What would it be like to have 13,000 emails in your inbox? A business consultant I know has exactly that. And to him, it represents an easily searchable knowledge database and a quick reference tool for his ongoing work.
To me, even half that number would be so overwhelming I wouldn’t want to even open my email system up for fear of more coming in!
Action – Are YOU truly comfortable with how you use your email system?
To really know the answer to that, do you have any, and I mean ANY, negative thoughts or feelings when you look at the inbox or filtering system? If so, it’s important to either redesign the system or have someone else manage your account.
You see, the negative reactions we have to the seemingly positive techno tools we now use significantly effect our day. Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable is getting in the way of your success.
I currently have 7 unsorted emails in my inbox. I typically leave them in the inbox when they either require direct action or I need to check the status of something in the near future, but don’t need a calendar item. Everything else gets sorted into (mostly) appropriate folders for reference, if required.
I’m a commercial Real Estate broker and e-mails have gotten out of hand. I average 250 a day including Saturday or Sunday. Even if I delete most of them I still have to open a large number to see if they are important. I unsubscribe or block the sender about 6 times per day and I’m losing ground. I have no idea how to get out of this tailspin and be more productive.
I know this situation! I too get hundreds of emails every day. If you want to arrange a quick chat, just email me and we’ll find some time.
You hit a nerve…lol. This is an area that is out of control for me too…..way too many emails. There must be a system out there to help organize and sort by the senders name, something I really need to look into.
Sorry about hitting that nerve LOL !! Depending on your email provider, there are various ways to filter emails and/or organize the workflow around them. I use FollowUpThen.com for example. What we often do, though, is hang on to emails with the “I’ll come back to this later” chat in our heads. Then we don’t. Then it gets buried, etc etc. Getting in to habits of attitude and action (such as “if this is going to take me less than 2 minutes, I’ll do it right now), are actually far better than external systems.
I utilize a system similar to Ken.
Any emails left in the “Inbox” are ones that need to be worked on.
All the rest are filed into sub-folders immediately after they’re resolved.
The only time that this particular system gets out of hand is if I’ve been away from the office (sick or on holiday). Then it may take a few days to get the “Inbox” down to the manageable size again.
Finding what works for you is what we’re after here. If something isn’t working and we are negative about it, that negativity flows in to so many other things as well.
I use boomerangapp.com to keep on top of my emails. It helps me to schedule the emails to return to my inbox at a later time (in case I’m missing information needed to reply right away), returns emails to my inbox in case no response is received within the time frame I specify and allows me to “pause” my inbox.
Nancy, I will check out the Followupthen. Thanks for the recommendation.
Boomerang is good too. I’ve used that myself.