Email can be your productivity downfall....
Or it can be your productivity Godsend.
It's all in How You Use It.
I treat emails like text messages now. I look at every incoming email instantly on my phone (Gmail). I then either: (1) Archive it, or (2) Reply with a one-line reply & Archive it, or (3) If it needs further attention I Star it & then Archive it. Then, later at my desk, I'll use my Priority Inbox to see "All Starred" messages. Each of those need an entry copied & pasted to my To Do List and/or my Master Projects Outline. Once I've done that, I simply remove the Star (& it stays archived).
Also, every time I think of a great idea... or something I need to do, or to buy... or whatever... I email to myself.... the idea. Then, I process those emails exactly the same way I do all the others -- as described above.
The result is:
People who need an instant answer from me -- like, "Are you still interested in that $1million contract?" -- get an instant answer -- like, "Yes! I absolutely am! :) "
People who just wanna chat usually get ignored (unless I'm really bored myself! :)
Every time I think of a brilliant idea, I get it captured to a place where it belongs -- even if it happens when I have no pen and no cell service.
I'm able to follow through on commitments to others better, and on commitments to myself better too!
I can also process those "Starred" emails even when I'm away from the computer now.... because I keep my To Do List, and my Master Projects Outline, and my Shopping List, etc... as simple text file documents on my computer.... I can use Dropbox to edit those documents from ANY of my computers, or from ANY of my phones, remotely! Even on an airplane or a subway ride! The instant my phone gets a cell signal again, all changes to all documents are replicated to ALL of my computers and phones... instantly!
Love technology!
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