Take back control of your e-mail, and your work day

How many e-mails do you have in your Inbox right now? If you’re like many leaders, the numbers are in the double digits (or triple, or worse.) I used to be in the same boat, but over time, I’ve implemented a different way of dealing with electronic mail. Below are some tips that will help you, too!

TIP/SOLUTION #1: Categorize your e-mail in 3 ways: Do, Defer, Delete.  One of the boundaries that I’ve established is streamlining my e-mail process. I used to have dozens of folders, to save things for future reference. 99% of the time I never looked at those e-mails again. My current work e-mail folder structure is FYI, Priority, Completed. 

FYI I’ll have a couple newsletters auto-filter into there, and will look at them when I schedule time. Priority is just that, things that I cannot finish now, but need to follow-up on in the near future. Be careful, as this folder can get out of hand, if you don’t properly classify what’s a priority. Completed is tasks that were in Priority, or things that I have done, or e-mails that I don’t have to deal with again.      

TIP/SOLUTION #2: Don’t check e-mail 24/7. In my book 369 Days, I discuss checking e-mails from early morning until late at night. Why was I doing that? Because I WAS getting e-mails at all hours per day. The fear of missing out (FOMO) was strong, and it played a big part of what transpired later on in my life and career. 

Stop checking e-mails at all times per day! Turn off the notification on your phone for messages. Set it up to “pull” or you have to manually fetch the e-mails. Each person is different, but I suggest checking e-mail when you first get to the office, late morning, after lunch, and maybe 30 min before the end of your work day.

Do not check work e-mail after hours. Quit thinking you’re so important that you have to be constantly connected. Establish this boundary, or your health and life will be deeply impacted in a negative way. This may cause a bit of a blip at work, if you were contstantly responding 10 seconds after the e-mail came in. Stop it! Unless it’s truly urgent and important, then deal with accordingly. Otherwise it will wait.   

TIP/SOLUTION #3: If you send out a lot of e-mails, expect to receive a lot of e-mails. A big lesson learned for me. I’ve unsubscribed from various newsletters. I’m not missing the info that was in there. If there’s trade journals you need to keep up to date with, then schedule time each week to read those periodicals. Otherwise, unsubscribe is your friend.    

CONCLUSION: E-mail is still a good communication method, to inform, or ask a question when a face-to-face meeting isn’t required. It however can take over your life. Don’t let it, otherwise you will be a slave to the FOMO and checking e-mails too much.

I help leaders create boundaries in their work and personal lives. Visit BreakfastLeadership.com and reach out to me for more info.

Be Well!