These 3 e-mail tips will increase your productivity and save your sanity

In our always on and always connected world, e-mail represents one of our largest time sinks.  Having a plan to consistently deal with e-mail efficiently and effectively will give you some time back to focus on only what's important.  Here are 3 tips for dealing with your Inbox.

Create an @Action folder for your Inbox.  You are going to need a quick place to put e-mails requiring deliberate attention, and David Allen's GTD organize method will give you that place.  In Microsoft Outlook, creating a folder with the name "@Action" puts it at the top of your folder list.  Having it here gives you a prime landing space for dropping of e-mails that need your attention.  E-mails that go into this folder become part of your to-do list, so having it front and center when you are at a place to work through e-mail saves you from hunting for it.

Think before sending.  Is a response actually required?  You don't need to respond to every e-mail, especially if there is a cast of thousands on the To: line.  Only respond to e-mails where your input is critical.  Will sending a reply or starting a new e-mail  thread complete the communication circle, or rather will it begin the spiral to many more follow-ups?  With the power of e-mail comes great responsibility.  Your choice to send or not to send greatly impacts the size of your own Inbox and signals to others how you value time.  Don't send e-mails to others just as a way to delay having to deal with a problem.  

Finally, once you've decided a response is absolutely needed, borrow another productivity tip from David Allen's GTD:  if a task takes two minutes, then just do it instead of adding it to your to-do list.  You are already in the right frame of mind and have invested mental energy in reading and deciding.  Put that investment to work for you and close the loop.  Any task longer than two minutes goes to your @Action folder and becomes part of your future task list.

Be a good role model, set expectations for responses, and choose the right tool for communication (hint:  it isn't always e-mail).  There is one last question you should ask before hitting the send button.  Are you sending just to vent?  If your e-mail is multiple paragraphs of an explanation or you find yourself feeling you must respond to set the record straight, then go ahead and write that e-mail...just don't send it.  Get the problem off your chest and then just let it go.  Delete.

Elephant, It's What's for Dinner

You've probably heard the saying that you "don't need to eat the elephant all in one bite" in the context of breaking down larger tasks into smaller ones, but there are a couple of techniques that you can use to improve your productivity no matter what the task.  Start by focusing on what's important.  You want to be sure that the work you are choosing to do has meaning, and you understand why it's important to you.  The importance doesn't always have to be life changing, but knowing that you are choosing to do this task instead of any other saves your brain having to fight the cognitive dissonance battle.

This next part is critical.  Stop multitasking and turn off all of the external multitasking enablers, like Outlook toast (those pop-up messages that appear every time you get a new email) and calendar reminders.  Put your phone and IM status on Do Not Disturb.  You need to create as much of a distraction free environment as possible.  The key here is to prepare your mind and put it at ease.  With notifications muted, your brain can move from a multitasking, high-alert status to one of flow.

Once you've settled on the importance of the task and removed distractions, it's time to implement a planned working duration.  In a typical Pomodoro Technique, the duration is usually 25 minutes with a 5 minute break, but it can vary.  Time Management Ninja, Craig Jarrow, recommends breaking up large tasks into 10 minute sessions.  In fact, 10 minutes is probably a perfect place for you to start even in Pomodoro.  Be sure to set an alarm and make it the only reminder that will disturb your work.  After just a couple of days of working in these ten minute sessions, you will find that you can purposely extend intervals by 5 minutes more until you can comfortably and successfully work for 45-60 minutes.

Throughout your intervals, you absolutely must take breaks in between sessions.  Again, the Pomodoro Technique recommends 5 minute breaks.  However, you are going to be working to stretch from 25 minutes to 60 minutes, so taking a 15 minute break between sessions will ultimately prove the most beneficial.  It sounds counter-intuitive to only work for 10 minutes and then to take a 15 minute break, but over time this investment will pay its dividends in higher productivity and greater concentration.  Alternatively, Scott Tousley, in his post, "The Unusual Concentration Technique That Transformed How I Worked", recommends working in 90 minute sessions, with 30 minutes breaks between intervals.

One more thing...do something physical during your breaks.  If you aren't using a standing desk (and why aren't you?), get up, walk around, and stretch your legs.  Studies have shown the benefits of exercise and its positive effects on cognition, including actually increasing size of the brain's hippocampus, so turn your work breaks into life-long brain enhancements!


Further Reading:

"The Unusual Concentration Technique That Transformed How I Worked" by Scott Tousley

http://www.getsidekick.com/blog/ultradian-rhythm-pomodoro-technique

Wikipedia:  Pomodoro Technique
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

"How to Eat an Elephant in 10 Minutes" by Craig Jarrow
http://timemanagementninja.com/2011/01/how-to-eat-an-elephant-in-10-minutes/

"The Positive Psychology of Flow" by Patty O'Grady
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positive-psychology-in-the-classroom/201310/the-positive-psychology-flow

"Taking a Walk Can Make Your Brain Grow"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2561708/Taking-walk-makes-brain-grow-Energetic-stroll-three-times-week-increase-size-organs-memory-hub.html