Sitting on an endless list of unread mails where 90% of them are the ones you need to go through but don’t know where to start from can get a little frustrating. Managing emails can be tricky and painstaking. And if we fail to manage emails properly, it can lead to numerous issues. A cluttered inbox can be quite nagging and to get rid of it you may at times resort to drastic processing of these mails, and in the bargain you may miss out on some vital mails.
You do not have to waste time in responding to emails immediately it is not at all advisable. So how do we get our inbox zero? You should always start by sorting the emails received, make different folders and categorize them, say for the ones that need immediate attention go into one folder; mails where you need to collect certain information and then reply can go into another folder, so on and so forth depending on the nature of your work. Most importantly keep deleting the obvious spam mails, do not sit on them. Once you have no more emails to sort, you can then start responding to the emails from each folder, subjected to the priority and urgency of that email.
This process would help you to organize your inbox better and would enable you to be on top of your inbox at all times. Another important thing in maintaining inbox zero is deleting the mails that have been taken care of and are not going to be used as future reference.
Getting your inbox zero means you have organized your inbox in a such a way that the emails that needed immediate attention have been responded to, emails that demand undivided attention for they have exquisite details/information have been categorized into one folder and the emails that are just FYIs’ or not so important have been sorted out and are not mixed with the ones that are vital and urgent.
Your emails keep piling up for you may or may not have enough time to respond to all of them, which is certainly reasonable. However since they are all sitting together you may lose track of the important emails you haven’t responded to in time which can result in unnecessary stress. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this exasperating situation.
The term inbox zero does not necessarily mean that your inbox is absolutely empty. Inbox zero helps you to reduce the number of emails in your inbox that are not necessary. Thinkproductive a UK based training organization conduct soft skill training on regular basis. Visit their website thinkproductive.co.uk to know more about their training sessions.
Showing posts with label Inbox zero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inbox zero. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Inbox zero
Inbox zero is a method to manage and sort your emails in the inbox strategically, so that your emails are sorted and you don’t need to worry about them. Inbox zero means that you have systematically categorized each email in a way that you know exactly when and how to take action on those emails based on their priority. Deleting mass emails and sending them to trash or junk folder is not an inbox zero process. Having said that, it does not in the least mean that we waste valuable work hours into reading unimportant emails that can be read at a later time.
Inbox zero gets us to manage our emails, where we sort them as per the actions we want to take on them and in what order, and by doing so the time taken to get the inbox to zero is completed in much shorter time and we still take care of the important mails first and next ones after that and so on, without overlooking any email that may be important.
Here, we need to pay attention to a few basic pointers.
Categorize them in various folders. Like, Do, Delegate, Archive, Respond etc.
Tag mails with colors or stars that need your immediate attention, and a different color for different emails with different priority.
Use filters and delete spam or put them in spam folders.
In case of outlook, you may create rules for some emails that come as notification, or subscriptions or anything else that may not be very important as soon as it hits your inbox, to go into a certain folder marked separately, and you can check them later.
Set reminders to few mails that can be checked later, this may help you avoid the hassle of remembering the date and time to respond to them.
Your email keeps accumulating because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable, however, overloading of inbox can be immensely stressful and irritating, especially at work, it may also not allow you to focus on your non-email work without interruption or distraction. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this demanding and time consuming situation.
With this technique in place, 20 minutes is what you need for this process to be complete even if you get a couple of hundred emails a day.
Get this process going at least 4 to 5 times a day depending on your email volumes.
It will make your work and your life organized and easier,
It will also give you more into your actual priorities.
This process also helps us to increase productive hours
Your email keeps piling up just because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable. You also afraid of losing track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime, all that can cause unnecessary stress to a lot of you. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this annoying situation.
You really cannot control what comes in the inbox all the time, they can cause anxiety because you may want to know what most emails are about but due to lack of time, you may be unable to sit down to go through all of them immediately. Therefore it becomes crucial that you know which email needs how much time and attention and which can be forgotten forever without worrying about them at all, and at the end of it you spend only as much time on an email as it is required and not the whole day. Inbox zero comes in very handy in this situation. This holistic method is a perfect way to profitably and systematically manage not only your email box but also your valuable time.
Inbox zero gets us to manage our emails, where we sort them as per the actions we want to take on them and in what order, and by doing so the time taken to get the inbox to zero is completed in much shorter time and we still take care of the important mails first and next ones after that and so on, without overlooking any email that may be important.
Here, we need to pay attention to a few basic pointers.
Categorize them in various folders. Like, Do, Delegate, Archive, Respond etc.
