I am not sure if you are like me and you get more email that you care to have. I get around 150 emails a day 60 are semi-junk, 20 are straight up junk the rest need my attention. I find email one of the most unproductive time killing, concentration breakers. I decided to do a few things to help me focus on what I am doing.
1. Unsubscribe from all those newsletters from the stores you shop at. To do this either find the unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email or head over to unsubscribe.com you can sign up and forward your unwanted emails to [email protected] or install a unsubscribe button.
2. Use Folders to sort your mail or use otherinbox.com to scan your email box and sorts it for you helping you focus on the emails that are most important first.
3. Schedule two or three times in a day to check your mail don’t constantly check your mail all day.
4. Add emails that need a followed up email to a to-do list and don’t feel that you have to respond at that moment.
5. Ultimately if you have more email than you have time you may need to enlist some help. You can have your assistant do this if you have one or look into getting a digital assistant.
5 comments On 5 simple ways to manage your email inbox and stay focused
Hey those are some great tips Sam. I thought it might be cool if you and Kenny and some of the #kidmin peeps could do a day breakdown.
Something like: What does my typical day look like? I went through Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky and took a survey of my day and found a lot of time wasters. But also built in some creative breaks to clear my head.
Would love to know what everyone’s days look like. How much time is communication, volunteers, study, etc.
Just a thought. Thanks for all you do.
GREAT POST!! i am shutting off the push on my iphone for certain hours of the day.
Great post! I've got a free email report with a ton of ideas I collected on managing email available here for those who seriously are struggling and need ideas/suggtions: http://kidologist.com/2009/02/16/electronic-d-day…
Email is my BIGGEST time waster. I do put things in a Pending file if they need action, but then I always forget to go back to it! I hate things sitting in my inbox, so I'm constantly trying to clean it out, but then I forget to follow up on things. I need to set times to check my email, but it's so hard to resist!!!
Great post with some useful ideas. I agree if you cannot manage your inbox then you should seek help from an email expert.
For help with email training visit http://www.emailogic.com for some tips and hints to deal with your inbox an reduce email overload.