A Clean Email Box is Like Peace on Earth

As we approach Christmas, we are reminded that is the season of good tidings, great joy and peace on earth. Increase your peace this year by cleaning your email box! Today, Larry and I discussed the peace we both receive when our email box is clean.

Email peace is relative. Email peace for me means that there are so few items in my inbox that I don't have a scroll bar. If an item is in my inbox it means that I either have a decision to make or a task that I must complete. Anything else is placed into the most appropriate folder. As I stated in a previous blog entry (http://kim1champ.blogspot.com/2006/11/email-overload.html) I am not at a loss for email (averaging 342 emails per day) so ending the day with less than 20 or so messages is rewarding.

Stuffed email boxes lead to major productivity losses. The other day someone (who knows I am an email productivity Nazi) emailed me to tell me they had over 3,000 messages in their inbox. My head wanted to explode! When I have more than 50 items in my inbox at the end of the day, I go crazy. I click on the same item repeatedly because I forget what it is, what a productivity killer! I wasn't always at peace with my email. I used to run approximately 500-600 in my inbox with more than 100 or so unread. I have no idea how I got anything done.

Here are a couple of tips for good email management:

(1) If your email is currently out of control just buckle down and spend an entire day cleaning it up. Once done, follow steps 2-5 to keep your email under control.
(2) The only read items that remain in your inbox are items that require you to make a decision or complete a task. Everything else that has been read should be filed into another folder.
(3) Don't hold onto items that need to be delegated. Delegate them immediately and then file the request away. If it is something that requires followup create a task for yourself to follow up on it but don't leave the item in your inbox.
(4) Spend focused time on email. A short-focused review of email keeps you from falling behind and allows you to complete other duties without email distraction.
(5) Remove yourself from unnecessary email newsletters and distribution lists

When I end the day with email peace the pressure for the next day is significantly diminished. I don't feel like I need to be tied to my office instead I can be out and about, meeting with customers and co-workers. I can be out solving problems rather than sitting at my desk reading about them. Achieve email peace this holiday season, once achieved, you will never go back to the email distress you are now experiencing.

Ahh...email peace. Right now I have 12 items in my inbox. So everybody, do share, how many do you have????