Touch Once
Action it
Archive It (Don’t even file it)
I don’t know about you but I was always over whelmed by emails and now more then ever messages from other sources. I would find myself continually scanning my inbox to check I hadn’t missed an important message. That was until I listened to a great pod cast from Michael Hyatt. So I went to action to clear my inbox and come up with a way of staying on top of my email overload. I have now been doing this for over a month now and I am feeling on top of it and more organised. It is taking me less time and I am not missing those important client messages. So here are my 3 simple steps to mastering your inbox :
1. Touch it once.
When you see an email in your inbox take action. And for each email there is a decision to be made. Does this require me to action something. Avoid scanning your email inbox many times, especially from your phone or tablet, it just takes time and you are not taking action.
2. Action it
If action is required then there is another simple choice, do it now or schedule to do it in the future. I like the 2 minute rule, if you can do it within 2 minutes then do it. If not then schedule it in your todo list. Personally I use a bespoke CRM from Business Equip, I find this a great and again simple todo list that works for me.
3. Archive It (Don’t even file it)
Once you have actioned it, simply achive it. Clear it from your inbox, you have dealt with it. Some would say file it into a folder, this is where I have failed in the past, because the filing system gets to hard and then you get behind. Also an email from client x regarding project y, where should it be filed under x or y or both. So keep it simple and just achieve it. The email tools now come with great search tools so you can easily retrieve the email you need. That’s it folks, follow these 3 simple rules and you can go home each day, with an empty email inbox, know every message has been dealt with. I hope you find this as helpful as I have.