In a world where collaboration is a key word - email is 2nd only to verbal communication, hence , you can imagine how effective collaboration will be when you don't manage your emails.
Most people fail to take control of their in-boxes , which results in failure to continue the chain of communication and collaboration. Hence the impact is an opportunity is lost, service levels drops, you lose your customer's confidence and the list go on and on..
I am using MS Office 365 - Outlook as my email client but I think you can do the same with Google or any other decent mail client.
Archiving Your Mails.
In order to ensure that you address all your emails that are sent to you, my technique is to clear your inbox by archiving your mails. Archiving here means move the mail from your inbox to an archive folder, which means it is not deleted by you have read it , acknowledge it but store in for future reference when required.
Emails you know are not going to be needed for future reference (perhaps marketing emails), you can delete.
Starting is simple, the day you decide this is a simple step to take control of your In-box, look at your email for the past 7 days. Address what needs to be addressed, the rest you just have to assume is too late to do anything about it. Then select all your email and archive it !
Remember what is archived is still there , sitting in your archive folder. All you have to do is utilize the search capability of your email client to retrieve them,
Discipline
Then moving forward , on a daily basis have a mindset of cleaning your inbox before then end of the day. Anything that needs to be addressed and cannot be addressed is to be left in the inbox. Then repeat the cycle everyday which will guarantee all your emails are addressed eventually.
What's Next ?
In another blog I will show you how to further categories your email and other productivity measures. If you are using Office 365, there are many features in there which most people don't utilize to help manage their productivity and effectiveness. I will be showcasing to you some of these tips.
Please feel free to comment and provide ideas
Happy Reading !