Tag mails with colors or stars that need your immediate attention, and a different color for different emails with different priority.
Use filters and delete spam or put them in spam folders.
In case of outlook, you may create rules for some emails that come as notification, or subscriptions or anything else that may not be very important as soon as it hits your inbox, to go into a certain folder marked separately, and you can check them later.
Set reminders to few mails that can be checked later, this may help you avoid the hassle of remembering the date and time to respond to them.
Your email keeps accumulating because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable, however, overloading of inbox can be immensely stressful and irritating, especially at work, it may also not allow you to focus on your non-email work without interruption or distraction. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this demanding and time consuming situation.
With this technique in place, 20 minutes is what you need for this process to be complete even if you get a couple of hundred emails a day.
Get this process going at least 4 to 5 times a day depending on your email volumes.
It will make your work and your life organized and easier,
It will also give you more into your actual priorities.
This process also helps us to increase productive hours
Your email keeps piling up just because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable. You also afraid of losing track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime, all that can cause unnecessary stress to a lot of you. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this annoying situation.
You really cannot control what comes in the inbox all the time, they can cause anxiety because you may want to know what most emails are about but due to lack of time, you may be unable to sit down to go through all of them immediately. Therefore it becomes crucial that you know which email needs how much time and attention and which can be forgotten forever without worrying about them at all, and at the end of it you spend only as much time on an email as it is required and not the whole day. Inbox zero comes in very handy in this situation. This holistic method is a perfect way to profitably and systematically manage not only your email box but also your valuable time.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Treat Spamming And Bring Your Inbox To Zero
The word inbox itself means a tray for holding all the messages that are e-mailed to you. Inbox is meant to be a temporary folder where mails, both important and otherwise are stored till the recipient gets the time to deal with it. Just like you sort through all the postal mails, you deal with the ones that need replying, trash the ones that is not needed and file away the important ones for further action or reference purposes. A clean inbox will display the basic trait in your character and thus create an impression on your staff and clients. A flurry of unread mails is bound to create a negative impression on them.
A clean and manageable inbox is the secret to success. An inbox reeling under the heavy weight of unread mails and spam will put a heavy toll on your work and this will drastically affect your productivity level. Create different folders that will help in categorizing and filing away those mails.
Spamming is most often the reason why your inbox is flooded with emails. It is quite likely that you will miss out on some important mail relating to work when your inbox is full of unread mails. So how do you bring your inbox to zero?. Your credibility will increase when you send in prompt replies to your emails. So allot a particular time each day where you clear your inbox, by archiving important ones, replying to the ones that need prompt action and trashing all that is not needed. You can also highlight important messages so that you can just refer to whenever you need to.
Your emails keep piling up for you don’t have enough time to respond to it, which is quite reasonable at times. You could also lose track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime now, all that can cause un-called for stress. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this exasperating situation.
You might be looking forward to some professional assistance in dealing with those overflowing inbox-es. Think productive is a company in UK that conducts fun-filled workshops, seminars to help people combat the deadly arrival of unwanted emails. You can visit their site at http://thinkproductive.co.uk/ to know more about their activities.
A clean and manageable inbox is the secret to success. An inbox reeling under the heavy weight of unread mails and spam will put a heavy toll on your work and this will drastically affect your productivity level. Create different folders that will help in categorizing and filing away those mails.
Spamming is most often the reason why your inbox is flooded with emails. It is quite likely that you will miss out on some important mail relating to work when your inbox is full of unread mails. So how do you bring your inbox to zero?. Your credibility will increase when you send in prompt replies to your emails. So allot a particular time each day where you clear your inbox, by archiving important ones, replying to the ones that need prompt action and trashing all that is not needed. You can also highlight important messages so that you can just refer to whenever you need to.
Your emails keep piling up for you don’t have enough time to respond to it, which is quite reasonable at times. You could also lose track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime now, all that can cause un-called for stress. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this exasperating situation.
You might be looking forward to some professional assistance in dealing with those overflowing inbox-es. Think productive is a company in UK that conducts fun-filled workshops, seminars to help people combat the deadly arrival of unwanted emails. You can visit their site at http://thinkproductive.co.uk/ to know more about their activities.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Is Bringing Your Inbox to Zero Like Cleaning Dirty Dishes?
