Defining The Problem
The problem on the surface is that you’re struggling to keep up with your inbox. However, this isn’t the real problem. It can’t be. The problem isn’t some indicator about the # of emails you have. The real problem is about actioning the content and the things they represent in a timely manner. The real problem is the # represents your inability to do your job. This is a real problem.
Before going further into decomposing this problem we need to step back and address your own personal nerotecies. Your Inbox does not have to be 0. That might be a fine goal. It might be the way you think. It might bother you when it’s not. All of these things are different than solving the actual problem of doing your job. You can be effective with an Inbox > 0. Many people are. If you’re the kind of person that MUST have an Inbox of 0, or you even set another arbitrary target, you must separate that as you attempt to fix this problem. This is super critical. You need to stay focused on the problem about doing your job and not necessarily an arbitrary number.
Framing The Spectrum
As we move toward solutions they will all fall on a spectrum of email importance. You’ll need to decide where you fall on this spectrum. Here are the 2 ends…
- Email doesn’t count as a valid form of human communication
- I need to reply to everything immediately
Most people fall in the middle, and if you’re reading it you’re closer to #2. I’m writing this proposal coming from a perspective of #1. That’s how I lived my professional life for the last 5 years. “Email doesn’t count as a valid form of human communication.” is a direct quote I often used. This means I’m coming from the other side of the spectrum with these suggestions. It also means that #1 is in fact possible in some cases.
As you move forward I’d like you to think about this spectrum and where you fall. It might even be helpful to draw some intermediate steps in between them (yes literally draw), and figure out where you are. The hope is that by employing some of what’s in here you can find the right place on the spectrum without sacrificing your ability to do your job.
Judging Success
As mentioned above the hope is you move on that spectrum. However, the goal is better sanity with the same, or even better, job output. That’s really what matters. This means you have to figure out how to think, or even measure, both sanity and job output. If you’re measuring job output via 0 Inbox you’re going to get stuck. There isn’t much room for improvement there other than time management. Maybe that’s enough, but I’d suggest at some point it won’t be. You need to figure out how to measure your job success, and the impact these changes have on it.
If you’re not sure how to do that I’d suggest finding someone who you have a good relationship with and start there. If it’s a colleague you don’t need to talk about whether you’re good at your job. It can simply be about whether they believe your new email style is hindering communication. Are things better, worse, or the same in their opinion? If you feel comfortable it’s good to talk to your boss first and foremost. The first person I made the statement in #1 to was always my boss. That worked for me with my bosses in my situation. You might not feel comfortable approaching your boss the same way, but there should be someone. If there’s no one you feel comfortable talking to about this I’d suggest you stop reading and get back to email because you need to build confidence and win hearts and minds.
Tools & Techniques
Now it’s time to get some real practical advice. These are things you can do to help time and management. For the purposes of conciseness I’m going to focus on logical things as opposed to specific platform differences. This is not an instruction manual on how to perform things in Outlook or Gmail. In addition this will not address how much you’re signing up to do. If you say yes to everything and you’re committing to too many things your email might reflect that. However, none of these things can solve that kind of problem If you’re overbooked you’re overbooked. Bear down and work harder, or learn to say no.
Tactical Management
Metrics – it’s important to get #s beyond the single amount of unread in your inbox. There are plugins that will give you metrics about inbound and outbound flow of your email. Things like Xobni for Outlook are great. It will help you understand peak times and senders/receivers. Understanding your audience can help calibrate your effectiveness.
Folders – create and use folders. There are many articles for this. I like this article which talks about 5 folders.
Rules – similar to folders there are many different rules you can create with a lot of materials.
Colors & Categories – you can categorize your email with colors. Find something meaningful for you.
To Do Lists & Calendar – turn your actionable emails into a separate item on a list or a calendar invite. Sometimes it’s best to reply to an out of control email trail with a meeting. Some things need live discussion.
Manage Contacts – you can favorite contacts so they stand out. This can play along with notifications on your phone so only favorite contacts notify you actively.
Notifications – play with your notification settings. I recommend turning ALL active notifications off. If you’re struggling to keep up extra beeps, dings, and dialogue boxes won’t help.
Clean Up – beyond just rules it’s important you clean up your incoming emails. If you’re struggling to keep up you should have 0 subscription emails or newsletters coming in. Simply opt out of all of them with this account.
Multiple Accounts – you should have at least one account for personal and one for work. Keep them separate if you’re struggling with emails. Don’t link them on your phone. Keep them wholly separate. If you have reasons to have more accounts that works too. Maybe you have an account for networking that you give out during casual meetings. This makes your core account more focused on your day to day inner circle.
Time Management & Techniques
Daily Goals – before you EVER look at email write down what you want to accomplish that day at work. If there’s something you MUST accomplish write it down and make it visible. Post-its on monitors work well. This is now your compass for the day. If email helps you get that done go for it. If not you should ignore email.
Priorities – similar to goals you should set out your priorities. What’s crucial with this is that you realize things must be force ranked and it’s a 0 sum game for your time. You can have only 1 priority 1. Things will win and lose when you do it this way. Setting additional priorities doesn’t create more time. If email is a priority it means other things lose.
