The love/hate relationship that you may feel towards your email inbox appears to be a case of redirected anger.
You can’t gain control over it so you get mad (at it and possibly at yourself). The damn inbox seems to represent that you may never truly succeed and it taunts you by continuously filling up when you’re not looking. There is never a moment when you can breathe freely knowing that your inbox is empty (unless you disconnect from the internet). So you struggle daily and wonder what’s wrong with you?
The fact that you are smart and beautiful is never considered by an email Inbox. If you’ve read books and even attended the ‘right’ courses hosted by the perfect ‘Gurus of Productivity’ and yet you continue to work in the same way that you always have then trust me when I tell you – things will remain the same!
Instead you must be relentless and stealth and attach with daily endurance … and yet so many people give up and then give in to this little box that we love and hate equally. And, by the way it’s not just you, many intelligent, funny, kind and nice individuals struggle with an overflowing inbox.
If you don’t want to change the way you work then stop reading here. If you are open to hearing the truth about email and then reading some ‘practical’ strategies then please read on.
Let’s begin by debunking the myths and addressing a few email inbox truths:
1. Zero inbox will NOT three or six ‘simple’ steps
2. Good intentions won’t make it happen
3. Your inbox ‘comfort’ number will differ from everyone else. If zero inbox is your goal that’s – for you!
4. Your ‘folders’ will have different names than other people but listen and learn how others create naming conventions. And yes you need folders!
5. It takes time, requires a plan and must be repeated regularly – as in daily!
6. It will get easier – as everything else painful in your life does.
And the last piece of total truth about your email inbox is this:
Every single email represents an appointment that should be in your calendar, a task that needs to be given a time to complete, a contact that should be entered into your database or a document that needs to be filed for future reference.
Three helpful tips for getting started:
1. Create folders for reference emails
2. Use your calendar and then delete or file the email
3. Group ‘like tasks’ together and block off time to do them
Develop Systems to Simplify Your Business ….. read the article in the IABC here