Email management is not an easy job; it takes a lot of talent and patience to manage your inbox and replying to mails requiring immediate attention, segregating those mails that need to be archived and sending mails to the junk. Thinking that the inbox is just like the mail box in front of your home will help in deleting away those unwanted messages. Don’t consider the inbox as your workstation. It’s just a temporary place where you store messages for a very short period of time and unless you clear it out regularly, you will have to face a monstrous amount of mails in your account. It all however depends upon the type of work you do. If you have to deal with people from all over the globe and contact them regularly during your working hours, then probably you will have to keep the inbox open the whole time. You will be notified whenever a mail comes in and you can deal with it accordingly. But this is applicable to only those people whose work is centered on contacting people and checking for responses. Other wise, you can decide certain times during the day during which you are going to check your mail and go ahead and do it. Checking mails, replying to it, forwarding, trashing and archiving consumes a lot of time, the time that you should be putting into productive work, so allotting time checks to it will prove useful.
Actually, making your inbox zero is a much more easier job than cleaning those dirty dishes in the kitchen. Get organized about the mails you are receiving, because consolidating them this will prevent procrastination. This will in turn lead to productivity in the long run. You need to have a clean and calm mind to get your work done efficiently. Similarly, you must also clean out the online mailbox before starting off the day’s work, because those unread messages are just going to get in your way. You can defer from sending in a reply as soon as the mail comes in, but what will you do if the mail is sent by somebody really important and that person expects a quick reply. If you have a Blackberry of iPhone you can get several things done, things that you need reminding for. You can assign tasks in them and set a reminder, so you don’t have to forget what to do, especially if its an important mail that you have to send. This way you can actually deal with technology to effectively handle another technology.
You can also create a category in your inbox that says “response needed” or something to that effect and save those messages there. Once you archive these messages that way, then you will have to remember checking them and sending in the required replies.
Actually, making your inbox zero is a much more easier job than cleaning those dirty dishes in the kitchen. Get organized about the mails you are receiving, because consolidating them this will prevent procrastination. This will in turn lead to productivity in the long run. You need to have a clean and calm mind to get your work done efficiently. Similarly, you must also clean out the online mailbox before starting off the day’s work, because those unread messages are just going to get in your way. You can defer from sending in a reply as soon as the mail comes in, but what will you do if the mail is sent by somebody really important and that person expects a quick reply. If you have a Blackberry of iPhone you can get several things done, things that you need reminding for. You can assign tasks in them and set a reminder, so you don’t have to forget what to do, especially if its an important mail that you have to send. This way you can actually deal with technology to effectively handle another technology.
You can also create a category in your inbox that says “response needed” or something to that effect and save those messages there. Once you archive these messages that way, then you will have to remember checking them and sending in the required replies.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Inbox Zero-II
Managing emails can at times be very painstaking and lengthy. This is especially true for professionals, whose work depends a lot on emails. Even otherwise, sitting on a pile of unread mails and 90% of them being ones you would like to open and go through, but don’t know where to start from can be very frustrating. This happens because of time constraint these days. We lead a very hectic and a brisk life especially in bigger cities, and wasting time on reading emails that are dispensable or can be read later, is a sheer waste of good time that can be used productively somewhere else.
The more email you neglect in your inbox, the more drastic and ruthless your processing would be. To waste time on responding to emails just immediately is not a very good idea till you have sorted all of them first. A regular process during this would be to keep deleting the obvious spam mails. Once you reach at inbox zero, with no more emails to sort, you may get back to the actions on each folder or set of emails, depending on the priority and urgency of that email. This process can be extremely annoying, time-consuming and can drain you of your energy, however, as you see that count dropping you will start feeling energetic again and feel like getting this over with as fast as you can. You will soon during this process, realize the value of that worthy time that you will have access to. This feels so good that you’ll never want to go back to the same stage where you let your inbox look like the most annoying thing in the world.
A few handy tips to maintain an Inbox Zero status.
Create various folders in your inbox, and name them as per your requirement if it is for business purpose, otherwise create folders and name them as –Respond, Assign, Forward, Urgent, Bills etc.
First, sort your emails into these as soon as they hit your inbox or when you sit down to work on them.
You can star, colours or flag emails in this folders that are very important.
Set reminders, in case you have an email that you can work on later, without the fear of forgetting it.
Create rules for your regular emails to go into a particular folder assigned, that you know you can check later.
Your email keeps accumulating because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable. You are also afraid of losing track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime, all that can cause unnecessary stress to a lot of you. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this exasperating situation.
No one has control on what comes in your inbox all the time, they can cause anxiety because you may want to know what most emails say or need but are running short of time, so it becomes imperative that you know which email needs how much time and attention and which can be forgotten forever without worrying about them at all, and at the end of it you spend only as much time on an email as it is required and not the whole day. Inbox zero comes in very handy in this situation. This is undoubtedly a very holistic process to manage not only your email box but also your valuable time very systematically and profitably.
