Have you opened your email inbox lately?
Lord knows there have been days, weeks, and even months where I have avoided my email inbox as if were radioactive. Others, check their email inbox hour by hour or even worse, minute by minute.
Here at Smart Document Solutions – part of our mission is to make you more productive in the office so you can live your life. Email, a tool for work that began as a convenience has evolved into an annoyance and even a huge distraction for some.
We now are not only interrupted by email when we’re in front of our work computer or home computer but now our mobile phones as well.
The New York Times reported on findings from Carnegie Mellon University that the average office worker gets about 11 minutes rest from one interruption to the next. To contrast – it takes on average about 25 minutes for the average worker to regain focus after an interruption. If you do the math you may find something doesn’t quite add up.
Another study done at the Loughborough University found that people who check their email once every 5 minutes will waste approximately 8.5 hours to regain focus.
To combat the tidal wave of distractions interrupting us on our smartphones, watches, computers and other gadgets, we have a few suggestions on how to manage your email going forward.
1. Batch / Schedule Your Email
Set a specific time each day that you check your email. The blog Survival Insight – along with Tim Ferris suggest that you set a specific time of day to check your email for the entire day.
Consider making it clear to those who check their email accounts multiple times daily that you have begun a policy of responding once a day. One great way to do this is to simply email the people you work closely with and let them know about your new email schedule.
Another way is to set up an autoresponder, but be aware that for people who email you frequently it might become annoying.
On gmail and other web-based services – as you are likely already aware – there is a way you can set an autoresponder to automatically reply whenever you receive an email. When the autoresponder mentions your email policy there is no need for you to worry about a client getting frustrated they haven’t heard from you right away on an urgent matter.
2. Pick Up the Phone
If the virtual conversation gets really intense and you receive more than a half-a-dozen emails from one person – get into a mental time-machine and pick up the phone and give them a phone call.
Rather than clog up your email with several dozens of emails asking for the same thing or needing a more involved answer, just give them a call. Phone calls can answer questions and concerns much faster than playing virtual hot-potato with someone over email, IM or Text Message. Another great option is to hop onto a video chat with them, as body language communicates so much more than audio alone!
3. Outsource Your Emails
The Tim Ferris option. The final option could very well be called the nuclear option but if you are receiving over 100 emails a day you should definitely consider it hiring someone to help you out.
Tim Ferris, the author of The 4-Hour Work Week, writes about outsourcing email in his most-famous aforementioned book as well as in a blog post.
Since he receives thousands of emails daily – he has a team of virtual assistants who he outsources his emails to. He also has very detailed instructions on how his team should respond to emails that he receives:
- I have multiple e-mail addresses for specific types of e-mail (blog readers vs. media vs. friends/family, etc.). tim@… is the default I give to new acquaintances, which goes to my assistant.
- 99% of e-mail falls into predetermined categories of inquiries with set questions or responses (my “rules” document is at the bottom of this post — feel free to steal, adapt, and use). My assistant(s) checks and clears the inbox at 11am and 3pm PST.
- For the 1% of e-mail that might require my input for next actions, I have a once-daily phone call of 4-10 minutes at 4pm PST with my assistant.
- If I’m busy or traveling abroad, my assistant leaves the action items in numerical order on my voicemail, to which I can respond to in a bullet-point email. These days, I actually prefer the voicemail option and find that it forces my assistant to be more prepared and more concise.
Each night (or early the next morning), I’ll listen to my assistant’s voicemail via Skype and simultaneously write out the next actions (1. Bob: tell him that… 2. Jose in Peru: ask him for… 3. Speaking in NC: confirm…., etc.) in a Skype chat or quick e-mail. How long does the new system take? 4-10 minutes instead of 6-8 hours of filtering and repetitive responses.”
Whatever you do – consider strongly limiting the time you spend going in and out of your email inbox – so that you can focus your valuable time on higher level aspects of your work and life. When you need more suggestions on how to remain productive – remember we here at Smart Document Solutions of Arizona are here to help you. Give us a call at 602-788-0250 or contact us online.