Batching – batch your email time into a few times a day. That means you don’t look at email outside of those times. This will be tough at first so I’d suggest something like this to start:
- Review ALL new messages quickly for 2 mins every half hour
- Action any REAL emergencies. Emergencies are determined by the content of the email, and not by the name of the sender
- Batch all responses into multiple chunks starting with 10 mins every 2 hrs. Grow those chunks to be longer with less frequent. Maybe you settle at 30 mins 3x a day.
Actionable Time Periods – decide on an actionable time period which you’re going to look at. You will fall behind at some point, and it’s better to have some amount of time you’ll go backward than to take on everything. I used 1 day as an actionable period. Once Tuesday started I’d never look at Monday’s emails again. Important things boomeranged back. Maybe you can start with something more like a week.
Speed Reading – Seriously. There are speed reading courses out there. It’s been proven over and over this is a skill you can learn. If you simply need to get through things faster this a viable option.
Other Paths
There are many other communication tools out there. Phone calls are dramatically undervalued today. Often times replying to emails with a phone is a great way to avoid 10 more emails back and forth. In addition to good old fashioned phone calls there are a ton of collaboration tools. Slack is an excellent tool for communication within a team. It’s hard to explain exactly why without using it, but it’s got a lot of features like persistent chat and channels to focus conversations. It also integrates with a lot of other tools.
No one likes the idea of documentation, and no one really has the time to create a FAQ. However, there are several habits that can help over time to build things like this out. If you’re having similar email conversations all the time start to write your answers somewhere other than email. Eventually over time you’ll come up with something (a deck, a Word doc, a site, etc) that you can send ahead of time. This is simple, but can be effective.
In a more radical move you can look for a virtual assistant to handle your email. This will take some time, research, and coaching. However, it’s really the ultimate end game. You wouldn’t even manage your own inbox. Someone else would do it for you. There are many paths forward starting with hiring someone in another country for cheap ($5/hr) ending with a full on assistant with you. Most of us can’t afford a full assistant so starting cheap may be the way to go. Here are some articles if this is a brand new topic for you.
- How to Outsource Your Inbox to an Email Virtual Assistant
- Zirtual – a company who does this
- I Haven’t Handled My Own Email In 12 Years
If you’re going to do this you might want to tell someone at your company. It will require that they access your email. This might mean it’s a no-go for your situation, but you never know until you ask. I’ve heard stories of people not telling their company about this kind of thing and essentially outsourcing their job. It might work sometimes, but I can’t recommend it.
Misconceptions & Fears
If you’re worried about your email and you’ve made it this far I’m sure there are a few things in here that made you nervous. In this section I share my own personal views of common misconceptions and fears that I’ve seen. These may not apply universally and you may disagree with some, but this is what I’ve experienced.
Your commitment to email has no impact on the # you receive. Often people think that by replying quickly they’ll get through email quickly and look reliable. However, there’s an unintended consequence… people start to assume this is how you like to communicate. In addition they may start to abuse your quick responses by actually ratcheting up the frequency & number of emails they send you. I’ve seen this where people send over multiple short quick thought emails instead of putting something together that’s shorter and more meaningful. You might be driving some of the incoming emails through your own behavior, not the other way around.
Catching up at night and responding is a good idea. This might be the case sometimes, but similar to the point above it sends a signal that you’re available for email at night. People will pick up on this, especially if they work for you. Actions speak louder than words so if you email at night it doesn’t matter how much you preach work/life balance. It shows you’re all about work. If you catch up at night I’d suggest keeping it in draft and sending in the AM, or using a feature to send at a later time. This way you can catch up quietly without inviting more.
People don’t like to talk about how they work. Everyone has their own style, and that style exists within several layers of culture (org, company, country, etc). It’s ok to have an open dialogue about how people like to communicate. This is something that people often don’t talk about when they start working together, but it’s critical. It’s even more critical if it’s someone from a different company or a client. You may belong to an email heavy culture, but they might be all about texts. You’ll never know until you talk. You should discuss communication styles, and since this is all about handling email I suggest with telling people you prefer other methods.
If there’s a real emergency I might miss it or be late. If people need you they will find you. There are impatient people out there, but if there’s a real emergency in 2019 it’s not hard to find people. If there’s a real emergency someone will call/text or maybe even email you over and over. If you start batching email based on the suggestion above the max is that they wait 28 mins before you see the email.
I’ll let down important people if I don’t reply quickly. This might happen. However, it’s greatly limited if you focus on some of the other things like priorities, goals, and talking about how people work. The more important someone is to your success the more important it is to talk about how you work with them. That might be tough, but it’s critical. Tell important people how to get you directly. Give them your number and ask them to text or call. In addition you can make them a favorite contact so you get notified.
People won’t understand if I start responding slower. Too many emails is a very common issue. The impactful people you’re worried about disappointing likely have the same problem. If you’re getting a lot of emails it might just mean you offer a lot of value and are important. Anyone you see that fits that category is likely in the same boat as you and will understand.
Final Thoughts
As you go out and try to tackle this problem I encourage you to think a bit more broad. This isn’t just about getting through emails. This is about how you use your time to accomplish your job. Don’t try to tackle email as an isolated topic, and don’t try do to it alone.