5 Ways to 'Fall' in Love with Your Email

It is officially fall. And as the weather shifts, our activities change, and this bright, brisk, fresh energy sweeps us up and into this new season, I’m reminded of so many simple, everyday things that I love – things that make my life simpler, happier, clearer, fuller, and deeper.

With that, I’m proclaiming a revolutionary thought - I am proclaiming my love of email.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Roll your eyes, let out an audible sigh - how could anyone shift into fall and declare her love of email? Well, I do love my email. Because it has the power to revolutionize my (and your!) time, attention, and liveliness. And here’s how...

1. Email = freedom. Email frees me to work anywhere, anytime and anyplace. I can stay in touch with my clients, current on my project work and talk to friends and family from literally almost anywhere in the world. I do not know of anything else that affords me this absolute freedom. Email gives me the ability to be present in all aspects of my life.

2. Email = connection. Email is my connection to my clients, vendor partners, colleagues, friends and family. I can literally stay connected to both my professional life and personal life from within one inbox. I know the status of all of my projects. I can keep track of everything I have delegated to my team and all of my projects and tasks. I also know who has a sick child, what I need to bring to supper club and when I need to schedule my next dentist appointment.

3. Email = boundaries. Email is an excellent filter of people, projects, ideas and requests for my time. I can check email when I choose to check it. I use the email out of office notification as a boundary around my time – the project time I carve out to do work, my thinking time and my personal time. Email enables me to filter and then respond based on my priorities. These boundaries allow me to work and play from a place of relaxed control.

4. Email = efficiency. Email is the ultimate efficiency tool. By fully utilizing this technology tool I save hours each week that used to be spent sorting and filing messages, information and data. My messages are automatically prioritized so I do not waste time searching for the most important email and wondering which email to read first. When I respond to meeting requests, my calendar is automatically populated with the what, when, and how of the meeting. And, if I am very lucky, the meeting organizer has appended the agenda and the supporting documentation to the meeting request so I literally have everything I need for that meeting at my fingertips.

5. Email = learning. Email is a tool that enables me to continuously learn. I subscribe to numerous blogs, newsletters, LinkedIn groups and RSS feeds which fill my inbox with new information, courses to attend for continuing education and generally expand my knowledge base. I love to learn and email makes it easy for me to access learning from a variety of people and organizations.

What if this fall you chose to look at your inbox differently? What if, instead of loathing it, resisting it or believing that it is the sole source of all of your frustration, you decide to look at it as a tool that supports you and the life you want to lead – especially as life ramps up for the holidays. How might your relationship with email change?

Email enables me to be free, stay connected, and establish boundaries. Email is an incredibly efficient tool that improves my productivity and effectiveness. Email expands my mind and introduces me to new ideas and learning opportunities.

‘Fall’ in love again with your email. Then, ‘fall’ in love with the different and innovative energy that that declaration brings to not only this new season, but also your time, attention, and liveliness.

3 Things You Can Do Right Now to Shift Your Relationship with Email

1. Open your email program. Close your eyes while the email loads. Take 3 deep breaths and then open your eyes and quickly scan for one thing that interests you, connects you to other people and/or can save you a few minutes. I imagine that you found just one positive message in your inbox. For the next three days, do this quick exercise once or twice a day to re-frame your relationship with email. There really are a few positive emails in your inbox. You just have to look for them.

2. Think about one task that you perform in email that you would love to automate. It could be automatically filing messages from your boss, having a pre-set template that you can use to answer that question that you are asked at least once a day, or it could be how to automatically track your emails requiring follow-up. Do you have one? Now, go to YouTube (yes, YouTube) and type in what you want your email system to do for you. I can almost guarantee that you will receive at least one video tutorial showing you how to do exactly what you want to do. Now, your email system is working for you, not against you.

3. Write or type a list of everything that you would do WITHOUT email. Then, choose three things that you would do WITHOUT email. Next to each one, write down how email actually helps you do each of these things.

For more information about me, my work, and my debut book coming out via Penguin in January 2015, please visit www.carsontate.com