Are E-Mails getting you down?

I have recently had the pleasure of meeting a very small number of people who have solved the problem that seems to have arisen from having too much email.

In discussions with them I have been able to formulate some really simple rules that can help everyone to unclutter their email boxes

There is only two cautions that I have to provide before revealing these secrets.

1. To benefit from what you are about to read you should make up your mind at the outset that you REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING about your email overload and clutter and want to be able to manage your work day better.
2. If you are NOT prepared to make some changes in the way you do your work then DO NOT read any further.

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Since you are now here, I am presuming that you have a problem with your email volume and that you really want to DO something about it.

Well, here is what you have to DO

Of all of the emails in your "in tray" classify them into three categories:

1. those that are replies to emails you have sent to others asking them to DO something for you. For example: to read and comment on something, to undertake some task within a given time frame, to come and discuss something, to attend a meeting etc.
   
2. those that are requests sent by others asking you to do something for them; and
3. those that are simply information documents which you can choose to read or not - at your discretion i.e. for your information or FYI documents
   

Once you have undertaken this simple exercise, note how many emails remain.

Unless you are extremely unusual, you will in fact find very few if any emails that are not within the three categories described above.

If this is the case then ask yourself whether you are doing any good for the people you correspond with by sending them anything other than the FYI documents via email?

After all you are cluttering up their 'in trays' and they are cluttering up your in tray with work requests.

Ask yourself whether there is a facility within your organisation to send work requests or TO DO notes.

If your organisation is using Microsoft Outlook, or Lotus Notes or some similar package then this option is in fact available to you.

Using a TO DO functionality in your communication software has the following advantages:

1. it enables you to make a decision about exactly who you want to ask to do something for you (this prevents broadcast communications and targets the work);
2. it enables you to specify your view about how important the request is (i.e. it helps you to prioritise the work) ;
3. it enables you to specify exactly when you would like to have a response to your request or when you would like the action asked for to be completed (it enables you to have things done on time and it assists the people you are asking to do the work to place it appropriately within their work plans;
4. it enables you to track who you have asked to do what and by when so that you can then follow up on the allocated work and ensure that it is done;
5. it enables you to have an audit trail of your work (and report on it if and when asked);
   
6. it enables you to see on a daily basis what work you have to complete by what date, in other words it enables you to manage your work load;
   
7. it enables you to have evidentiary material you can use in performance management discussions with your boss or your staff;

Above all else it enables you to UNCLUTTER your "in tray"

One thing you may need to do as well as this is to educate the people around you about your new work practices. Tell them that if they want you to do something for them, then you would appreciate this being sent to you in the form of a TO DO. If a formal request for this is not effective then convert your email into a TO DO (also a function in most communication packages) and send the person sending the work request to you a copy of the TO DO you have created from their email.

This WILL have the effect of creating clutter in their in tray and will also send a message about your efficiency and their lack of it.

Try these suggestions and see your "in tray" clutter diminish.

For anyone with any comments, concerns or issues with these suggestions I am more than happy to discuss.