The more email you neglect in your inbox, the more drastic and ruthless your processing would be. To waste time on responding to emails just immediately is not a very good idea till you have sorted all of them first. A regular process during this would be to keep deleting the obvious spam mails. Once you reach at inbox zero, with no more emails to sort, you may get back to the actions on each folder or set of emails, depending on the priority and urgency of that email. This process can be extremely annoying, time-consuming and can drain you of your energy, however, as you see that count dropping you will start feeling energetic again and feel like getting this over with as fast as you can. You will soon during this process, realize the value of that worthy time that you will have access to. This feels so good that you’ll never want to go back to the same stage where you let your inbox look like the most annoying thing in the world.
A few handy tips to maintain an Inbox Zero status.
Create various folders in your inbox, and name them as per your requirement if it is for business purpose, otherwise create folders and name them as –Respond, Assign, Forward, Urgent, Bills etc.
First, sort your emails into these as soon as they hit your inbox or when you sit down to work on them.
You can star, colours or flag emails in this folders that are very important.
Set reminders, in case you have an email that you can work on later, without the fear of forgetting it.
Create rules for your regular emails to go into a particular folder assigned, that you know you can check later.
Your email keeps accumulating because you don’t have the time to respond to it, which is certainly reasonable. You are also afraid of losing track of the email you haven’t responded to for sometime, all that can cause unnecessary stress to a lot of you. Inbox zero is a process to get you out of this exasperating situation.
No one has control on what comes in your inbox all the time, they can cause anxiety because you may want to know what most emails say or need but are running short of time, so it becomes imperative that you know which email needs how much time and attention and which can be forgotten forever without worrying about them at all, and at the end of it you spend only as much time on an email as it is required and not the whole day. Inbox zero comes in very handy in this situation. This is undoubtedly a very holistic process to manage not only your email box but also your valuable time very systematically and profitably.
Tips and techniques for a clutter free inbox
Overloading your inbox could hamper your peace of mind. There are effective tips and techniques to ensure that your inbox is maintained to level zero all round the year. Following a systematic approach can ensure that your inbox is clutter free. Inbox is not meant to store all emails. The aim is to take action on the emails according to their priority. Yet there are some emails that needs to be stored and these can be filed for future use. Creating folders is a certain way to contain your inbox but this cannot be considered a standard practice. Though this can keep your inbox zero they push all these into folders that has to be looked into at a later stage. This can only increase the number of folders and create more work for you. A piece of advice is that check emails regularly, prioritize them and clear them immediately. This is the best way to accomplish size zero in your inbox.
There are certain emails that may need just less than a minute to reply. Do so and delete the message from your inbox. Mails that need more time to be resolved can be acted on through the day and cleared. All this depends on how much you can process in a day. If you want to move towards your goal of inbox zero then it is time that you clear your backlog first. All unprocessed files have to be acted upon. Once this is done, see to that only important messages reach your inbox. This way you will not have any worries about missing important messages.
Mailing list, job listing, automated messages are items that can be avoided or trimmed to a minimum. See to that if you can convert your daily newsletters or notifications into weekly or bi weekly. This could reduce the clutter in your inbox and can give you space to move around freely.
If you are running a website and cannot avoid getting messages from customers, here is a recommendation. Force the visitors to use a web form as this can help to contain your messages to a large extent. This way you can stay focused.
Of course you will be receiving messages from friends. Try opting for social networking websites where you can keep in constant touch with your friends, instead of clogging your inbox with casual emails.
Emails that need no action can be pushed to spam. Just trash them and move on.
There are certain emails that may need just less than a minute to reply. Do so and delete the message from your inbox. Mails that need more time to be resolved can be acted on through the day and cleared. All this depends on how much you can process in a day. If you want to move towards your goal of inbox zero then it is time that you clear your backlog first. All unprocessed files have to be acted upon. Once this is done, see to that only important messages reach your inbox. This way you will not have any worries about missing important messages.
Mailing list, job listing, automated messages are items that can be avoided or trimmed to a minimum. See to that if you can convert your daily newsletters or notifications into weekly or bi weekly. This could reduce the clutter in your inbox and can give you space to move around freely.
If you are running a website and cannot avoid getting messages from customers, here is a recommendation. Force the visitors to use a web form as this can help to contain your messages to a large extent. This way you can stay focused.
Of course you will be receiving messages from friends. Try opting for social networking websites where you can keep in constant touch with your friends, instead of clogging your inbox with casual emails.
Emails that need no action can be pushed to spam. Just trash them and move on.
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