1348: 7 Simple Steps to Get Control of Your Inbox by Ryan H. Law on Email Productivity Tips

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode 1348.

[00:01:02] Seven Simple Steps to Get Control of Your Inbox by Ryan H. Law of RyanHLaw.com

[00:01:10] And I am Dan, I'm your host of the show and this is the podcast where I read articles to you each and every day.

[00:01:15] And those articles offer lots of insights on work, business, entrepreneurship, productivity and a whole lot more.

[00:01:22] So with that, let's get into it now as we hear from Ryan and optimize your life.

[00:01:31] Seven Simple Steps to Get Control of Your Inbox by Ryan H. Law of RyanHLaw.com

[00:01:38] I love learning about productivity.

[00:01:39] I read a number of books on the topic and listen to several podcasts in the productivity category.

[00:01:44] Some of my favorites include Lead to Win, Before Breakfast, Deep Questions and 5 a.m. Miracle.

[00:01:50] On several of those podcasts, I heard interviews with Cal Newport about his newest book,

[00:01:55] A World Without Email, Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload.

[00:01:59] While Newport imagines a world without email, he knows that email is not going anywhere.

[00:02:04] The idea behind his book is to get control of your email so it doesn't control you.

[00:02:09] Email controls the schedules of most people.

[00:02:11] Consider these statistics.

[00:02:13] The average person is on email for three or more hours a day,

[00:02:17] with some estimates as high as 6.3 hours per day.

[00:02:20] Workers check their email on average 77 times a day.

[00:02:24] Heavy users check it as often as 400 times a day.

[00:02:27] Many people have their email open all the time and check it every time a notification comes through.

[00:02:32] The average person gets over 120 emails a day.

[00:02:36] Imagine getting that much physical mail every day.

[00:02:39] In addition, they have an average of 500 unread messages.

[00:02:43] Benefits of email

[00:02:45] There are some definite benefits of email, including ease of use, free,

[00:02:49] instant and convenience like retrieving passwords and getting confirmations of orders,

[00:02:54] getting bills paid, taxes, etc.

[00:02:57] Negative impacts of email

[00:02:59] Email has a big cost to it as well.

[00:03:01] Email is disruptive, causing us to switch tasks frequently, losing momentum and productivity.

[00:03:07] Piled up email causes stress and anxiety.

[00:03:10] Email can become your to-do list.

[00:03:13] And email is a major time sucker.

[00:03:15] Remember that workers average three to six hours a day on email.

[00:03:19] While email definitely has some benefits,

[00:03:21] it can take over your time and productivity if you allow it to.

[00:03:24] With that in mind, here are seven simple things you can do to get control of your inbox.

[00:03:29] One.

[00:03:30] Make email intentional instead of reacting to emails as they come through.

[00:03:35] Email needs to be like any tool you use at work.

[00:03:38] Open when you need it and shut off when you don't.

[00:03:41] Opening and processing email should be a task that is scheduled and kept within a specific time frame.

[00:03:46] There are a variety of options about how often you should check email.

[00:03:49] Tim Ferriss in the four-hour work week recommends checking it twice a day,

[00:03:53] while others say once an hour.

[00:03:55] Some people set up a schedule, check email at 11.30, 2.30 and 4.30,

[00:04:00] and schedule 30 minutes to process emails.

[00:04:03] I know one person who does no email Mondays,

[00:04:05] and many people recommend not checking work email at home, after work hours, or on the weekends.

[00:04:11] One researcher found that checking email only three times a day leads to lower stress,

[00:04:16] which leads to higher overall well-being, including higher productivity and even better sleep.

[00:04:21] If you feel like you need to check it more often, Newport recommends you work on a project,

[00:04:26] uninterrupted for an hour, then do an hour of administrative work such as email.

[00:04:30] You will be more productive doing this rather than switching back and forth for two hours.

[00:04:35] You can also make email more obscure by turning off notifications

[00:04:38] and possibly removing the mail icon from your start menu or taskbar.

[00:04:43] Two.

[00:04:44] Process email using a system.

[00:04:46] Don't just randomly go through emails.

[00:04:49] Set up a process that works for you.

[00:04:50] One person said she sets a timer for 20 minutes and just deletes files and opens emails that

[00:04:56] she needs to respond to in separate windows, then processes those one by one.

[00:05:01] Another person checks his spam folder first and deletes them,

[00:05:04] then goes to his regular inbox and deletes what he's not interested in,

[00:05:08] and then starts opening others.

[00:05:10] David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, utilizes the two-minute rule,

[00:05:14] where he processes emails during set times and responds to anything that would take less than

[00:05:19] two minutes.

[00:05:20] Three.

[00:05:21] List your top priority for the day and ensure you have completed it before opening email.

[00:05:26] Email is easy, it takes almost no focus,

[00:05:29] and it creates the illusion that you're getting a lot done.

[00:05:32] We all know this isn't true though,

[00:05:34] it is a way to procrastinate working on things that really matter.

[00:05:37] To combat this, list out your top priorities for the day,

[00:05:40] breaking down the next few steps you need to take.

[00:05:43] By listing out several steps, you can jump right in.

[00:05:46] For example, if you have the task, write book,

[00:05:49] you are going to look at that and just default to easy tasks.

[00:05:52] If however your task is read article with link about topic for book,

[00:05:58] you're more likely to do that.

[00:06:00] Four.

[00:06:00] Use a service like Calendly for meeting requests.

