Shift Your Mind

photo by Martin Kingsley

“If email had been around before the telephone was invented people would have said “hey, forget email – with this new telephone invention I can actually talk to people.”

—anonymous

Much has been written on how to be more effective using email.  We all complain about email overload and how unproductive it makes us.  Yet we continue to leave our email client open while trying to focus, setup complex archiving solutions, and use it as our filing and to-do system.  There has to be a simpler way.

A key in changing how we use email, is to address a couple of the root causes: checking email too often, storing every email we receive, and writing poor messages.  The more you continue to do these things, the more you will multiply your email woes.

Here are 4 ways to begin simplifying your email system today:

Commit to checking email twice a day, for one week

A big cause of feeling overwhelmed by email is constantly having your email client open.  Because of the convenience of email, we often spend way more time in it than we need to.  The more email you send, the more you will get back.  This prevents us from focusing  on more important, higher return tasks.

Try checking email, only twice a day, for one week and see what happens.  When checking, only respond back if  you absolutely have to (no more “thank you!” emails, trust me, they won’t think you are a mean person!)  If it will take longer than a few minutes to read or respond to an email, file it away and make a note on your task list to get back to it.

Dump the folders

I have 3 folders: @action for any email I need to act on, @Read Later for long or complex email which will take more than a few minutes to read, and @Archive where ALL email I NEED to save goes.  That’s it…nice, simple, and accessible.  If I need to find anything, I use the search function of my email client (I tried tagging emails for a while, but found this didn’t save much time.)

Before deciding to keep an email ask yourself, what’s the chance I will need this in the future? If you have to go back more then 6 months to get an email, is the email even relevant anymore?  Get in the habit of routinely cleaning out your archive folder and sent items once or twice a year.  Today, schedule yourself a quick calendar appointment for email cleanup.  This doesn’t mean get rid of any folders you have today.  I’d simply move those to a folder called “old” and start today using a new archive folder.

Short, concise, and to the point

Don’t be labeled as a person who sends bad emails.  When you send an email, realize you are spending someone else’s valuable time.    Get to the point, be clear and direct, and state what you need from them.

Use the subject field – In 10 words or less, state what the email is about.

3 paragraphs, no more – Where possible your email should only include: An intro with a personal greeting, the message you want to communicate, and a brief closing statement that tells the person what you need from them.

Use lists and bullets – People love lists and bullets.  They are easy on the eyes and immediately grab the reader’s attention.  If must include multiple pieces of information in an email, use bullets wherever possible.  Your reader will thank you.

Oh, and setting high priority on an email hoping it will get read faster, doesn’t work.   People, in general, ignore “red flagged” emails, unless they are from their boss, because high priority has been overused by so many others.  A clear subject is the best way to grab someone’s attention.  If it’s really important, call them.

Let others know you are working on your email “problem”

Share with others you are working on changes to your email process.  I guarantee, if you share your struggle with others, you’ll get a positive response.  Often times they are fighting the same battle and are eager to hear what changes you are making.  If they are really interested, they will offer encouragement and provide ideas which you can use.  Finally, don’t be afraid to ask others to stop sending jokes or to pick up the phone to call you if there is a need for a back and forth conversation.

For more tips on reducing your email headaches, check out Merlin Man’s now famous Inbox Zero presentation at Google.

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