive.....:-(

Here are some suggestions to help take control of your email. Email should be a tool that helps you do what you do and be more productive (not enslave you to something that always demands attention).

1. Don’t check email first thing in the morning, or have it constantly on. Instead, do your most important thing for the day, or the thing you’ve been procrastinating on the most. Then check email. Better yet, do 2 or 3 things first.
2. Also, turn off ALL email notification mechanisms - they are a distraction! Decide how often you will check email (e.g. 2 times a day) and stick to that.
3. When you check your email, dispose of each one, one at a time, right away. Make a decision on what needs to be done on each email - QUICKLY! I think of a "4D" model - make one of four decisions: Delete (or File), Delegate, Do, Defer
   Is it junk or some forwarded email? Delete it immediately.
   Is it a long email that you just need to read for information? File it in a Read folder (or tag it Read and archive).
   If the email requires action, make a note of the action on your action lists to do later. Also note to check the email for info if necessary. Then archive the email. You can easily find it later when you need to do that task particularly if you flag it with a follow up flag.
   If you can respond to it in a minute or two, do so immediately. Don’t put it off.
   If you need to follow up on the email later, or are waiting for a response, note it on your action list and defer the action. Don’t just leave it in your inbox as a reminder.
4. Have only one folder: Archive with subfolders arranged suitably underneath that. When you respond to an email, or finish reading it if it doesn’t need response, or note it on your next action list, archive it. You could add a Read folder if you want, or flag items to read and categorize them with Reading context. There are some excellent search utilities (apart from the Windows desktop search) that allow you to fine emails or other files on your PC, so you don't need to think too hard about where to file (examples are Google Desktop and X1 Professional Client)

So, for those of you who have a cluttered Inbox - try some of these tips and see if you can get it to Empty!