[00:06:04] Let's meet up, when is good for you?

[00:06:06] Tuesday at two or Wednesday at four.

[00:06:08] I'm booked for both of those, what about Thursday at two?

[00:06:11] I can't do that, what about this afternoon at 3.30?

[00:06:14] And so on.

[00:06:16] Avoid this time wasting back and forth with a simple meeting request

[00:06:20] through an app like Calendly.

[00:06:22] Five.

[00:06:23] Unsubscribe from anything you're not getting value from.

[00:06:27] We get so many promotional emails and notifications through email.

[00:06:31] Someone liked your post on LinkedIn?

[00:06:32] Notification.

[00:06:34] Someone asked a question on a post you commented on?

[00:06:36] Notification.

[00:06:38] One day I went through and deleted thousands of emails from

[00:06:40] Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and several other companies.

[00:06:44] I also ruthlessly unsubscribed from emails I was no longer getting value from.

[00:06:48] That included several newsletters and tons of promotional emails.

[00:06:52] You know how you give your email address to stores?

[00:06:54] I unsubscribe from most of those.

[00:06:56] I don't need to know that Macy's grocery store is having a sale on pot roast and carrots today.

[00:07:01] Some people find value in an app called Unroll Me

[00:07:04] that instantly unsubscribes you.

[00:07:07] Six.

[00:07:07] Recognize that the world will go on if you don't check email every five minutes.

[00:07:12] People do expect quick email replies.

[00:07:14] 15 minutes is the average expectation.

[00:07:16] But people will get used to a slower pace if you establish that with them.

[00:07:20] One person said that, quote,

[00:07:22] few things need my immediate attention when they're emailed.

[00:07:25] End quote.

[00:07:26] And it's true.

[00:07:27] Most things don't need your immediate response.

[00:07:30] I have even seen an automatic message that says something such as, quote,

[00:07:34] I only process email twice a day at specific times

[00:07:37] and I don't open email after work or on the weekend.

[00:07:40] If your email is urgent, you will know how to reach me.

[00:07:43] Or you can contact my assistant at,

[00:07:45] if needed, I will reply to your email in my next processing time frame.

[00:07:49] If it requires a longer response, I will schedule a time to get it done.

[00:07:53] If you want to set up a meeting, you can find my availability here.

[00:07:56] End quote.

[00:07:58] Seven.

[00:07:58] Set up a workflow for projects.

[00:08:01] If you have a project that involves at least two people,

[00:08:04] set up a process using a system such as Monday.com, Trello or Basecamp.

[00:08:08] Many recurring projects utilize email to keep track of progress.

[00:08:12] Did you finish editing that document?

[00:08:14] I just did.

[00:08:15] Here it is.

[00:08:15] Let me know when you've read it.

[00:08:17] Okay, I read the document.

[00:08:18] After you review my edits, we'll pass it along to Sharon.

[00:08:21] If everyone involved in the project knows to check for updates on the system

[00:08:25] instead of through email,

[00:08:26] it'll cut down on the need to check and respond to status updates on email.

[00:08:30] Some experts recommend a daily status meeting when you are working on a project.

[00:08:34] This can be a quick standing meeting where updates are shared in person

[00:08:37] rather than through email.

[00:08:38] Questions can be asked and answered, and next steps can be discussed.

[00:08:43] Conclusion.

[00:08:45] It's easy to get caught in the email trap where it is open all the time,

[00:08:48] you check it when notifications come in, and you reply quickly.

[00:08:52] It feels like you're being productive,

[00:08:54] and email definitely makes some things easier and more convenient.

[00:08:57] However, if you don't proactively control your inbox, it will control you.

[00:09:02] Follow today's seven steps to manage your email

[00:09:05] as a useful tool in your work box of tools.

[00:09:08] Action step.

[00:09:09] Choose one item that you can implement today.

[00:09:16] You just listened to the post titled

[00:09:18] Seven Simple Steps to Get Control of Your Inbox

[00:09:21] by Ryan H. Law of RyanHLaw.com.

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[00:10:53] And hey, a big thanks to Ryan for letting us share his work.

[00:10:56] And let me tell you a little bit more about him.

[00:10:58] Ryan's goal is to teach financial planners, coaches, and counselors

[00:11:02] how to use simple evidence-based action steps to provide outstanding client care.

[00:11:07] He received his bachelor's degree from Utah State University in Family Finance.

[00:11:11] After graduation, he worked in the financial planning field for several years,

[00:11:15] then decided to return to school.

[00:11:17] He received his master's degree in personal financial planning from Texas Tech University.

[00:11:22] He is a certified financial planner, also known as a CFP,

[00:11:26] and an accredited financial counselor or AFC.

[00:11:29] And he currently teaches at Utah Valley University in the financial planning program,

[00:11:33] where he covers financial counseling and runs their on-campus money management resource center.

[00:11:38] He also serves on the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education

[00:11:42] Board of Directors, where he has served as treasurer and president.

[00:11:46] So he is very well versed in the financial world.

[00:11:49] He spent a lot of time learning about client communication,

[00:11:52] financial psychology, habits, change, and anything along those lines.

[00:11:56] And you can learn more about him and see more of his work on his website, ryanhlaw.com.

[00:12:02] But that should do it for today.

[00:12:03] I hope you have a terrific rest of your day,

[00:12:05] and I will be right back here tomorrow reading to you.

[00:12:08] And that's where your optimal life awaits.